State Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, will answer questions during a town hall-style meeting on the state budget and the thorny issue of consolidating universities in Mississippi, Flaggs said this morning.

If you go

Rep. George Flaggs’ town hall-style meeting on proposals for the state budget will be at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 22 at LD’s Kitchen, 1111 Mulberry St.

“I encourage all alumni of historically black colleges and universities to attend,” Flaggs said of the gathering, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Dec. 22 at LD’s Kitchen, 1111 Mulberry St.

Gov. Haley Barbour has proposed merging some of the state’s four-year institutions of higher learning as a cost-cutting measure. One proposal would merge Alcorn State University in Lorman and Mississippi Valley State in Itta Bena under Jackson State University. Another would place Mississippi University for Women under Mississippi State University. Barbour has said the moves would save the state about $35 million in the state’s $5.5 billion spending plan for 2010.

Flaggs has said the option must be explored, offering no firm position on how he would vote on the matter in next year’s session. Flaggs said he would answer “any and all questions” regarding his stance on the proposals.

The 90-day 2010 session of the Mississippi Legislature begins in January, and the next fiscal year begins July 1.

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Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com