The Kentucky House has voted 81 to seven in favor of legislation providing a $23 million dollar loan to Kentucky State University. Proponents say the measure is intended to assist KSU in dealing with a significant shortfall. Bill Sponsor GOP Representative James Tipton said the money problems happened over time by adding personnel and increasing salaries.
“I’m not saying that that was a bad thing. I’m not saying that was a situation that may not have been needed. However, it was outside the financial ability of KSU at that time,” said Tipton.
Frankfort Democratic Representative Derrick Graham, an alumnus of KSU, noted the historically black university has had a positive impact on millions of lives.
Lexington Democratic Representative George Brown spoke on the floor about underfunding when it comes to the federal match for historically black colleges and universities. Brown was told federal funding at the land grant school has been at the appropriate level since 2010.
“I would hope that if there are funds that have not been appropriate beyond 2010, that we go back and recover those,” noted Brown.
Brown cited situations in Maryland and Tennessee where historically black colleges and universities were underfunded by hundreds of millions of dollars.
The bill heads over to the Senate.
