Missouri governor signs massive education bill that includes voucher expansion

By St. Louis Post-Dispatch via My Courier-Tribune

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday signed wide-ranging legislation that calls for new public education spending and expanding an education voucher program that pays for private school expenses.

In announcing his decision, Parson, a Republican, emphasized a provision that will increase minimum teacher pay in state statute from $25,000 to $40,000 per year.

“Since the beginning of our administration, we’ve looked at ways to increase teacher pay and reward our educators for the hard work they do, and this legislation helps us continue that progress,” Parson said in a statement Tuesday.

Additional provisions call for more state support for pre-kindergarten, increasing the number of teacher recruitment and retention scholarships, and changing how school aid is calculated so that a school’s enrollment and attendance are factored into the funding formula.

The legislation also doubles an annual small schools grant from $15 million to $30 million, creates an Elementary Literacy Fund of no more than $5 million each year for elementary home-reading programs, and sends bonus state aid to districts maintaining a five-day school week.

“We ask a lot of our educators when it comes to teaching and caring for our children,” he said. “Together, this legislation supports Missouri students, teachers, and families with more educational opportunities to succeed — including additional investments in pre-K — while ensuring our teachers earn a better wage.”

Parson, in the news release, did not mention a controversial addition to the education package that will allow independent charter schools to operate in Boone County, in mid-Missouri.

Local school districts and Democratic legislators representing Boone County called on Parson to veto the bill, criticizing the provision.

Seven mid-Missouri district superintendents in a letter to Parson on Friday said the charter school expansion was unnecessary and would drain resources from Boone County schools.

They also told the governor the law “will not survive” a legal fight.

The bill cleared the House last month with 82 votes, the minimum necessary for final passage. The legislation was originally focused on school choice, but the final product resulted from negotiations in the Senate.

Democrats were critical of the MOScholars voucher program, originally approved in 2021. The program provides scholarships to families that can be used on private school expenses.

The original program contained geographic restrictions as a concession to rural lawmakers. But the expansion Parson signed into law Tuesday takes the program statewide and will raise current household income limits on the program.

The legislation increases the income level to qualify for the MOScholars Empowerment Scholarship Accounts from 200% of the household income limit for free and reduced lunch to 300% — or $166,500 for a family of four.

A nonpartisan fiscal analysis predicts the measure could cost the state’s general coffers more than $450 million annually once fully implemented in fiscal year 2031.

The legislation is Senate Bill 727.