Mississippi Prepaid College Tuition Program frozen
With the Mississippi Prepaid College Tuition Program financially underwater from a stagnant economy and soaring tuitions, the state treasurer has decided to halt new enrollments while auditors crunch numbers and decide whether the program can continue without costing taxpayers millions.
But new State Treasurer Lynn Fitch, who requested the freeze and the audit, and others stress the 22,293 families already in the program created by the Legislature in 1996 have nothing to worry about. Their investment is backed by the “full faith and credit of the state.”
With the move, Mississippi joins numerous other states grappling with whether to keep prepaid tuition plans going. Many have shut down their programs or changed them as deficits grow.
Clarion Ledger
9/18/12
Magnolia Tribune
