MSTA Action: Jan. 12, 2024

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MSTA Action: Jan. 12, 2024

In this week's Action:

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education FY 2025 Budget Requests

State budget experts have established the Consensus Revenue Estimate (CRE) for Fiscal Year 2025, which plays a crucial role in helping the Governor and legislative leaders to build and balance Missouri's budget. The projected general revenue collections for FY 2025 are expected to be around $13.16 billion, reflecting a modest growth of 0.2% over FY 2024. With minimal growth expected for the next fiscal year, the budgeting process is expected to look much different than other years post-pandemic. With significant one-time federal funding dramatically increasing the level of spending, there will be some tough decisions that will need to be made this year by the Missouri Legislature.  

Every two years, DESE is required by state law to recalculate the State Adequacy Target (SAT) to be used in determining any increase in the foundation formula. The implementation of MSIP 6 by DESE dramatically changed the number and makeup of districts scoring above 90% on their Annual Performance Report. This change reflected a different picture of district performance and those districts that scored at the highest levels, predictably, saw higher levels of spending and lower percentages of poverty. This means that the SAT will increase from $6,375 to $6,760 in FY 2025, requiring an additional $120.6 million to fully fund the formula. This recalculation is in accordance with current state law and is an important factor of the equation to ensure schools are lawfully funded. 

In addition to the increase requested for the formula, the Department has requested an additional $14.1 million to ensure the transportation formula is fully funded as it has been the past two years. 

DESE’s budget request also includes funds targeted directly toward teacher recruitment and retention and teacher professional development. 

Baseline Salary Grant: $23.8 million to assist all schools in raising the minimum teacher salary to $38,000 for all teachers.  
Career Ladder: $74.9 million to extend the Career Ladder program into a third year after last being funded in FY 2010. This is an increase of $5.6 million to account for increased requests from districts and overall growth in the program. 
Literacy Coaches: $5.1 million for literacy coaches at the RPDCs to support development and implementation of effective instructional methods, assessments and activities in literacy through LETRS training. 
Math Coaches: $3.7 million for math consultants at the RPDCs to provide educators with support in the development and implementation of effective instructional methods, assessments and activities to improve academic performance in mathematics. 
Grow Your Own: $2.5 million to provide grants to school districts, community colleges and universities for the continued development and implementation of GYO programs in all kinds of school communities across the state. 
Teacher Recruitment and Retention Scholarship: $800,000 in scholarships for students who pledge to work in hard to staff schools or subjects.

Governor Mike Parson will outline his budget priorities during the State of the State Address on January 24^th.

Legislative Committees Hear School Choice Bills

The House and Senate education committees conducted hearings on bills to expand school choice in Missouri, creating massive new government programs that would cost the state of Missouri millions of dollars.

In the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee, MSTA testified in opposition to both SB729 and SB727 based on MSTA Adopted Resolutions which oppose legislation that would give tax credits for scholarships, tuition or vouchers to private schools or voucher plans that would divert public funds to pay for private school tuition.

SB729 (Koenig) would create a massive new voucher program that would authorize a taxpayer to claim a tax credit in an amount equal to the state adequacy target, a component of the school foundation formula. The state adequacy target is set on a school year basis by the General Assembly. Over the past several years, the legislature has frozen that number at $6,375. Tax credits authorized by the bill would not be transferred, sold or assigned, but would be refundable. If an individual’s tax liability is below the credit amount, they would still receive a paid benefit from state general revenue.

The fiscal note, which estimates the financial impact of the program, states that the bill would cost between $877 million and $1.5 billion dollars each year. The program would be funded in part by taking money directly from Proposition C, a sales tax that was approved by a statewide vote in 1982 for the exclusive use of public schools.

The legislation has no sunset and, since it is a tax credit, would not be appropriated by the legislature, but would be funded regardless of the condition of the state budget.

SB727 (Koenig) would modify Missouri’s current MoScholars voucher program, expanding from $50 million to $75 million. It would then increase by a percentage tied to increases of the appropriated amount for the K-12 student transportation reimbursement.

SB727 would expand the voucher amount for students with an individualized education plan (IEP), limited English proficiency or who receive free/reduced-price lunch. Students with limited English proficiency would receive 160% of the state adequacy target, those who receive free or reduced-price lunch would receive 125% of the state adequacy target, and students with an IEP would receive 175% of the state adequacy target.

The bill would also expand the program's eligibility to include any student who is a resident of Missouri, rather than only students who live in a charter county or a city with at least 30,000 inhabitants. The income limit of the current voucher program would also be expanded to include any student whose household’s total annual income is 400% or less than the income standard used to qualify for free and reduced-price lunch - as opposed to the previous standard of 200% or less. Under this new threshold, the maximum family salary for a family of four that would be eligible for the program would be $220,000.

Rep. Brad Pollitt, the chair of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, presented HB1989. The bill would create a framework for open enrollment of public school students throughout Missouri, allowing students to enroll in nonresident public schools. The legislation claims to create a “voluntary” system, yet it is only voluntary as to whether a district will accept students. If a transfer student decides at any time to return to the resident district, the resident district is again responsible for the education of that student.   

Open enrollment would negatively impact teachers across the state, leading to school closings and district consolidation, limiting the ability of students to receive an education in their local community. MSTA’s other concerns regarding the legislation include financial implications and an anti-collaboration effect that would pit districts against each other. HB1989 is substantially similar to HB253, which failed to pass last session.

MSTA opposes open enrollment based on MSTA Adopted Resolutions, with the following concerns:   

School Consolidation: Open enrollment will lead to school consolidation. This legislation could leave districts unable to support all students in the community. Students remaining in consolidated community schools will be forced to endure longer bus rides, while districts that remain open will struggle to maintain the educational programs already offered such as FFA, choir, band and athletics. In many Missouri communities, these tough decisions have already been made due to lack of funding and increased difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff.  

Special Education: This legislation allows districts to deny students based on special education status if the transfer district determines they cannot meet the special education student’s needs, allowing districts to discriminate against special needs students.   

Costs: The bill would create an $80 million “Parent Public School Choice Fund” to pay for transportation services for transfer students that are already provided to resident students. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education estimates that, in order to run the program, they would need to spend almost $500,000 to create a student portal. $80.5 million would make a more meaningful impact for students across the state if put toward addressing Missouri’s low teacher salaries and other recruitment and retention efforts.

Financial Implications/Anti-Collaboration: Open enrollment will pit schools against one another to compete for students and the funding associated with them. Funding that would normally go toward student learning would be spent on recruiting students and competing with neighboring districts. This creates competition for the sake of competition; districts that are not in the same situation will be forced to devote time and already limited resources to recruiting students, while still attempting to provide a quality education to all remaining students.   

Increased State Influence: It will be mandated that schools adopt a model policy developed by DESE or “another entity skilled in policy development” to determine the number of transfers available. This policy must be adopted by schools, even if they decide not to participate in the open enrollment program.   

MSTA Adopted Resolutions support each local school district developing a written policy for transfer and assignment of students within a district and to any other school district. MSTA opposes legislative actions involving the concept of inter-district choice and open enrollment.  

Open enrollment will again be one of the first issues that will be brought up on the floor of the House. The vote on open enrollment has always been close and every vote will matter on this issue. It is important for MSTA members to ask their State Representatives to oppose HB1989.