A $159-Million capital improvement budget gets preliminary approval in the House, but not before members consider sending a message to state colleges and universities. It was a $70-Million message as Representative Tim Green (D-St. Louis) targets the University of Missouri system in an amendment that would have stripped the four campuses of capital improvements next year. Green says he’s frustrated with higher education officials who keep raising tuition, making college less and less affordable, yet come to the legislature with more and more building plans. The amendment would cut $30-Million in projects from the Columbia campus alone. Many express sympathy for Green’s point, but the House defeats his amendment as it advances the capital improvements budget.
