JEFFERSON CITY — State Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, upon entering his first legislative session in the Missouri Senate was named vice-chairman of the Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee. He prioritized K-12 funding, higher education, transportation and workforce development.
Thirteen budget bills make up the state’s $29.7 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. The 2020 budget contains an increase for K-12 public education, important funding for our state’s colleges and universities, including a core fund increase and workforce development training funds. Additional transportation dollars were allocated to assist with vital regional infrastructure projects, including roads and bridges.
“Before this additional $10 million appropriation for Missouri State University (MSU), they received a substantially lower state funding rate, per student, than every other university in the state,” Sen. Hough said. “The $10 million increase, included in this year’s budget, eliminates the equity funding gap between MSU and the next lowest-funded university. It also allows MSU to expand educational programs in areas of high workforce need, keep tuition affordable and fund long overdue cost-of-living pay adjustments for employees.”
A record $1.3 billion will go toward Missouri’s higher education efforts for Fiscal Year 2020, a 12.8 percent increase over the current fiscal year. As a part of the MOExcels Workforce Initiative, MSU and Ozarks Technical Community College’s (OTC’s) Ozark Region Nursing Collaboration will receive an additional $3.1 million in Fiscal Year 2020. Missouri continues to see a shortage of nurses, especially in rural areas of the state. This added funding can go toward fulfilling the needs hospitals are experiencing all over the Show-Me State.
In addition, OTC’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing will receive $4.75 million in funding for the upcoming fiscal year. With this funding, the center will offer short- and long-term training opportunities that cover a breadth of industry specializations, including fabrication, robotics and 3D printing.
“MSU and OTC are educating the next generation of young minds of Missourians, as well as bright, hardworking students from all over the world,” Sen. Hough said. “These institutions do this on what I consider a modest and focused budget. It is exciting to have such incredible institutions right here in our backyard, which offer our local students the opportunity to stay close to home while receiving a world-class education. Thank you to OTC and MSU for doing such a fantastic job for our state.”