Missouri school districts facing state budget cuts ahead of the 2026-27 school year

COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ)

School districts around the state are bracing for budget cuts after the state opted not to increase the public school foundational formula.

Now the Department of Elementary and Secondary Schools is short $190 million in revenue, leading some school districts to have to cut back their budgets.

Last night, the Southern Boone County R-1 School Board approved a $26,193,875 operating budget for the upcoming school year.

The final fiscal plan navigates a projected $936,199 reduction in state funding due to the lower State Adequacy Target.

To manage the budget constraints and match student enrollment, the district will eliminate open positions through normal turnover rather than laying anyone off, while also implementing a 2% baseline cost-of-living increase across all employee salaries.

"The district is taking a measured approach to managing the reduction in state funding while continuing to prioritize classroom instruction and student services," the district wrote in a statement.

In Kingdom City, the North Callaway R-1 School District faces a projected $350,000 loss in state aid for the 2026-27 school year, driven by funding shortages and proposed state budget cuts.

The deficit comes despite strong local support, including the recent passage of two tax propositions that funded teacher salary increases and a new elementary school. According to a district press release, the anticipated shortfall comes from a drop in the State Adequacy Target and reduced transportation reimbursements in the state budget.

Missouri currently ranks 49th nationally in the percentage of school funding provided by state sources, forcing local taxpayers to absorb nearly 60% of North Callaway's per-pupil costs.

In Jefferson City, the Jefferson City School District's proposed budget for this upcoming school year has revenue growing just 0.4%, while the district's expenses are projected to grow 5.7%.

Todd Filler, a spokesperson for the Missouri State Teachers Association, said the timing of the cuts could not have been worse.

“It's frustrating for school districts throughout the state. And it puts school districts in a position where, over the summer, they are trying to reconfigure budgets," he said.

Fuller adds with the shortfall in the budget, there could be cuts to programs and staff across the state.

"We have already seen school districts start to outline those situations for their different communities across the state," he said.

When it comes to what areas will be affected most by the cuts, Fuller said that it will vary by community.

“It’s just going to vary from community-to-community. I think that in small school districts, there is a reliance on the formula. The expectation is that the money should be there, making it more challenging for those smaller schools," he said.

Missouri State Rep.Ed Lewis (R-Moberly), who helped craft the most recent state budget emphasized there was no cut to funding, but just no increase.

“You can not calculate your budget on a proposed increase that the governor had no intention of and signaled he was never going to give the extra 190 million dollars," he said.

He added the additional funding was not in the House budget, the Senate budget, or the governor's appropriation.

"The governor indicated way back in his State of the State address that he had no indication of increasing over what the state had increased in the previous year," he said.

Lewis added in the previous year, the state increased funding by more than $500 million in the public school foundation formula.