Gov. Jay Nixon said an idea first floated by his office to help balance the state budget by tapping the reserves of Missouri State University and four other public colleges is now "off the table."

Nixon's office presented the idea a few weeks ago as a way to prevent cuts to higher education funding, but the idea proved unpopular with lawmakers and some university officials. A budget deficit of up to $500 million may make cuts inevitable, forcing university officials to find new ways to make up for the lost money.

"Clearly, it's going to mean cuts in K-12 and higher education," said Rep. Sara Lampe, D-Springfield.

In total, the five universities would have been asked to kick in $106 million. Missouri State's portion was $13.7 million. The University of Missouri system, Truman State University, Southeast Missouri State University and University of Central Missouri would contribute the rest. The reserves would be repaid over a period of several years by the state's student loan authority.

The plan had little support from lawmakers at the opening of the new legislative session on Wednesday. House Speaker Steven Tilley, for example, vowed that lawmakers "will not balance our budget by asking our state colleges and universities for a bailout."