COLUMBIA, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon criticized SB 586, currently in the House, which he said would harm public education in the state by cutting the foundation formula.
“As Governor, I’ve increased the amount we’re investing annually in the formula by $400 million, and with our economy moving forward and revenues up, now is not the time to back up on our commitment to fully funding our public schools,” he said Friday. “Cutting back on the K-12 formula is the wrong policy at the wrong time, and it flies in the face of the message we’re trying to send our kids: that in a global economy we must continue to raise the bar, so they can be prepared for whatever the future brings.”
According to the Department of Legislative Research, the bill could open the ground for non-public schools to receive more state funds.
“DESE assumes §163.018 will have an undetermined increase in cost to the formula by the inclusion of charter schools in the schools that can count preschool children in the Average Daily Attendance for state aid purposes. The potential cost could exceed $1 million,” the bill’s fiscal note reads.
In addition to adding charter schools to early education funding, the bill modifies the definition of “current operating expenditures” by removing the 2010 expiration date on the 5% per calculation cap on the growth of current operating expenditures. It also modifies the definition of “state adequacy target”.
Nixon also called for full funding of the foundation formula at the $85 million increase he has in his FY 2017 budget. The Senate has a different increase, with Sen. Eric Schmitt saying on his podcast Thursday that the Senate has found $71 million for the foundation formula.
“We were able to provide a $71 million increase for state foundation formula for education for K through 12,” he said. “We’re spending more money on education than we ever have. It accounts for about almost fifty percent of the money that we have to spend.”
Nixon says legislators supporting SB 586 are bending to special interests.
“It’s no accident that the legislators who are supporting this bill are some of the same folks who are also supporting more budget-busting tax breaks for special interests. They tell public schools to lower their horizons. But for their special interest friends – the sky’s the limit,” he said.
SB 586 passed the House Select Committee on Education Thursday and is now on the House calendar awaiting third reading.
