COLUMBIA, Mo. — Seven superintendents representing mid-Missouri school districts on Friday called on Gov. Mike Parson to veto a massive education bill over a provision allowing independent charter schools in Boone County.
The superintendents predicted the law wouldn’t survive a court challenge, saying it impermissibly targets Boone County without providing a “rational basis†— the standard the Missouri Supreme Court has set to apply a law to a specific community.
“We urge you to avoid the unnecessary division and cost of potential litigation,†the superintendents said. “Support our public school districts and the families in our communities by vetoing†the legislation, Senate Bill 727.
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Supporters of the bill on Parson’s desk — which he is expected to act on by Wednesday — were quick to respond to the last-minute broadside.
A veto by Parson would collapse the negotiated in the Senate. It contains priorities for school choice supporters and traditional public school advocates, including a statewide expansion of the MOScholars voucher program and higher minimum teacher salaries that will increase with inflation.
“I fully expect Governor Parson to sign SB 727 and I am excited about the new choices and opportunities that will exist for parents and kids in Columbia when he does,†said Senate President Caleb Rowden, a Columbia Republican and chief supporter of the Boone County charter expansion.
“Maybe an attempt by them to prevent teacher pay raises and more money for public schools?†Jean Evans, lobbyist for the pro-school choice American Federation for Children, asked in a text message.
If the law is challenged, courts may decide to only kill the charter school expansion if it is deemed unconstitutional, from the rest of the law.
“There are concerns about the specific details of multiple provisions included in the legislation that have been voiced by many across the state,†Michelle Baumstark, spokeswoman for Columbia Public Schools, said in response to a question about severability.
The superintendents mentioned represent Boone County districts and districts whose boundaries cross into the county: Columbia Public Schools, the Hallsville School District, the Southern Boone School District, the Sturgeon School District, the Harrisburg School District, the Fayette School District and the North Callaway School District.
Rowden has said that post-COVID, more people than he can count have told him they are “fed up†with the Columbia Public Schools.
Parson, for his part, was still reviewing the legislation on Friday, according to spokesman Johnathan Shiflett.
The superintendents say the charter expansion would drain resources from school districts in Boone County.
The state contributes funds to charter schools operating in other parts of the state such as St. Louis and Kansas City. But the superintendents say the bill “requires our school districts in Boone County to absorb the entire impact of financial aid to a charter school.â€
“Our school districts include a tremendous range in student size and local revenue,†the superintendents said. “The opening of a charter school and the depletion of state and local funds from our urban and rural districts will have a devastating effect on some of our continued ability to operate.â€
The superintendents also say that Boone County, at 184,043 residents, is the 8th most populous Missouri county and that “targeting Boone County for more charter schools skips over and ignores other counties with higher population and higher density.â€
The district leaders said the charter expansion “affects a perplexing and arbitrary collection of eight different school districts, ranging in size from 600 to 19,000 students in both urban and rural settings.â€
State law charters in St. Louis, Kansas City and in districts that are unaccredited or provisionally accredited, the letter notes.
“None of the eight school districts inside of Boone County has ever been unaccredited, provisionally accredited, or at risk for loss of accreditation,†the letter says. The superintendent for the eighth district, the Centralia School District, didn’t sign the letter.
The charter school provision isn’t the only controversial provision in the massive bill, which a nonpartisan fiscal analysis predicted would cost over $450 million per year once fully implemented in 2031.
Another provision expands availability of the MOScholars voucher program statewide, doing away with geographic restrictions placed on the original program in 2021 as a concession to rural lawmakers. The program provides scholarships for students that can be used for private school education.
The program doesn’t receive a direct state appropriation. Individuals make contributions to the organizations that distribute the scholarship and then receive a tax credit.
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.
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, who is running for governor, said that while the voucher expansion was “essentially guaranteed†the “promises to public schools depend on additional funding the state isn’t expected to have and future lawmakers aren’t required to provide.â€
Two-dozen House Republicans broke with the majority of their party on the vote to send the bill to Parson. It passed the House with the minimum level of support necessary, 82 votes, with three Democrats voting for it.
The legislation is Sena