During his State of the State address Monday night, Gov. Haley Barbour expressed his concern over the news of budget cuts to higher education and promised to help the state universities’ budget problems.
“I want to let you know that the largest increase in my budget will be to restore some of what had been cut from our universities and community colleges,” Barbour said. “Our institutions of higher learning are economic gold mines, and we must do a better job of mining them.”
Barbour added that the state’s colleges are too important to cut from the budget, citing their roles in promoting economic development as a significant function within the state.
“[We want] to make our universities the leaders in turning their economic research into commercial products and services,” Barbour said.
House of Representative Chair of Appropriations Johnny Stringer, D- Montrose, said he was in favor of Barbour’s goal to help the universities and was willing to cooperate with the governor in achieving this goal.
Stringer said he did not know at the time where the money was going to come from, but he was prepared to look over the budget and work with Barbour in adjusting the funding for higher education.
Stringer also said the governor’s budget, along with the official number of dollars proposed to go back to the universities, would be released Friday.
The budget is expected to accept the recommendations from the Legislative Budget Committee, but Barbour said he will also introduce more spending priorities, along with ways to pay for them.
State lawmakers said before Barbour’s address that budget cuts were likely to hit Mississippi’s universities.
Rep. Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, said Mississippi had a wonderful higher education system, but like many others, he regretted the restrictions that possible budget cuts would impose.
But, he added, the economy looks as if it may be turning around, and he had faith the Legislature would find some way of combating budget cuts to higher education.
Until Barbour’s pledge of assistance, the universities had been facing a budget cut of up to $70 million, of which almost $20 million would have come from Mississippi allotment. Besides the cuts affecting the state’s eight public universities, it would also have had an effect on the state’s financial aid programs.