Linn State, LU study budget options

Unless lawmakers change Gov. Jay Nixon's proposed budget plans, Missouri's public colleges and universities are in line for a 12.5 percent funding cut next year as part of the state's effort to close a more than $500 million gap between expected revenues and planned expenses.

Several lawmakers, including Senate Appropriations Chairman Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, have said they'll do all they can to improve the schools' financial future.

But college administrators are looking to see where they can make the cuts, if they have to.

At Lincoln University, the governor's proposed 2012-13 state budget cuts $2,426,708 from this year's appropriation level, leaving LU's proposed budget almost $2.93 million less than was spent in the 2010-11 business year.

Nixon proposes to cut Linn State Tech by $642,460 from this year's appropriation - which is already more than $133,000 smaller than the 2010-11 school year.