A group of attorneys plans to ask Georgia officials to address an estimated $603 million funding gap at Fort Valley State University, arguing the state failed for decades to fund the historically Black land-grant university on par with the University of Georgia. The 1890 Project, which is pursuing a separate funding case against Missouri, says it will begin discussions with Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr this month. The group hopes the state will include money for Fort Valley State in its next legislative budget, potentially through payments spread over a short period rather than a single lump sum. The $603 million estimate comes from a 2023 federal analysis of state funding from 1987 to 2020. Federal officials calculated that Georgia’s per-student funding for Fort Valley State fell $603,156,480 short of the amount needed for parity with the University of Georgia. The figure is an estimate of the gap, not a court-ordered payment. The analysis said the shortfall limited the university’s ability to improve infrastructure and student services and compete for research grants. Fort Valley State, located about 30 miles south of Macon, had 3,177 students in 2025 and a fiscal 2027 budget of about $154.1 million. “The harms alleged are not historical abstractions,” the Missouri lawsuit states, describing the alleged effects on plaintiffs as personal and continuing. That case, filed in federal court in Missouri, argues the state violated federal law and the Constitution by funding Lincoln University at a lower level than the University of Missouri. The lawsuit says Lincoln was shorted $361 million over three decades and seeks roughly $549 million with interest. Don Calloway, an attorney with The 1890 Project, said underfunding has affected Fort Valley State alumni as well as the school, limiting educational opportunities and graduates’ ability to compete for higher-paying jobs. He said litigation is a last resort and that the group would prefer to negotiate with Georgia. Fort Valley State is one of 19 historically Black universities established as land-grant institutions under the Morrill Act of 1890. The law required states to admit Black students to existing land-grant universities or create separate institutions for them. Georgia established Fort Valley State, with federal policy calling for funding parity with the state’s other land-grant university, the University of Georgia. In 2023, a separate lawsuit alleged Georgia underfunded Fort Valley State, Albany State University and Savannah State University. The plaintiffs agreed to dismiss that case in July 2024. The Georgia attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The 1890 Project says it expects a receptive audience from state officials, but no agreement or funding commitment has been announced.