State funding for Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning down from previous year

• Appropriations bills to fund IHL and its operations were passed by lawmakers during last week’s special session.

Appropriations for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning and its various operations were approved during the legislative special session held last week. 

The Legislature approved $451.8 million in general support funding, a decrease from last year’s appropriation of $477.2 million, according to information filed with the Legislative Budget Office.

Subsidiary program appropriations totaled $40.4 million, a decrease from the previous fiscal year’s appropriation of $41.3 million. 

During discussion of the appropriation bills for the IHL, State Senator David Blount (D) had an inquiry. 

“Is there any money in this bill to provide any money to our eight public universities for maintenance of existing buildings and projects that have already been funded through the four-year IHL bond package that was adopted by the board last year?” Blount asked.

He added that the plan adopted by IHL called for about $126 million to be used in 2025 for ongoing projects, maintenance and repair. 

Parks clarified that the budget did not include money for those purposes and any repairs or maintenance would come from the general appropriation.

The bill passed the Senate with a vote of 37-9 and a vote of 87-7 in the House.

For the IHL’s student financial aid fund, the Legislature reappropriated funds from the general fund that were not spent during the 2025 fiscal year. The total budget, Senator Parks said, is about $58.2 million, of which $50.2 million will be state funding. She explained that the budget includes a $294,000 increase for health insurance premium increases. Last fiscal year, the state provided $54.9 million to that budget.

When Blount asked why the appropriation appears to be about a 12 percent cut compared to last year, Parks explained that the reduction was requested by the “Board” due to the previous fiscal year’s funds not being used. A spokesperson for the IHL clarified that recommendation came from the Post Secondary Education Financial Assistance Board.

“This is the Board choosing, and it’s based on their knowledge in what they’re expecting next year versus this year,” Parks described. “So, that is what they have asked for us to do. You have to understand, too, they had money left over from the previous year. We’re not cutting anything.”

SB 2009 passed the Senate with a vote of 35-7 and the House with a vote of 96-1.

The Legislature also approved the following appropriations for other IHL operations. 

• University of Mississippi Medical Center received an appropriation of $198.9 million, down from last year’s appropriation of $203.5 million.

• Alcorn State University’s Agricultural Research and Land Grants Program received $8.2 million, a slight increase from last year’s appropriation of $8.1 million.

• Mississippi State University’s Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station budget received $25.8 million in state funding, a slight increase from last year’s $25.7 million. 

• Mississippi State University’s Cooperative Extension Service received $34.6 million, down slightly from last year’s appropriation of $34.7 million.

• Mississippi State University’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center received $6.7 million, a reduction from the prior year’s appropriation of $7.6 million. 

• Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine was appropriated $21.3 million, a slight decrease from the prior year’s allocation of $21.4 million. 

Editor’s Note: This article has been edited to clarify the Post Secondary Education Financial Assistance Board requested a reduction in appropriations to the student financial aid fund.