Missouri’s Senate District 21 candidates discuss education, Amendment 2 impacts

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Democratic candidate Jim Bates and Republican state Rep. Kurtis Gregory will face off in the Missouri Senate District 21 race on Nov. 5.

District 21 covers Cooper, Howard, Saline, Lafayette, Ray, and the northern portion of Clay County.

Republican Kurtis Gregory has served as a Missouri House Representative for District 51 for the past four years . According to Gregory's campaign website, some of the top issues for his campaign inlcudes improving infrastructure, education and supporting military families and veterans. He is Marshall resident and a member of the Missouri Corn Growers Association, Saline County Farm Bureau and Missouri Cattlemen’s Association. In the House, he has served on the Budget, Agriculture Policy and Workforce Development Committees.

Bates is a lifelong Missouri resident and served in the U.S. Army Reserves and the Oklahoma National Guard. Bates’ campaign website shows some of the focuses of his campaign include expanding free school lunch programs, supporting unions, expanding Medicaid, supporting abortion rights and agriculture programs.

Education

Gregory discussed an education bill that was passed by the Senate that raised teacher pay and expanded where charter schools could operate in the state.

"I think that there's different options for different kids," said Gregory. "Some choices are better choices. Some kids don't have the means or the opportunity to leave maybe a failing school and get into one that fits them better. And so I think kind of all options need to be on the table, but we have to make sure we continue to take care of our public schools, because they're the backbone for educating the youth of tomorrow."

Gregory also stated it's important to support upkeep on infrastructure and buses.

"I've learned one of the big things is funding for transportation, for those bus routes," he said. "And you think about it, Missouri is a very rural state, and you've got busses beaten up and down gravel roads every single day, and so that's that's vital, that we protect that funding."

Bates stated that federal tax dollars and state tax dollars go just to public schools, not financing private schools. Bates stated that he recognizes low teacher pay and criticized state legislators.

"Right now, we're last in the country in starting teacher pay, last in education funding," Bates said. "And to me, that's shameful, and we should, the state legislature should be ashamed of itself for letting that happen."

If elected, Bates said that he would file a bill that would expand the A+ Program, which is a program that provides financial assistance to students who graduate from high schools who go to certain two-year colleges or vocational/technical schools,

"I'd like to expand it to include the four-year universities that are public here in the state of Missouri, so that your first few years of tuition there are paid as well," Bates said. "That way, no matter what your path is when you graduate high school, we have a way for you to go forward."

Sports betting

Both candidates were also asked about their views on Amendment 2 ,which would legalize sports betting, if passed. The amendment requires gambling platforms to send 10% of their monthly gross revenue to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for use as it and lawmakers see fit. The Missouri Gaming Commission estimates that the state will collect more than $6 million in its first year of operation for education and is expected to climb to about $20 million every year for the next four years, previous reporting states.

Bates and Gregory said they are voting "yes" on Amendment, 2 but understand other peoples reasoning for voting "no." And they are both critical on how the revenue from sports betting will be used in funding DESE.

"There is potential. Funding for public education in it," Gregory said. "I'm just not sure it's the right way, and I think we need to have a good legislative solution, but I'm not going to blame anybody that votes for it because we fail to do our job."

"I think if you're voting for Amendment 2 because you think it's going to add more money to public education, that's not the reason to vote for Amendment 2, because with our Republican super majority right now, that money will not be used to supplement education," Bates said. "It may be used instead of the funds that would normally go to education, but it won't be used to supplement. So if you're voting 'yes' on Amendment 2, just for education, I would reconsider and see think is that really the reason you're voting 'yes' on that?"