The University of Missouri Board of Curators wants the state to make certain capital projects a top priority. They approved the decision last week, to urge the legislature to make a few Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative projects first in line to receive funding in fiscal year 2011.

One of the chosen ones is Ellis Fischel. Members of the board agreed on requesting $31 million for the cancer center.

It was slated to receive $32 million of federal stabilization funds, which was approved by the legislature this year, but Governor Jay Nixon "suspended" the money when he finalized the budget. This means he hasn't vetoed the project, but he's hasn't financed it yet either.

At a press conference this week, Nixon commented on the board's appeal to make Ellis Fischel a priority for the state. The governor says the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, or MOHELA, was supposed to help finance the cancer center's construction. Instead, he says, it was unable to come up with money and missed its bond payments.

"There is no MOHELA money, I mean it doesn't exist."

But State Senator Kurt Schaefer says MOHELA is ancient history, because the Senate approved Ellis Fischel's funding through federal stabilization funds.

"I think the real issue is the governor's veto of the funding that's in the bank right now. I mean that money is in the state's bank account and is not being used for anything else."

Ellis Fischel is under the umbrella of the University of Missouri. Knowing that, Nixon says he'll continue to make education a top priority in the state. Schaeffer says the cancer center should be looked at not only as a subsidiary to the university system, but also as a hospital.

"So it's not just a higher education issue. It's a higher education and a health care issue. And so when you look at the greater value you get for funding that project. And the fact that it's an anchor to a $200 million construction project, you get an economic benefit as well."

Schaeffer says he'll still strongly encourage the governor to release the $31 million dollars.

As for the importance of the board's message to the governor, Schaeffer says it carries some weight, in part because UM System President Gary Forsee and the Board have been sensible in prioritizing capital projects.

Nixon says the state continues to have budget challenges, with the light at the end of the economic tunnel not getting any brighter. © Copyright 2012, KBIA