Gov. Blunt deceives Missourians
with school funding fallacies
At initial implementation of Gov. Matt Blunt’s new
foundation formula, Missouri’s public schools will fall
roughly $800 million short of full funding under the formula
he just phased out. An adequacy study commissioned in 2001
indicates the shortfall in funding may be as large as $1.5
billion. These figures fly in the face of Gov. Blunt’s
State of the State address last evening when he claimed full
funding of the foundation formula and a financial utopia for
Missouri’s public schools.
“Anyone who heard the governor’s State of the
State address Wednesday night and is not up to speed on Missouri’s
school funding issues would be feeling a false sense of security
with the state of funding in Missouri schools. The governor’s
comments were overwhelmingly optimistic while they abandoned
financial truths,” says Greg Jung, president of the
Missouri National Education Association and a fifth-grade
teacher in the Ritenour School District. “Gov. Blunt’s
claim that public education in Missouri is fully funded is
outrageous and irresponsible, and it does not reflect the
necessary commitment to Missouri’s children and public
schools.”
In his speech, Blunt more than once claimed public education
as his highest budget priority. Yet, his new formula provides
about $800 million less next year than the old formula would
have provided at full funding.
In addition to the $1.5 billion shortage in funding for
public schools, Blunt’s plan offers no hope for improving
Missouri’s ranking as 45th in the nation for teacher
salaries. The governor, however, says he believes teachers
deserve higher pay. The 2003-04 average Missouri teacher salary
of $38,006 falls more than $8,700 below the national average,
according to Rankings and Estimates: Rankings of the States
2004 and Estimates of School Statistics 2005.
The 33,000-member MNEA represents teachers, education support
professionals, students studying to be teachers and those
retired from teaching in public schools and on college campuses
across the state. It is the Missouri affiliate of the 2.7
million-member NEA, the largest education organization in
the nation.
For further information:
Debra Angstead
Missouri NEA Communications Director
573-634-3202
January 13, 2006
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