By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

The state of Missouri could be as much as $200 million short in next year’s budget, Kyna Iman, Missouri Southern State University’s government lobbyist, told the university’s Board of Governors during its monthly meeting Friday at the Joplin school.

“I’ve heard they will continue current funding, but new programs will really be on the chopping block,” Iman said.

It was Iman’s annual report to the board on legislation that passed in the last year and what to expect in the coming year.

Among the victories Iman marked from the last year were bringing in $2 million to build a storm shelter on the north side of MSSU’s campus and getting additional capital project funds from the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative.

Missouri Southern also has been chosen to represent universities across the state by holding the freshmen legislators’ dinner Dec. 3.

In the next year, Iman said, she will continue to push for Missouri Southern and other public colleges to receive all their promised funding from the state and to make higher education a higher budget priority compared with K-12 education.

Iman said she will again try to get the Prepare To Care program passed in the 2009 session. The program has a $39 million price tag and helps address the shortage of health-care professionals. It lost by one vote in the last session.

Budget

Much of the rest of the meeting focused on high-profile changes to the university’s budget and strategic planning in the wake of the arrival of Bruce Speck, the university’s new president, last spring.

Along those lines, board member Charles McGinty asked the university’s financial team to include more information on the monthly budget reports, so the board members could see cash in and cash out, rather than net assets that include building depreciation and assets.

Speck told the board about the Sept. 12 forum where several hundred students and faculty showed up to support the international mission and the Institute of International Studies, the budget for which has been trimmed 33 percent for 2008-09.

Ben Hinkle, student body president and student representative to the board, said many of the students still think the decision to cut the Institute’s funding was “not data driven.” He said the student senate will develop a package of recommendations for increasing income and cutting costs, and present it to the board at the end of the semester.

Speck said the student body needs to be more educated on the budget, and is preparing a presentation similar to one he gave to the faculty. He will make that presentation to the student senate.