The Standard's 1.22.19 issue

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THE STANDARD M I S S O U R I S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

VOLUME 112, ISSUE 16 | THE-STANDARD.ORG The Standard/The Standard Sports

TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019

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Future tuition costs depend on possibility of increased state funding TINSLEY MERRIMAN Staff Reporter @MerrimanTinsley The hot topic on the Missouri State University legislative budget for the 2019-2020 school year is securing more funding for both education and infrastructure across campus. According to the MSU website, “increased enrollment has resulted in MSU now receiving significantly less state funding per student than any other university in the state.” The website also reports that “to bring MSU up to the next lowest university would require a $9.5 million appropriation increase. To bring MSU up to the state average would require

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a $39.8 million appropriation increase.” Since 2001, MSU enrollment has grown from 20,000 students to 26,000. A majority come from Missouri – primarily near the St. Louis and Kansas City regions, as maintained by the Office of the President. But many attend from all over the world, including 82 different countries. Assistant to the President for Governmental Relations Ryan DeBoef said that a major MSU goal is to petition for more state sponsored funds during the 2019-2020 school year. “We had been talking to the legislature for several years about the funding,” DeBoef said. “The situation is that for about 30 years state appropriation (the amount of funding received from the state) has gone up and down with no correlation; we are asking the legislature to look into that.” These fluctuations in funding created pressure for multiple places across campus, including the MoExcels program and the Greenwood Laboratory School. MoExcels is a competitive grant program which provides one-time funds to public universities and community colleges to prepare students for what the state’s workforce needs. With so many students to aid, lack of funding is having a decidedly negative impact upon its ability to aid those who need it. Located across from the Hammons and Hutchens residence halls, Greenwood is a K-12 school that provides education

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to over 370 students. Like MSU, it has grown in recent years and is requiring expansion to serve new and returning students. However these renovations have stalled due to lack of funding. DeBoef confirmed the possibility that students may have to start paying more in tuition. “The cost of keeping education low means running the university with more and more money. It has an effect on the services we provide for the students,” DeBoef said. “We receive the money from two places: state appropriation and tuition. Over time, the tuition will be pressured and students will have to pay more.” But this possibility will only become a reality if the 20192020 legislation budget plan doesn’t go into effect. If the MSU legislation can get more funding from the state, it would mean students won’t have to keep paying more and more for their education. On the other hand, if the legislation falls through, MSU students will see an increase in tuition costs and fees. The Coordinating Board for Higher Education has requested a three-part plan to obtain more funding for public universities and community colleges, including MSU. This plan is graded on a graduate’s career outcome, the number of complete degrees belonging to the university, and the pass/fail rate of professional exams.

‘We need lasting change. We need purpose and power.’ CLAYTON FRYE/THE STANDARD

Rock (left) and Calvin Allen march down Jefferson Avenue during the annual Springfield NAACP Martin Luther King Jr. Day March on Jan. 21. Despite freezing temperatures, a large number of people participated in the march.

Toni Robinson, Springfield NAACP president See the story on Page 5.

Missouri Governor Parson highlights workforce, infrastructure in State of the State Address ANDREW UNVERFERTH Staff Reporter @unverferthandr1 Missouri Gov. Mike Parson gave his first State of the State Address on Jan. 16, with a primary focus on bettering Missouri’s infrastructure and improving the situation for the state’s workforce. Parson opened by thanking his fellow government officials and the people of Missouri. After introducing the first lady, Parson described his administration’s focus on working for Missourians, mentioning the “bold steps” he feels are necessary to tackle the issues facing the state. “I will commit to you that bold ideas and tough challenges will not be something we shy

away from,” Parson said. He went on to discuss some of the problems he believes Missouri faces today. “The honest truth is that we have not been as efficient as we can be,” Parson said. “We don’t promote our state, our resources, and our people as best we should. And we have not prepared our state well enough for the future, and every Missourian deserves better.” The governor brought up the issue of an overabundance of priorities in government. The main priorities for this session, he said, should be “cultivating and training our workforce for high-demand jobs and investing in critical infrastructure.” Parson then went into further detail concerning his hopes for workforce advancement in Missouri. He began by citing the mentorship

program between Eldon, Missouri, schools and the Missouri company Quaker Windows as a model for the training of the next generation of workers. Addressing the specifics of his budget, Parson mentioned the $75 million allocated for workforce development programs, $22 million towards funding the Fastrack program for training in high-demand areas and $10 million for the Missouri One-Start program aimed at providing incentives for businesses in the state. After mentioning the $16 million going towards Missouri Excels, a program aimed to increase career readiness for higher education, the governor began to discuss his focus on infrastructure. He introduced the concept of seeing infrastructure as not only “bricks and mortar, roads

and bridges but also the location in which people look to invest capital and operate the economy of the future.” Parson noted the importance of statewide high-speed broadband access and the opportunities offered by Missouri’s ports and highways. According to Parson, Missouri has secured $255 million in federal funding for broadband expansion, $350 million has been freed up in the budget for bridge repair and replacement and a cost-sharing program of $50 million will go towards assisting city and county infrastructure. Parson also mentioned the adjustments planned for the Department of Corrections, his

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