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SAC Legislative Bulletin The
official legislative newsletter for the School Administrators Coalition (SAC)
which includes MASA,
MAESP, MASSP, MO-CASE, MUSIC, MO K-8, MARE, MSHSAA, & MAPT |
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February
24, 2006 - No. 6 - Copyright 2006 For
a complete listing of bill summaries that impact education go to If
you can not access this link, simply copy and paste the above address in your
browser. |
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TUITION TAX CREDITS GATHER STEAM SCS for SB 962
sponsored by Sen. Ridgeway was heard on Tuesday afternoon in the Senate
Education Committee. This bill would create the Missouri “Student
Success Scholarship” Tax Credit program and provide a one hundred percent tax
credit for contributions to educational assistance organizations which would
fund scholarships for eligible students in Kansas City, St. Louis, and
Wellston Public Schools. The bill would allow eligible students to
attend qualified public schools outside those three districts and
qualified private schools of their parents choosing. Students with
a family income of no greater than the eligibility level for free or reduced
lunch could participate in the program. If a student chose to attend
another public school, the school district would receive the scholarship
amount in lieu of the per pupil state revenue that would otherwise be due.
The program would create a $40 million per year tax credit program,
and the tax credits would be eligible for carryover for three years.
The School Administrators Coalition (SAC) testified in opposition to the bill
as did all member associations of the Education Roundtable. HB 1783
was filed in the House of Representatives by Rep. Bearden and twenty-three
co-sponsors this past week and is very similar to SB 962 but includes
the following differences: 1. Defines an eligible student as one having
a family income of no greater than 135 percent of the eligibility level for a
reduced price lunch instead of the ceiling in SCS SB 962 of a
family income equal to the eligibility level for a reduced price lunch; 2. Requires eligible students to have a GPA
of 2.5 or lower whereas SCS SB 962 has no state GPA requirement; and 3. Allows the affected school districts to
count eligible students who leave those districts for only one year instead
of allowing districts to consider average daily attendance for the second
preceding school year. From all indications from
SAC lobbyists, passage of HB 1783 is a top priority in the House of
Representatives and it will take a tremendous effort by the entire education
community to defeat the bill. Defeat of HB 1783 is a top
priority for the Education Roundtable including the School Administrators
Coalition (SAC). SAC is opposed to both HB 1783 and SB 962
for the following reasons: 1. These scholarships would cost the state
up to forty million dollars in allotted tax credits and may ultimately reduce
the ability of the state to properly fund the public schools. 2. These scholarships violate the Missouri
Constitution by apportioning public funds to private individuals or
corporations to be used for private or parochial purposes. 3. These scholarships will not be sufficient
for most recipient families to utilize in a manner that will provide an
effective alternative learning opportunity. THE SIXTY-SIX AND TWO-THIRDS PERCENT SOLUTION OR DILEMMA HB 1582
sponsored by Rep. Muschany was heard by the House Special Committee on
Student Achievement and Finance on Tuesday morning, February 21. The
School Administrators Coalition (SAC) testified in opposition to the bill for
a number of reasons (see SAC Legislative Bulletin No. 5). HB 1582
includes the following items: 1. Starting in fiscal year 2008, each school
district is directed to adopt as a goal the expenditure of at least
two-thirds of its current operational expenditures on classroom instruction. 2. Classroom instruction is defined, as
previously, by the U. S. Department of Education Institute of Education
Sciences but has been amended to add “library and media services” and “guidance
service”. 3. DESE shall ensure that actual classroom
instruction expenditures are reported in both the districts annual
accountability report card and in the departments “Report of the Public
Schools” publication. 4. The State Board of Education shall report
each January to the General Assembly and to the governor a list of the school
districts that have met the goal of spending two-thirds of their operational
budget on classroom instruction. 5. The State Board of Education shall, also,
offer analysis regarding the effectiveness of the goal as well as statistical
correlations regarding each districts educational outcomes and percent of
current operational expenditures used for classroom instruction. 6. The governor shall annually publicly
recognize those districts meeting the two-thirds goal for classroom
expenditures as “Governors Students First Districts”. 7. Upon approval of either SB 983 or HB
1582, the approved bill shall be placed on the statewide ballot in
November, 2006 or at a special election to be called by the governor for that
purpose. SAC believes the
following arguments against HB 1582 are most compelling: 1. The bill still contains a mandate for the
public schools with language that states, “Each school district shall adopt
as a goal the expenditure of at least two-thirds of its current operational
expenditures on classroom instruction.” This contrasts with the
proponents argument that the bill has been watered down. 2. No positive correlation has been
established between meeting the two-thirds expenditure requirement for
instruction and student performance. In fact, Standard and Poors
through their School Matters research conclude there is no significant
correlation between any percentage spent on instruction and student
proficiency rates. 3. The legislation can be considered a vote
of “no confidence” in the ability of locally elected school board members to
establish the proper priorities for spending school district revenues.
