Miss. financial plan to merge schools

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Proposals to merge some universities or consolidate school districts have grabbed most of the attention since Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour unveiled his budget earlier this week.

Barbour is also proposing several other ways to restructure state government by merging a few smaller agencies into larger ones.

For example, the Department of Banking and Finance would become part of the secretary of state's office under his plan. And the Commission on the Status of Women would be folded into the attorney general's office.

Top lawmakers say they're willing to consider the governor's ideas, but there's no guarantee of how many they'll accept.