Missouri school funding reality check

By Jason Hancock | Editor-in-Chief

Good morning,

Missouri is trying to answer three big questions about public schools at the same time. How should we judge them? How should we pay for them? And how much is the state actually willing to spend?

This week, those questions collided.

The State Board of Education slowed down a new A-through-F grading system after school administrators warned the state was moving too fast and risked publishing ratings built on flawed or misunderstood data.

At the same time, a task force spent 15 months rethinking Missouri’s school funding formula and is nearing recommendations that could add more than $600 million to its cost.

And then came the reality check.

The state board declined Tuesday to request roughly $300 million needed to fully fund the formula next year, choosing instead to hold state aid flat as Missouri prepares for tighter budgets.

Taken together, the stories reveal the tension shaping education policy in Jefferson City: Officials are trying to build a more ambitious system for measuring schools and a more modern system for funding them while confronting the possibility that the state may not be willing — or able — to pay for what its current system already requires.

Annelise Hanshaw has all three stories.

by Annelise Hanshaw

After a stalemate, the board voted to keep its foundation formula request flat despite rising costs under state law.

by Annelise Hanshaw

The state’s education department slowed down its implementation of a rating system for public schools following concerns from school administrators.

by Annelise Hanshaw

Proposed changes could add more than $600 million to the formula with options that could be scaled back to fit tighter state budgets.

by Author Name

In a pair of unanimous decisions, the Missouri Supreme Court rejected the reasons given by Secretary of State Denny Hoskins for his refusal to approve two petitions.

Thanks for reading The Daily Independent. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.