House OKs public school funding bill

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state wouldn't have to find as much money to meet lawmakers' promises for funding public schools next year under legislation given initial House approval Thursday.

Rep. Chuck Graham's proposal would reduce the expected increase in education funding for fiscal 2003 to $175 million from $220 million.

But schools wouldn't lose any money in the long run, said Graham, D-Columbia. Instead, schools would get more money than expected in fiscal 2004.

Most of Missouri's 524 public school districts get state money based on a formula that, among other things, calculates the assessed property values across the state.

In odd fiscal years, the education formula typically calls for more money than in even years.

That's because the formula is based on the assessment records of the third preceding year -- an even-numbered year in which assessed values rose.