The proposed sale of $350 million of student loans appears to have enough support and momentum to pass the Missouri Senate.
The bill would then go before the state house, and if approved there, would go to Gov. Matt Blunt's desk for final approval. Blunt originally proposed the idea, calling it the "Lewis and Clark Initiative."
UM-St. Louis stands to receive $29.5 million in funds for construction projects.
Despite opposition from Democrats, the sale of the loans, held by the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, could be approved before the end of the spring legislative session.
The sale of the loans would provide funding for several building projects for Missouri universities and colleges. Many Democrats oppose the bill because in its current form, as it includes language that would prohibit the funds from going towards buildings that could engage in embryonic stem cell research.
UM-St. Louis Chancellor Thomas George said as it stands, there looks to be enough support to believe the bill will pass all three legislative bodies.
"In my conversations with people [in Jefferson City], it looks as though we are going to get this through," George said.
If passed, the package will feature a couple radical differences. The most notable is the absence of funding provided to UM-Columbia. This is the second cut Mizzou has faced in this process.
Originally slated to receive a third of the loan sale monies, including nearly $85 million for a life sciences building, Mizzou was cut in the second draft of the bill by over $50 million. The cut resulted from an announcement by UM System President Elson Floyd that UM-Columbia would instead use the money for a cancer treatment and medical instruction building.
Blunt, a Republican who supports embryonic stem cell research, went on record as saying he felt the move was a wrong one.
The Current has confirmed that UM-Columbia will not be receiving an allocation. Additionally, UM-Kansas City also will be cut out in the proposed MOHELA loan funding.
George said he was dismayed to hear the news, and wishes a new solution could be found.
"I am sorry to hear my colleagues at UM-Columbia and at Kansas City are getting cut this much," George said. "We are all part of the same system, and I'd like to see them get something."
The funding for UM-St. Louis would go towards gutting and renovating Benton-Stadler hall, which houses the University's science and psychology departments. Additionally, UM-St. Louis will receive $1 million for its information technology incubator program.
If the measure passes through the state houses and lands on the governor's desk, the funds might not be released until near the end of the construction cycle, meaning some schools might not be able to start their projects until spring of 2008.
George said solutions are available for that problem as well.
"Obviously, we are not shovel in hand ready to begin," George said. "However, if you know the funds are coming, this is something you could go into debt over, because you know you will have those funds."
Benton-Stadler has long been in need of repair according to George, who has said many high schools have better equipped science labs than UM-St. Louis.
George said as it stands, UM-St. Louis will receive the second largest allocation of funds, after Missouri State University.
The University will not just stop at the MOHELA funds, either, George said. In the past two years, UM-St. Louis has received equity adjustments, and the chancellor said they will try for three.
"We are a relatively young campus," George said. "We have grown faster than our funding, so we are going to do everything we can to get things to where they need to be."
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