Area schools hoping for more funding from state

Although local school officials would like to see their districts get a state funding increase, they're not holding their breath until something passes through the Legislature.

In his State of the State address last week, Gov. Jay Nixon proposed a $278 million boost for public schools. If the proposal passes, it would get districts halfway to full funding of the state's foundation formula, but the amount each district in the region could get varies -- from just more than $10,000 to about $1.5 million -- according to information from the governor's office.

Cape Girardeau assistant superintendent of administrative services Neil Glass said the foundation formula for funding schools was voted into law in 2005 and enacted in 2006-2007, but districts have yet to see full funding. The formula was drafted to provide "equity and adequacy to all Missouri schools," Glass said.

Should the budget pass in its current form, Cape Girardeau schools would see an additional $1.26 million in fiscal year 2015.

"We would love to see the additional funding," Glass said, " ... but it's a little premature to bank on those dollars at this point in time."

Glass said the district always looks to "enhance the opportunities of our students.

"Every decision we make seems like it has a price attached to it, so obviously we're going to continue with our 1:1 initiative [to get laptop computers into the hands of students]; it'll just make it easier to do so. We're always looking to recruit and retain our best and brightest teachers; that takes money. And benefits are on the rise, so that takes money. ... There's a whole scope of things out there that cost money and ... the extra money that the governor proposes will help with that. But when you simplify it, $1.2 million on a $51 million budget is only 2 percent, so in the whole scheme of things, it's not a huge windfall," he said.

Since the advent of the funding formula, Glass said, districts have had to use a larger portion of local tax dollars to get along. According to what he's heard and read from the governor, Glass said the proposed K-12 funding would be part of a two-year plan.

"The first year gets us halfway [toward full funding], and the second year, I assume, gets us the rest of the way into 100 percent fully funded," Glass said.

With the funding bump, the Jackson School District would get an additional $1.57 million, according to information from the governor's office. Wade Bartels, associate superintendent for finance and business operations, said the district's current budget, without construction expenses for its new elementary school, is about $43 million.

The additional funds could go toward enhancing technology for students. But it's early in the budget process, so Bartels isn't planning on the money -- although that doesn't stop officials from hoping.

"There's a process to it, and this is just the first step in the process of getting a budget approved for the state and education," Bartels said. "We follow the Legislature very [closely] and try to make sure we understand the direction discussions are going.

Diann Ulmer, superintendent of the Scott City School District, said in an email to the Southeast Missourian her district could receive an additional $306,336.

"Our estimated revenue for the current fiscal year [are] $8,322,435 with anticipated expenditures of $8,937,914," Ulmer wrote. "These numbers include budgeted information with regard to our anticipated construction of the FEMA Safe Room, which is why the expenditures are higher than revenue."

Scott City hoped to build a performing arts theater/Federal Emergency Management Agency safe room, but those plans were put on hold when the estimated expense came in. At this point, Ulmer said, the additional funds are not earmarked for anything.

"We have not had any formal discussion about what the district would do with the additional funds as this is a recommendation. The numbers we are being provided are projections only, and the budget has not passed. It is our practice to hold a budget hearing in April to discuss projections in revenue and expenditures for the next fiscal year," Ulmer said. "We certainly appreciate the governor's dedication to public schools and his recommendation for the increase in funding. We hope the legislature will support his recommendation."

Rep. Steve Cookson, R-Poplar Bluff, chairman of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, noted the Legislature has always increased education funding, or in one instance kept it flat. "This was at a time when all other agencies were being cut," he said.

He said he thinks there will be additional funding for education this year, but he anticipates it will be less than proposed.

"So I'm telling superintendents and [entities] around the state that the budget chair has done a mock-up of, if we follow the governor's plan and give $278 million toward the formula, that this is how much each district would be getting," Cookson said. "I told them, 'Don't go spending that money just yet.'"

Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, said the "buck stops with the budget committee as far as what will be coming to us on the floor."

"I don't anticipate that what he's asking for is going to happen, but I don't know to what degree. ... We've had a lot of schools and education representatives indicate the commitment that was made in 2005 that the legislature committed to fully funding the formula," Swan said. "They quite frequently mention we're not there yet. They feel that commitment was made [and] they continue to try to press for it to be fully funded."

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

614 E. Adams St., Jackson, Mo.

3000 Main, Scott City, Mo.