http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-816516.mp3
Kansas City, Mo. – A hard hitting tradeoff could be in the offing in Missouri. Governor Jay Nixon proposes freezing tuition at state college and university campuses if the legislature agrees to save them from the budget-axe.
The new governor toured University of Missouri campuses in Columbia, St.Louis and Kansas City to deliver the message. Tuition would stay at current levels. And there would be no loophole of a tuition surcharge. But lawmakers would have to agree. In the governor's words,"We will do our best to get them to do that. I think it's an historic turning point for higher education where we say that when the pruning knife of this difficult budget year comes out, it spares you. The trade off that you give will spare these students and their families this additional tuition."
Tuition at state colleges and universities in Missouri has risen every year for at least the last decade. The governor told a UMKC audience it would have to wait until his state of the state address to learn every nuance of his budget plan.