Missouri student loan board backs Blunt’s higher ed plan
Gov. Matt Blunt’s appointees prevailed in a divided vote Wednesday as Missouri’s student loan authority endorsed his plan to siphon $350 million from the agency to finance college construction projects.
The 4-2 vote by the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority capped eight months of wrangling that began when Blunt initially proposed an outright sale of the 25-year-old student loan agency.
The new deal would allow MOHELA to keep operating but would transfer a bulk of its profits and sell billions of dollars worth of loans to finance Blunt’s initiative.
Although significant, Wednesday’s vote was not the final word. For the plan to go forward, it still needs approval from state lawmakers when they convene in 2007. Blunt conceded to that contingency to pacify fears of a potential lawsuit against MOHELA board members by Attorney General Jay Nixon, who contends the plan is illegal and ill-advised.
Blunt’s supporters on the MOHELA board touted the plan as a great way to improve the quality of education offered to Missouri students while also boosting the economy. But opponents worried that by diminishing its assets, the student loan agency could be less effective in the future in providing low-cost loans to Missouri students.
All four of the board members voting for the plan had been appointed by Blunt, two of them within roughly the past week. The two opponents had been appointed by Blunt’s Democratic predecessors.
