Missouri budget negotiators agree to spend $50 million on private school scholarship program
After a sharp, brief fight in which Democrats were outnumbered by majority Republicans, Missouri legislative budget negotiators agreed Thursday to spend $50 million to expand the MOScholars program that helps pay tuition at private and parochial schools.
The general revenue support would be the first time state tax dollars have been appropriated directly to the program begun in 2021. The line item, a major part of Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe's budget proposal, found favor in the Missouri House but was rejected by the state Senate when it passed spending bills last week.
The item was one of the last to be reached as budget negotiators worked through 13 spending bills paying for state operations in the coming year. All 13 bills, as well as three capital improvements bills awaiting a vote in the state Senate, must be passed by the 6 p.m. Friday constitutional deadline.
Official figures were not yet available, but tracking by The Independent shows lawmakers intend to spend $53.5 billion in the coming fiscal year.
Lawmakers negotiating Missouri budget add $300M to public schools spending
State Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Kansas City Democrat, said she objects to providing tax money for the tuition program because the state doesn't prevent parents from using the scholarships to send their children to schools that are selective for academic achievement or religious beliefs.
'This is fiscally irresponsible, and quite frankly I think it's shameful to put $50 million into funds that can directly discriminate against the students they are supposed to be serving,' she said.
The program provides stipends equal to the State Adequacy Target, the figure that drives how much money is needed for the school foundation formula, the basic aid program for public schools. Families with incomes 300% of the federal poverty guideline or less — $173,000 a year for a family of four — can apply for the aid.
Republicans argue the direct appropriation is legal and needed to expand access to the program, which was set up to be funded by donations secured by tax credits for donors.
'This was one that was very important to the House and we passed it out very strongly,' said House Budget Committee Chairman Dirk Deaton, a Republican from Noel.
The budget negotiating committees are 10 members, five from each chamber made up of three Republicans and two Democrats. State Rep. Marlene Terry, a St. Louis Democrat, appointed to the negotiation committee over objections of other Democrats because of her support for school choice bills, backed Republicans on the MoScholars funding.
'I believe in education and a good education for all children, whether it be private schools, charter schools, public schools,' Terry said. 'We want our children to get the best education that they can, and we want to give them the help to get it.'
All of the differences, large and small, were reconciled over two days of public budget negotiations. Several big decisions were made Wednesday, including agreement to increase school funding through the foundation formula by $300 million, spend $107 million more on child care supports and to use Kehoe's pay raise plan that rewards longevity in state employment.
The budget overall calls for spending about $210 million less than Kehoe recommended, approximately $1.9 billion more than the House version and $237 million more than the Senate voted for when it passed the budget last week.
The legislative budget calls for spending $16.2 billion of general revenue, money mainly from income and sales taxes. That is $200 million more than Kehoe proposed, $1 billion more than the House spending plan and about $391 million less general revenue than in the Senate budget.
The final budget finds savings over the Senate plan in large part by tapping a pool of almost $500 million in banked federal funds to underwrite the Medicaid program.
The Thursday meeting focused on funding for health, social services and state official and judicial budgets. Some of the decisions finalized Thursday would:
Set aside almost $93 million to pay off a judgment against the state for damages claimed by a vendor who worked on the state's computerized Medicaid enrollment system. A $23 million judgment grew to more than $50 million as the state appealed and interest accrued. The appropriation includes both state and federal funds to allow flexibility in the way the judgment is paid.
Allow more than 300 near earmarked projects — items sought by lawmakers for their district or lobbyists seeking money for clients — with a general revenue cost of $600 million and an overall cost of $750 million.
Cut 25 open employee slots from Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' budget and one from the budget of Lt. Gov. David Wasinger. The cuts were initiated in the Senate, where Hoskins served eight years and sought repeatedly to cut unfilled jobs, while Wasinger won his job after defeating Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Lincoln Hough in a primary last year.
Hoskins had supporters on the negotiating committee but not enough to change the decision. State Sen. Barbara Washington, a Democrat from Kansas City, asked for five of the positions to be restored. And state Rep. Darin Chappell, a Republican from Rogersville, also backed Hoskins.
'I don't mean to belabor what appears to be a dead horse, but I would like to ask us to consider that the new secretary of state may need some time to be able to level out what he actually does need, and maybe a little bit of grace might be appropriate,' Chappell said.
Despite the plea, Deaton made the cut stick.
'This wasn't a House position, but our Senate colleagues are pretty impassioned here,' Deaton said.
After the meeting concluded, Hough said he is not concerned that the budget spends more general revenue than either Kehoe or the House included. The budget grows through the process, he said, as lawmakers seek help for community projects.
'A lot of members from the House and a lot of a lot of interested parties all over the state come banging on the Senate,' Hough said. 'They say, 'why would you leave $2 billion in the bank when we have investments that we'd like to see in our communities?''
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