Missouri schools, state power and a fight over who decides

By Jason Hancock | Editor-in-Chief

Good morning,

Missouri education politics took a familiar turn Tuesday — decisions moving up the chain as local officials argue they’re being asked to live with choices they didn’t make.

The state education board signed off on a charter school in Columbia opposed by the local district, even as one board member questioned whether the community ever really wanted it. Meanwhile, lawmakers weighing how to raise reading scores ran into a different version of the same argument, with school leaders warning that a one-size-fits-all mandate could undercut work already underway.

In both debates, the question wasn’t just what might improve schools. It was who gets to decide.

Now, on to today’s headlines.

by Annelise Hanshaw

State officials said the application met the law’s requirements, but the vote still exposed a deeper fight over local control, taxpayer accountability and how charter expansion reached Boone County in the first place.

by Annelise Hanshaw

Supporters call mandatory retention a necessary intervention; educators told senators it would reduce parental discretion and hinge a high-stakes decision on a single reading score.

by Rudi Keller

A surge of tax refunds tied to Missouri’s capital gains tax cut pushed general revenue collections below last year’s pace, as the Senate Appropriations Committee worked on Tuesday to finalize the state budget for the coming year.

by Daniel Schramm

If I had to guess, I suspect the executive order will be struck down. But it is likely to be a bit closer than I expected. I could see five to seven justices voting to strike down the order. We’ll see what happens.

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