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ATTEMPTED VOUCHER DEAL FALLS THROUGH; EXPECT OPEN
ENROLLMENT
Some lobbyists have been reporting that the tuition tax-credit
voucher bill was being “greased” to pass the House.
Last year’s version of the bill was sponsored by Rep.
Carl Bearden of St. Charles (House Bill 1783).
Apparently,
Rep. Bearden sought to offer a deal to Missouri NEA and the
other education groups. If the education groups silence their
opposition to the tuition tax credit voucher bill on the House
side and in Senate committee, he would allow the joint resolution
on school district bonding capacity (allowing districts to
go into more debt to buy buildings) to pass this year. Missouri
NEA said “no,” and the other groups did the same.
Missouri NEA believes that great public schools are a basic
right for every child. Thus, the Association continues to
strongly oppose tax-credit vouchers, since they do nothing
to support public schools and, worse, actually diminish the
state’s capacity to support proven programs to close
achievement gaps and help students succeed, including early
childhood education, after school programs and summer school.
Without
that improbable deal in place, the House leadership will likely
try to bring not only a tuition tax credit voucher bill to
the floor, but also, some version of a public school open
enrollment bill. Last year’s version of the open public
school enrollment bill was sponsored by Rep. Steve Hunter
from Joplin (H.B. 1939). The Association remains concerned
that such a bill may have a punitive effect on certain districts
and does nothing to support public schools across the state.
HOUSE
RULES AND COMMITTEES
The House debated and adopted House Committee Substitute/House
Resolution 15 establishing House rules. The HCS makes changes
in the designation of committees as “standing”
or “special.” Under the HCS, only 23 of the 48
committees will be standing committees and the remainder will
be special committees. The Elementary and Secondary Education
and Higher Education Committees will remain standing committees,
while the Retirement Committee will be a special committee.
Much attention
was paid to the rules pertaining to standing and special committees,
including the issue of proportional representation of minority
party members on committees and the issue of giving the speaker
the ability to appoint minority members directly to special
committees, rather than merely exercising veto power over
members proposed by the minority floor leader, as has been
the long standing practice in the House.
Complete
House committee rosters have still not been released, but
may be released later Thursday afternoon.
| Education-related
House committee chairs will include: |
|
Appropriations–Education |
Kathlyn
Fares |
| Budget |
Allan Icet |
| Elementary
and Secondary Education |
Jane
Cunningham |
| Higher
Education |
Gayle
Kingery |
| Retirement |
Maynard Wallace |
| Student
Achievement |
Scott Muschany |
| Urban
Affairs |
Rodney
Hubbard |
SENATE
EDUCATION COMMITTEE
The Senate Education Committee will meet on Wednesday, Jan.
24, to hear the following bills:
- Senate
Bill 6 (John Loudon) establishes the "Safe Schools
Fund" and allows school districts to use the money
for a variety of safety-related expenses. Beginning in 2009,
the bill requires $9 million in “Safe Schools Funds”
to be distributed to all districts on a per pupil basis.
The funds may be used on a variety of safety-related expenses.
While just a small step, the Association appreciates this
effort to improve adequacy of funding for Missouri’s
public schools.
- Senate
Bill 29 (Gary Nodler) grants additional authority to the
Coordinating Board for Higher Education. The bill requires
institutions of higher education to agree to binding dispute
resolution for jurisdictional disputes between institutions.
Missouri NEA supports strengthening the CBHE and believes
this bill creates a good model for school districts as well.
The Association would support an amendment or companion
bill providing authority for bargaining rights for higher
education and K-12 school employees with binding dispute
resolution, if the district and employees can’t reach
a final agreement.
- Senate
Bill 64 (Jack Goodman) establishes new limits on school
term starting dates. The bill requires the State Board of
Education to establish a range of dates when school districts
may begin their regular school term. The range may extend
no earlier than ten days before Labor Day. Districts may
start up to seven days earlier than the earliest date set
by the state board, after holding a public hearing on the
proposed date. Missouri NEA continues to oppose state mandates
and restrictions regarding school starting dates as unnecessary
infringement on local control of schools.
- Senate
Bill 106 (Chuck Graham) to voting student members to the
governing boards of the University of Missouri, Missouri
State University and Truman State University.
CAPITOL
ACTION DAYS
MNEA’s Capitol Action Days offer a chance to educate
legislators about public education issues. Capitol Action
Days will be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays starting with the
first week in February and continuing through the first week
of May. Your MNEA calendar includes the dates the MNEA Board
of Directors selected for your governance district. If you
are not able to attend on these designated days, feel free
to contact Otto Fajen (otto.fajen@mnea.org)
to arrange to attend a different Capitol Action Day. Each
Capitol Action Day will start with a briefing at 10:00 a.m.
to provide you with the most up-to-date information.
PLAN TO ATTEND YOUR MNEA LEGISLATIVE BRUNCH!
Legislative involvement is close to home at your MNEA Legislative
Brunch. The brunch is a great opportunity to visit with local
area legislators and hear a legislative briefing. A new legislative
dinner was held this year in Moberly on January 11. The Association
thanks the local leaders and staff who stepped up and made
this new event a success!
Area legislative
brunch schedule:
Kansas City – Jan. 27, 2007
St. Louis – Feb. 10, 2007
Jefferson County – Feb. 24, 2007
St. Charles – Mar. 3, 2007
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