Thereby, HB 1582 represents a significant erosion of local control. The House Special
Committee on Student Achievement and Finance includes the following
members: Rep. Brian Baker, Chair, Rep. Carl Bearden, Rep. Joe Aull,
Rep. Jane Bogetto, Rep. Michael Corcoran, Rep. Scott Muschany, Rep. Tim
Flook, and Rep. Will Kraus. School administrators are urged to contact
their state representative and to ask him/her to vote “no” on HB 1582. SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE The
Senate Education Committee met on Tuesday, February 21 and considered the
following bills: SB 962, sponsored by Sen. Ridgeway, which would
create the Missouri Student Success Scholarship Tax Credit Program; SB 736,
sponsored by Sen. Crowell, which would specify that school districts are
authorized to offer classes in which the Bible is taught when boards of
education approve the course and the course content; and SB 912,
sponsored by Sen. Goodman, which would establish a virtual school program
under the auspices of the Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education. The Committee went into executive session and voted SCS
SB 806, sponsored by Sen. Gross, “do pass” as a consent
bill. SCS SB 806 would establish the Founding Documents
Protection Act and protect against any prohibition that would restrict
the reading or posting of certain historical documents in school buildings,
classrooms or at school events. HOUSE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMITTEE The House Elementary and
Secondary Education Committee, chaired by Rep. Cunningham, met on Wednesday,
February 22 and considered HB 1449, sponsored by Rep. Wright. HB
1449 would allow school districts to forego a background check on retired
teachers who return within one year of retirement to substitute or work part
time in the district. School districts would have the discretion of
requiring a background check if the teacher is employed to substitute or work
part time in a district other than the district from which the teacher
retired. The Committee went into executive session and voted HCS HB
1151, sponsored by Rep. Icet, “do pass”. HCS HB 1151 would
allow school districts to offer certain hiring incentives and salary schedule
modifications in order to attract and retain teachers in subject matter
shortage areas when certain criteria are met. Last month, the School
Administrators Coalition testified in support of this bill when the Committee
conducted the hearing. HEARINGS OF INTEREST SB 864,
sponsored by Sen. Engler, was heard by the Small Business, Insurance and
Industrial Relations Committee. The bill would deny unemployment
benefits to teachers who voluntarily resign during the term of
employment. A resignation would be treated as a refusal to accept a
reasonable assurance of continued employment when the resignation effective
date commences on or after the expiration of the contract term. HCS HB 1326,
sponsored by Rep. Aull, was heard by the House Local Government
Committee. As amended, the bill would allow the community of Corter to
transfer property it received from the local school district more that
twenty-five years ago. The School Administrators Coalition testified in
favor of the bill and requested that the Committee consider extending the
authority statewide to better enable school districts and municipalities to
transfer real property. HB 1498,
sponsored by Rep. Dethrow, was heard by the Workforce Development and
Workforce Safety Committee. The bill would establish the Fairness in
Public Construction Act and modify prevailing wage provisions relating to
public works projects. HB 1075,
sponsored by Rep. Davis, was heard by the Children and Families
Committee. The bill would alter the method by which schools districts
are authorized to present information relating to contraception and sexually
transmitted diseases, would prohibit the providers of abortion services from
providing instruction and materials, and would clarify that the restrictions
apply to both public schools and charter schools. |
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According
to our records, the following individuals represent at
least a portion of your school district. |
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Senator(s) Chris
Koster (R) Phone: (573) 751-1430 |
Representative(s) Shannon
Cooper (R) Phone: (573) 751-1484 David
Pearce (R) Phone: (573) 751-2272 Michael
McGhee (R) Phone: (573) 751-1462 |
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You
have received this message as benefit of your membership in
one of the organizations above. To discontinue this correspondence contact: bulletin@mcsa.org |