Missouri Gov. Nixon plans to ignore Legislature, spread education cuts to all school districts
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Gov. Jay Nixon signed a midyear spending bill Tuesday but said he plans to ignore lawmakers' instructions to shield more than one-quarter of Missouri's public school districts from a budget cut.
Instead, all 523 school districts will share the pain of a $43 million shortfall in the basic state aid distributed to schools. The funding cut comes because of falling state revenue.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education initially planned to split the funding shortfall among every school district. Lawmakers attempted to reject that by inserting a provision in a supplemental budget bill that directs state education officials to spare about 150 school districts.
Nixon, a Democrat, said it was unconstitutional for lawmakers to do that in a budget bill. He ordered state education officials Tuesday to ignore the provision and follow their initial plan, which he said distributed money fairly and provided clarity and stability for schools.
"There is a long-held legal prohibition in Missouri against legislation by appropriation," Nixon spokesman Jack Cardetti said. "If the Legislature wants to change how money flows to schools, they should change the statutes. They cannot do that through an appropriation bill."
Some senators accused Nixon of overstepping his authority while some House members praised the move as providing schools with stability. The Missouri Republican Party's