School officials plan for increase in state funding

Public schools statewide should be getting more state money this year than they have in recent memory, something local school districts are pleased with. But the effect of Senate Bill 509, tax-cut legislation passed by the Missouri General Assembly, leaves officials uncertain.

Brett Ghan, chief communications officer for the Missouri School Boards' Association, said in an email to the Southeast Missourian that SB 509 does not become effective until 2017, so it will not affect school funding for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The Senate communications office said House and Senate conferees are still discussing how much to fund the education formula, but the amount that has been bandied about is $115 million.

"Our concern with Senate Bill 509 is that it will have a long-term negative impact on the ability of the state to fund K-12 education and other essential services. Keep in mind the $115 million increase still falls well short of fully funding the formula at the levels established by the Legislature itself," he wrote.

Voted into law in 2005 and enacted in 2006-2007, the foundation formula for funding schools was drafted to provide equity and adequacy to all Missouri schools, but districts have not yet seen full funding.

Senate Bill 509 gradually reduces individual state income tax rates from 6 percent to 5.5 percent and phases in a 25 percent deduction on business income earned by individuals. It also would require tax brackets to be adjusted annually for inflation. The House and Senate voted to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of the bill Tuesday, with all the Cape Girardeau area senators and representatives voting "yes."

The General Assembly must submit a budget to Nixon by Friday and the governor then has until June 30, the end of the fiscal year, to sign or veto the various portions of the budget, Nixon's press secretary Scott Holste said in an email to the Southeast Missourian.

While Cape Girardeau School District superintendent James Welker is concerned about the effect of SB 509 in future years and whether the state will have enough revenue at some point to fully fund the funding formula, he's pleased lawmakers increased the formula this year.

" ... We appreciate the fact that they've at least taken a step toward increasing funding for the formula, but still concerned about whether they'll have enough revenue to fully fund the formula in the future," Welker said.

Welker said the formula is about "$600 million or more" underfunded. When the current funding formula was developed in 2005, Welker said, it was supposed to take care of equity and adequacy issues across the state.

As for what the district might do with added funds, Welker said officials will continue to look at priorities such as technology and salaries and benefits, which make up the largest portion of the district's budget, which is currently about $51 million.

The Cape Girardeau district's goal is to continue increasing the base on its salary schedule and make it competitive for its approximately 400 teachers. Then there also are increased costs for benefits such as health insurance.

"So there's lots of different things that make up the budget. We're in the middle of trying to develop that now to present to the board for the June meeting," Welker said.

Jackson's current budget, without construction expenses for its new elementary school, is about $43 million. Wade Bartels, associate superintendent for finance and business operations, said the district is "optimistically cautious" about the financial situation.

However, the legislative session continues and it will be a month or month and a half before the district has more information. Bartels said the district is working on its budget, but has not made any definitive decisions about it. The legislative session ends May 16.

"We're always optimistic and we're working with the best projections that we have right now," Bartels said.

In Scott City, superintendent Diann Ulmer said it's kind of hard to say what the potential funding increase this year and the tax cut will mean when it takes effect. Her general operating budget this year is $7.4 million.

How much more the district gets in state funding depends on a variety of things, so it could range from $80,000 all the way up to $140,000, but Ulmer said that's just a guess.

Normally, she said, she waits until the Legislature adopts a budget. Not long after that, the district starts getting information on the best estimate of state allocations and puts a budget forward in June. Ulmer said she's usually conservative in her budget. The budget is amended quarterly by the school board.

In an email to the Southeast Missourian last week, Ulmer said she doesn't anticipate having to postpone any expected expenditures planned during this budget year. "If extra money does become available from the state, we would most likely look to purchasing more technology (update computer labs, classroom projectors, etc.) for the district in preparation for next school year," Ulmer wrote.

Asked about frustrations, fears and joys related to the budget, Ulmer said these feelings all exist at any given time. "The frustrations or fears come from the uncertainty every year with the state funding formula. With the failure of it being fully funded year after year, there is disappointment in knowing how much money our district doesn't receive that could be used to help our students (around $215,000 this school year alone)," Ulmer wrote.

State Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, said ultimately the tax cut bill will mean more funding for education and triggers and safeguards in the bill will protect education and other state programs. No reduction would go into effect unless the net general revenue collected in the previous fiscal year increased by at least $150 million.

After the bill is fully implemented, Swan said, it would bring in more money than it would cost the state.

Swan said the philosophy behind the bill is spurring the economy, especially small businesses, of which the state has 130,000. "We've heard from small business that we have to have this or we won't be able to stay in business," Swan said.

" ... I think it's promising for our small businesses, for individuals to help them keep more money in their pocket and with the safeguard triggers that are on there, it ensures we don't hurt the state" before more of the bill is phased in, she said. "Our motivation is not to cut programs, particularly education. It's to promote [and] improve the economy, increase jobs" and increase individual income, she said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639