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SESSION BEGINS…SO DO THE GAMES
The 2012 Legislative Session officially began on Wednesday as members of both the House and Senate made their way back to Jefferson City to listen to speeches given by their leaders and to begin introducing bills. It did not take long to realize that Education is going to be the issue that is front and center in 2012. Both House Speaker Steve Tilley and President Pro-Tem Rob Mayer both took steps this week to show their support of “reforms” to Missouri’s public education system.
In the House, Speaker Tilley kept his opening address very brief with few substantive policy initiatives included. During his speech, Speaker Tilley laid out the basics of his “Blue Print for Missouri”, which includes passing a Tax Payer Protection amendment and instituting a loser-pays legal system. The only mention of education was to ensure that the house will be fighting to make sure those kids in failing districts are given a quality education.
Comments from later in the day went into much greater detail. At the news conference that followed his speech, Speaker Tilley laid out a more detailed plan for education. His plans put Missouri school children and school districts right in the middle of a political fight. That plan includes tying initiatives like charter school expansion, teacher tenure reform, and vouchers for children to attend private school to any changes to the underfunded foundation formula or changes that reasonably implement the Turner v. Clayton court case. It remains to be seen whether or not the Speaker and the other Rex Sinquefield supported legislators have the support of the entire Republican caucus. I would urge all of you to let your legislators know that Missouri schools and the children that attend them are not leverage in an effort to satisfy one or two big political donors. The issues surrounding the foundation formula’s underfunding as well as the Turner case are too important to get caught up in political games and rhetoric.
In the Senate, Sen. Mayer focused his opening remarks on the dismal outlook for the state’s budget while talking about creating jobs by reforming the state’s regulatory climate. He said that education would continue to be the top priority in both funding and resources in the 2012 session despite what could be anywhere from a $500-$700 million shortfall. As for job creation, the Senate will look to lift burdens on employers again this year. Sen. Mayer, as well as Speaker Tilley for his credit, stated that despite being vetoed by the governor last year, the General Assembly will pursue passing legislation that puts Missouri’s laws in line with federal human rights laws. Additionally, both leaders made it clear that there will be a push to protect Missouri employees from being sued because of accidents at work. Both of these legal reforms are supported by school administrators.
While the Senate was very quiet on education issues on the opening day of session, Day 2 was a very different story as Senate bills began to be referred to committee. Sen. David Pearce is the chairman of the Senate Education Committee. Also, he is sponsoring SB 456 which is a reasonable approach to dealing with the Turner Case that gives accepting districts the ability to refuse students if their facilities cannot accommodate every student that is seeking a transfer. On Thursday, rather than refer SB 456 to the Education Committee, Sen. Mayer referred that bill to Sen. Jane Cunningham’s Committee on General Laws. Additionally, bills sponsored by Sen. Victor Callahan and supported by suburban Kansas City school districts to solve the issues surrounding the un-accreditation of the Kansas City Public Schools were also sent to Sen. Cunningham’s committee. This is very irregular in the Senate, where tradition is usually followed and bills are sent to the committee that deals with the same subject matter. Because of Sen. Cunningham’s support for “reforms”, this is likely a signal that there is going to be a push in the Senate to include vouchers, charter expansion, and/or open enrollment in any Turner Fix.
Given the events and comments of the first two days, it is clear how the 2012 session is likely to play out. Over the past few years, there has been either no interest or an inability to build consensus to accomplish things like closing tax loopholes, reforming tax credits, stimulating the economy, or creating jobs and it has caused our revenues to remain stagnant. Because of these failures, Missouri schools are looking at additional cuts. As we look at major shifts in funds from district to district because of the underfunding of the formula, as well as problems in Kansas City and St. Louis Public Schools, opponents of public education are using the opportunity to push their agenda. It is our job to keep the decision makers informed as they decide how to vote on these proposals. Make sure you keep in contact with your legislators as we move through this session. It’s going to take everyone’s efforts to make sure our communities and our children are put ahead of political games in Jefferson City.
SPEAKER LOADS UP HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Before session even began on Wednesday, there were already changes occurring that will directly affect public education during the 2012 legislative session. The House Education Committee now has eight new members. In an apparent move to quickly push through many of the “reforms” talked about above, six Republicans were added to Rep. Scott Diekhaus’s committee. While many former educators serve in the Missouri House of Representatives, particularly in the Republican caucus, none of the new committee members have experience in the education field. Here is a link to the new committee roster.
New Members: Jay Barnes (R-Jefferson City), Kurt Bahr (R-St. Charles), Mike Cierpoit (R-Lee’s Summit), Doug Funderburk (R-St. Peter’s), Mike Leara (R-St. Louis), Ira Anders (D-Independence), Chris Carter (D-St. Louis), and Dwight Scharnhorst (R-St. Louis) will replace Lindell Shumake (R-Hannibal)
STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS - JANUARY 17th
Governor Jay Nixon will address a joint session of the General Assembly on January 17th at 7pm. At that time, he will lay out his vision for the legislative session, most importantly the state budget. Over the last few years, fewer television stations are carrying the speech because it falls directly in prime time. If you would like to watch the speech on the 17th, you can do that here.
IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK…
Missouri Net: Speaker Wants to Bundle Education Issues
Education Portion of Opening Week Press Conference
Post Dispatch Editorial: Kids Are Not Bargaining Chips
Post Dispatch: Reform the Goal of Retooled House Committee
Springfield Public Schools to Offer Free Breakfast
KC Star: Move Quickly on KCPS
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