MOHELA plan gets 'minor' changes
Senators have mixed responses to the MOHELA changes.
Published April 17, 2007
As the higher education bill that includes the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority sale of assets nears a vote in the Missouri Senate, the bill's sponsor, Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, announced some minor changes to the bill on Thursday.
The bill already changes many provisions to the state's higher education program, including reducing state funds for student assistance, barring funds for the Health Sciences Research and Education Center at MU and requiring the Department of Higher Education to report to the Joint Committee on Education at least twice a year.
One of the newest additions to the bill, which was announced Thursday, is known as the Missouri Teaching Fellows Program, a clause that was previously a bill sponsored by Sen. Jeff Smith, D-St. Louis.
The Senate substitute bill would create a program similar to Teach for America, which encourages students to become teachers through monetary incentives, Smith said.
The Missouri Teaching Fellows Program would award Missouri students who attend a state college or university and then become a teacher in the state up to $5,000 to repay student loans, Smith said.
If an eligible teacher has no student loans, he or she can receive the maximum $5,000 as a stipend.
Smith said it is likely that these additions have helped generate more support for the controversial bill in the Senate, but opposition still remains toward the MOHELA package.
The bill including the MOHELA plan has experienced much debate this session because of issues of stem-cell research and the accountancy and viability of the proposal.
"Sen. Nodler has worked tenaciously to line up support on both sides of the aisle, but significant opposition remains in both parties," Smith said.
The comprehensive higher education package was laid over March 13 following a marathon filibuster conducted by Senate Democrats. Since March, the bill has been on the table, but Smith said action on the bill on the Senate floor was likely to occur this week.
Nodler could not be reached for comment.
Sen. Wes Shoemyer, D-Hannibal, sponsored the other addition to the bill, which involves bonding to pay for capital improvement projects.
Shoemyer could not be reached for comment.
Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, has been a vocal opponent of the MOHELA plan.
His Chief of Staff, Ted Farnen, said the bill is just a "mishmash" of objectives.
Farnen said the added sections that were announced Thursday are not as dramatic as other problems Graham has seen with the bill.
"It seems like something comes out every day that makes this bill less and less viable," Farnen said. "I think a lot of people have a lot of problems with this bill."
Farnen said the clause regarding tuition caps for state universities would hurt their credit ratings and student loan rates, and the clause might not even be constitutional.
He said the bill's sponsors seem unwilling to change anything in the bill that would fix these problems.
Farnen also said the MOHELA Senate bill's sister bill in the House, which passed in March, was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee Monday, and will have a public hearing Tuesday.