IHL PR, 1/17/06: Relief allocations - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Jan 19, 2006

IHL PR, 1/17/06: Relief allocations

Date: Jan 19, 2006

Interesting...Just curious as to how they decided on these allocations...Was it assistance based on the number of students attending the schools from the Gulf Coast Area or from South MS?...Was it partially based on damages?...Can anyone cypher this for me?

Date: Jan 19, 2006

Taxpayer money to private religious colleges - great!

Date: Jan 19, 2006

Black Cat wrote:

Taxpayer money to private religious colleges - great!

Yes it is great, Black Cat. Faith-based sources willingly and cheerfully contributed large sums to Katrina relief efforts without regard to the recipients' personal characteristics - religious or otherwise.

Date: Jan 19, 2006

Ok, help me out here. The allocations are for student financial aid, right? Don't students at private and religious and proprietery colleges get federal financial aid already, in the form of grants and loans? As I read this, it's the amount that's changed.

I think Black Cat was reading too fast and missed this distinction.

Date: Jan 19, 2006

Black Cat wrote:

Taxpayer money to private religious colleges - great!

That bothers you more than money to "beauty and hair schools"?

Damage is damage.

Date: Jan 19, 2006

LVN wrote:

Ok, help me out here. The allocations are for student financial aid, right?

Invictus talked about the allocations under the "MSU Presidential Search" thread:

Earlier I referred to Meredith screwing USM. Now that the documentation has been presented to the IHL board, I'll elaborate.

The $29 billion Katrina relief package provided $95 million to Mississippi & $95 million to Louisiana for higher education. In the appropriation bill, Louisiana specified that its money would be disbursed through Title VII of the Higher Education Act, as amended. This provides for money to be disbursed to directly to institutions. Due to behind-the-scenes work by Tom Meredith, Mississippi's money is to be distributed under Title IV. This is student aid with no direct aid to institutions.

While we all should agree that student aid is not a bad thing, institutions like USM, PRCC, or MGCCC that had serious physical plant damage need institutional aid as well. That's not happening thanks to Dr. Meredith.

Following up on this, Meredith decreed that the money would be distributed according to the federal LEAP funding formula, which is based on the product of enrollment and tuition/fees. The initial distribution would have had MSU receiving $20 million, USM $15 million & UM $12 million.

Anyone who thinks MSU has more Katrina-affected students than USM needs to send me a couple of ounces of what they've been smoking, because it's seriously high grade stuff & could probably fund a couple of semesters of Invictus' offspring's tuition if sold on the street.

The final distribution (after some equally behind-the-scenes wrangling) has USM receiving more like $20 million. Ironically, MGCCC will receive about $400K less than MSU. Again, think about it. PRCC & Jones JC will also receive better-than-chump-change but not what they probably need.

Meredith almost succeeded in screwing USM and the community colleges. He has succeeded in screwing the community colleges. And he has some more goodies up his sleeve.

Date: Jan 19, 2006

Thanks Googler. In other words, the money under discussion is for students, not for the institutions (which have massive needs.) So, no, taxpayer money is not going to beauty schools or Bible schools.

Date: Jan 20, 2006

HOWTHEYDOTHAT? wrote:

Interesting...Just curious as to how they decided on these allocations...Was it assistance based on the number of students attending the schools from the Gulf Coast Area or from South MS?...Was it partially based on damages?...Can anyone cypher this for me?

The initial distribution of funds was calculated by multiplying the fall 2004 (pre-Katrina) enrollment, full-time plus part-time, graduate and undergraduate, times double the average tuition and fees for fall 2005. Institutions then submitted their "best guess" of the amount needed & some institutions (e.g., MSU & UM) then received a lower-than-formula-distribution amount off the top. The formula was then applied to the remainder of the $95M fund. This is the "LEAP" formula, except that the rules eliminated the state match, which makes funds available for in-state & out-of-state students.

The data collected by IHL in no way asked how many students came from affected communities (e.g., no request for zipcode information). In fact, the form had the boxes numbered from left-to-right as: #1, #2, #2, and #4. This should tell you how much attention to detail the IHL MOSFA paid to this project.

The trick is that the funds can only be disbursed to students who are Title IV eligible. To receive the money, the students Estimated Family Contribution from FAFSA must be lower than the published cost of attendance, same as for Pell or other Title IV aid. Financial aid offices may make adjustments in eligibility after considering students' altered financial situations on an individual basis. The maximum "Katrina award" to a student for fall 2005 (retroactive), spring 2006, summer 2006, and/or fall 2006 is $5000 or the unmet need after other Title IV aid has been applied.

None of the money may be used for physical plant, faculty salaries, or any other purpose than student aid. Institutions have been told that they can supplant institutional scholarships (e.g., ACT, leadership, band, athletic, etc.) with Katrina funds if the student meets eligibility requirements.

Moreover, the actual money has not yet come from Washington, yet USM is allegedly making awards. Of course, USM has plenty of folks who're experts with Monopoly money, so what else can you show me?

To clarify another question here, Meredith negotiated with Cochran's office independently, while Stonecypher was working through Governor Barbour's office. Word on the sidewalk is that Haley is very, very unhappy with Meredith at the moment. Another bit of scuttlebutt: When informed of Meredith's trick play, one state senator jokingly (?) suggested simply reducing the IHL budget for FY 2007 by $95 million.

Regarding the beauty colleges & sectarian schools -- by tying the money to Title IV, Meredith included all institutions that can award federal student aid. There's nothing "faith based" about it.