Governor Barbour Calls for Almost 172 Million In Budget Cuts

Governor Haley Barbour gives press conference on new round of budget cuts

With the exception of Medicaid and Corrections the governor has called for agency budget cuts totaling 171.9 million dollars. MPB's lawayne Childrey reports.

According to Governor Haley Barbour Mississippi is in the midst of a financial storm.

"We've already been through a year of it. Revenue is 381 million dollars less than the last physical year than we thought it would be. And we can't avoid the storm but we know the best thing is to prepare early, act early."

To lessen the blow Barbour is asking state agencies to make additional cuts to bring their current reductions up to 5%. However, the governor says even with additional cuts all levels of education will continue to receive record funding.

"Education spending over all in the state is more than 60% of the state budget. It is our highest priority and rightly we spend more money on education than everything else combined. The other side of that is that it's not possible to make meaningful reductions in state spending and keep education untouchable."

Not everyone favors the governor’s budget cuts. State Representative Brandon Jones serves on the House Education Committee and says the governors cuts are a setback for education.

"We're essentially asking our children to foot the bill in this very difficult economic hard time. But there is no question we are going through a hard time in the state. But I don't think we dig ourselves out of a hole by decreasing our education funding, I think we only make the whole deeper."

Barbour says some court ordered spending will remain untouched, including funding for a desegregation lawsuit to help the state's three historically black universities. For MPB News, I'm Lawayne Childrey.