JEFFERSON CITY -- Missouri's budget woes will hit college students, school buses, the state work force, business tax credits and scores of other programs under $301.4 million in cuts announced today by Gov. Jay Nixon.
Nixon said the budget passed by the Legislature had to be cut to avoid red ink in the fiscal year that begins July 1.
"None of this is easy," Nixon told reporters at a news conference in his Capitol office. He said this round of belt-tightening had required him to "punch another hole in the belt."
Among the biggest casualties: the Access Missouri college scholarship program, which provides needs-based grants. Nixon whacked $50 million from the $82 million appropriation.
While details were sketchy, he said $30 million of that cut would be offset by a new scholarship program being set up by the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority.
Nixon also took a fourth of the money set aside for the Bright Flight scholarship program, which rewards the state's top students based on their ACT scores.
School districts won't lose any of their basic aid, but Nixon axed a chunk of the money that pays for K-12 school buses. Already cut by the Legislature, the $152.8 million transportation appropriation will shrink by an additional $70 million.
As expected, the state work force will be downsized again. Nixon is cutting 250 jobs on top of the 1,000 positions that legislators axed in next year's budget. Overall, Nixon has cut about 2,500 government jobs since he took office in January 2009.
The latest cutbacks could affect everyone from social workers and nursing home inspectors to mental health facility workers and higher education administrators. Officials said they hope to make most of the cuts through attrition but some layoffs are likely.
The state also plans to slow the issuance of tax credits by more closely examining whether the incentives are producing a solid return for the state. Nixon is counting on $47 million in savings from that move.
Medicaid providers, such as those who provide in-home care for people with disabilities, will see their rates cut by 2 percent. The state also will pay less for durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs and lifts. Officials said they expected providers to absorb the cuts.
Despite the budget wreckage, the governor said he had preserved his top priorities, such as basic funding to elementary and secondary education.
He also maintained a deal under which public colleges and universities agreed to freeze tuition for in-state students in return for a cut of no more than roughly 5 percent.
If revenue picks up, some of Nixon's budget cuts could be reversed since he is freezing rather than eliminating most of the items. But Linda Luebbering, Nixon's budget director, didn't hold out much hope for that.
"Sitting here today, I don't anticipate that happening," she said.
