MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
JEFFERSON CITY - The House and Senate budget conference committee decided late Monday evening to give the University of Missouri system an additional $1.4 million above the governor's recommendation to combat yearly inflation.
For faculty and staff at the university, the additional money could mean slightly larger salary increases. U.M. lobbyist Jim Snider said "compensation is always at the top of the list."
In a relatively uncontentious debate about higher education funding, the committee adopted the House version of the budget bill. The version gives $1.4 million more than what Gov. Mel Carnahan originally recommended for university.
If the full House and Senate give final approval to committee's decision and the governor approves the budget, the four-campus U.M. system will walk away with a $368 million operating budget for next year. That is about 3.8 percent over last year's budget. In the past three years, U.M. has received increases of more than 5 percent.
"This is a less of an increase than in years past," said UM lobbyist Jim Snider. "But, we're in tough times and the university is doing the best they can."
Snider said the main reason the university did not receive a larger increase was because the U.M. system was not included in this year's "mission enhancement" funding to smaller universities. Those universities were required to submit an updated mission statement, which would be accompanied by additional state funding to implement mission programs. U.M. will submit its proposed mission enhancement to the legislature next year and is expected to get more funding.
Snider said even though university officials have not made a final decision as to where an increased amount of funds would go, increasing next year's salaries is the top priority. However, because the money is discretionary, the university can use the money for building repairs or other projects.
The joint committee also approved an additional $100,000 for a diagnostic lab at the School of Veterinary Medicine, as well as $50,000 for the Missouri School of Optometry in St. Louis.
Snider spent much of the day walking the halls of the capital talking to members of the budget conference committee. Since the House and Senate versions of the higher education funding bill were passed in the past few weeks, Snider has been warning some lawmakers that the university should be careful not to fall too far short of inflation.
"We want to keep up with inflation or we'll get in the same position as we have in the past," said Rep. Dick Franklin, D-Independence.
Franklin, the biggest advocate on the committee for maintaining increased funding for inflation, said their could be an expensive price to pay if the legislature were to not keep up with inflation.
"We need to keep the discretionary spending at the level of inflation," said UM lobbyist Jim Snider, who made his rounds today talking to members of the Budget committee. "If we don't get the money, we'll have to cut into the progress we've made."
Though legislators seemed willing to grant the university more money this year, concerns about where state appropriations end up continues to linger in the General Assembly.
Senate appropriations chairman Mike Lybyer jokingly said, "A person (working at U.M.) could walk away with that money at the university and nobody would know about it."