Colleges: Budget news confusing - Clarion Ledger

Gov. Haley Barbour delighted in reporting earlier this year that Mississippi provided "record funding increases for all three levels of education in Mississippi - K-12, community colleges, and universities." Well, yes and no. Technically, Barbour's correct. But without a massive infusion of federal stimulus funds, that claim simply could not be made. Compounding the impact of the federal stimulus package is that one month into the current fiscal year, state revenues were down almost 11 percent. That means that mid-year budget cuts are highly likely. But Mississippi taxpayers should not delude themselves that "all is well" in higher education finance. It's not. Financial access to higher education remains a constant challenge here in the poorest state in the union.