During a recent summit of black Mississippi leaders in Jackson, Rep. Billy Broomfield (D-Harrison) said “anyone brave enough to introduce any proposal to close or merge any state university, that proposal will never see the light of day.”
Broomfield’s comment is one among a series citizens and leaders have made over the past weeks in reaction to Rep. George Flaggs (D-Warren) telling hundreds at the Mississippi Economic Council’s (MEC) annual Hobnob social event at the Agricultural Museum late last month that Mississippi cannot afford to keep all 152 school districts, eight public universities and an extensive system of community and junior colleges.
In a released statement after reports of Flaggs’ comments, Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus (MLBC) Chairman Broomfield said, “I join an overwhelming number of black Caucus members in the belief that no university should be closed.”
The Mississippi Link spoke with Rep. Flaggs after the Tuesday afternoon session of the Mississippi Black Leadership Summit. “I take no position on closure or merger,” he said. “What I am saying is we cannot balance the state budget without putting everything on the table. We cannot continue to balance the budget of the eight universities on the backs of students by raising tuition,” he explained.
According to recent Associated Press reports, Mississippi’s economic situation mirrors the rest of the nation. State revenue is down by $111.6 million for the first four months of the current fiscal year. Gov. Barbour cut nearly $172 million from the $6-billion budget in September and warned future spending reductions would be unavoidable. The governor said last week as much as $200 million more could be trimmed before the fiscal year ends June 30, 2010.
Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant (R) believes the state could save up to $150,000 to $200,000 by shortening the 2010 legislative session from 90 days to 60 days.
Barbour said a tax increase won’t be an option to generate revenue.
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