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Governor Jay Nixon was at Ozarks Technical Community College today to announce that the school will receive more than $1 million in grant money through the Training for Tomorrow program. Money for the program comes from federal community development funds. OTC will use the money to expand education programs in healthcare professions, truck driving, and manufacturing. During his stop, Nixon talked about his plan to re-structure state government. KSMU's Missy Shelton reports.

Governor Jay Nixon was at OTC’s Richwood Valley Campus in Ozark today to announce the grant.
During his stop, Nixon talked about the plan he rolled out last week in Springfield to reduce the size of government as part of the budget discussion. The state budget for the next fiscal year needs to be half a billion dollars smaller than originally thought. Today, Nixon explained that his plan is not about hitting that half a billion dollar mark.
 

Nixon says, “It's not just about, can you cut this money. It's can you guarantee that as you come out of that, not only will the budget balance...and I've cut $1.2 billion out of budgets, more than any other governor ever. We'll get to the number but what we're trying to do is engage the legislature and other policymakers to help us re-structure the government.”

Lawmakers are back in Jefferson City today, after being off last week for their annual spring break. The budget is expected to be the dominant issue for the next month and a half of session.

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