The clock is ticking for Gov. Mike Kehoe, whose last day is Monday to decide what items will stay and what items will go in the legislature’s $52 billion state budget proposal.
He told Missourinet that residents can expect a conservative approach on the balanced budget.
“Just because we have the money doesn’t mean we need to spend it,” said Kehoe. “I think it’s prudent, I can’t emphasize this enough, for policymakers, including myself, to make sure we’re prepared should the budget gets a little more challenging in the next couple of years, for whatever reason. We’re going to present a budget on Monday afternoon that we feel accomplishes those goals.”
The legislature’s plan would fully fund the formula used to bankroll K-12 public schools.
“It’s a lot different number than what we had proposed,” he told Missourinet. “The average increase in public education for the last 20 years, since the current formula was written, is $87 million. We proposed $200 million, which is almost three times the funding average. The amount that got to our desk is over six times the amount, $500 million.”
Will he back the legislature’s request of $4.2 billion for K-12 public education?
“There’s a lot of challenges in education,” said Kehoe. “They’re trying to work with teachers, salaries and all kinds of issues that have come about. So we’re trying to work through that to make sure that increase of $300 million likely affects some of the other issues that want to get funded. That’s the balance we’re trying to work through and continue to meet what the House and Senate wants to get done and still try and fund some of these other things they have ideas on.”
Kehoe said he’s been watching what’s going on in Washington, D.C. with President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, which could reduce Medicaid funding to states.
“The timing of that bill might not match the timing of when we have to sign off on our budget, so that’s another complicating factor right now going into what we’re doing on the budget. So we’re going try to balance that and try to take some actions to make sure we understand what that bill, if and when it gets passed in D.C. happens,” said Kehoe.
He wants Congress to make Trump’s tax cuts permanent from the president’s first term in office. Trump wants Congress to pass the bill by July 4th.
Kehoe said his team has been reviewing the proposal since the legislative session ended. He thanked lawmakers for their work on the budget.
The legislature’s key budget items include:
*$4.2 billion to fully fund the formula used to bankroll K-12 public schools
*$375.5 million to fully fund K-12 public school transportation costs
*$170 million in additional funding for childcare payment upgrades
*$84 million for Access Missouri scholarships for low-income students
*$72 million for early childhood education
*$68.5 million to boost pay for experienced teachers doing extra work through the Career Ladder Program
*$60 million for A+ merit-based scholarships
*$50 million for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program to send K-12 public school students to private schools
*$20 million for preparations of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Kansas City
*$10 million for a new Blue Shield grant program to incentivize local law enforcement agencies to improve crime-fighting efforts
*$8 million for Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant Program
*$3 million to test wastewater for fentanyl around K-12 public schools
*$650,000 to provide pads and tampons at all K-12 public schools with students in grades 6-12
*3% increase in higher education core funding
*Up to a 10% pay raise for long-term state workers
*Stipend for Department of Corrections employees working hard-to-fill night shifts in maximum security prisons
Lawmakers also included millions in the budget plan to improve low-volume roads, help crime victims and refugees resettle, develop semiconductor chips, for scholarships to recruit law enforcement officers, and the Truman Library and Museum.
Another budget move by state lawmakers was to cut 25 job vacancies within the Secretary of State’s budget.
The new state budget year begins Tuesday.
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