Missouri Senate to begin debate of revised state education budget Tuesday

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Senate and the House of Representatives are set to return to session at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning. The Senate is preparing to debate the state education budget.

The Missouri House of Representatives passed a $47.9 billion state budget on April 3. However, the Senate Appropriation Committee plans include $300 million more for public schools than Governor Kehoe recommended in his budget proposal.

The House passed 13 budget bills that included $8 billion for K-12 education, including $4 billion in core funding for schools. The budget also includes $512 million for the University of Missouri for operations.

Additional budget priorities for education also included funding for school transportation, teacher baseline salaries and grants for smaller schools.

The Senate Appropriation Committee staff was given a week to come up with revised bills that will be debated Tuesday by the full Senate.

One approved by the Senate, budget negotiators from both the House and Senate will then compare and compromise on a single budget.

All spending bills have to be approved by May 9.