Missouri’s student loan authority has put on hold an independent financial analysis of a proposed higher education funding plan sought by Gov. Matt Blunt, the agency’s director said yesterday.

The Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority proposed in January to sell billions of dollars worth of student loans over several years to help finance Blunt’s $450 million plan for a college construction boom and other higher education initiatives.

A March analysis by Liscarnan Solutions LLC confirmed an initial asset sale could generate more than $145 million, and a more thorough financial feasibility report was due May 31.

But the funding plan was dealt a major setback when the General Assembly quit in mid-May without passing either Blunt’s spending plan or a MOHELA-sought measure that would have assured it could legally transfer its proceeds to the state.

Afterward, Blunt said he still would push for a MOHELA asset sale but instead would encourage the money to be sent directly to universities instead of passing through the state. The chairwoman of the MOHELA board said last month that there were legal questions about that plan.

The MOHELA board met Friday, but the only mention of Blunt’s “Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative” came when interim Executive eirector Raymond Bayer Jr. reported that the financial analysis had been placed on hold.

“The original engagement with Liscarnan was signed at a time when it was presumed that legislation would be going through,” Bayer said yesterday in an interview.

Bayer said the staff of the quasi-governmental student loan authority wants additional direction from its board, its lawyers or the governor’s office. But he said there is no date scheduled for the board to next discuss the potential loan sale.

The board of the student loan authority still stands behind a resolution it passed in March to work with Blunt on his higher education funding plan, Bayer said. At the time, the state was projected to receive its first installment of MOHELA proceeds by Sept. 30.

Source: www.showmenews.com/

This entry was posted by Taman Siswa on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 at 4:34 pm and is filed under Student Loan. Tags: Clark Discovery Initiative, College, Education News, finance, General Assembly, Lewis Discovery, Liscarnan Solutions LLC, Loans, Matt Blunt, Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, Raymond Bayer Jr., SGD, Student, Student Loan, . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.