Led by Labor-friendly Democrats, compromise on charter school funding heads back to the House

Jefferson City – The Missouri Senate approved legislation April 20 that would change how charter schools are funded. The bill returns to the House of Representatives, which approved a different version of it more than a month ago.

Charter schools are public schools that operate independently of their local school district and are exempt from many state education regulations. At present, they are allowed to operate only in Kansas City and St. Louis.

House Bill 1552 would have redirected millions of dollars in state funding from the Kansas City and St. Louis school districts to the charter schools in their jurisdictions.

Union members called and emailed their senators urging them to reject the House version of the bill.

Spearheaded by Senators Karla May (D-St. Louis) a member of CWA Local 6300, and Doug Beck (D-Affton), a member of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 562, the Senate compromise would modify the statutory formula for distributing state funding to local schools so that charter schools would receive additional funding without reducing the amount of money going to the local districts.

“Charter schools are public schools that operate independently of their local school district and are exempt from many state education regulations,” May explained in an email to her constitutions.

“Senate Republicans are determined to funnel public funding to charter schools, but, unlike public schools, charters are not administered by a democratically elected board,” Beck said in his own message to constituents.

The Senate compromise includes reforms to how charter school operate, including that they be run by a nonprofit entity and require board members to be Missouri residents.

The bill also includes changes to how online virtual schools must operate.

The House can grant final passage to the Senate version of HB 1552 or may seek to negotiate an alternate version of the bill.

“We’ve gotten some positive movement in Jefferson City,” Byron Clemens, spokesman for AFT St. Louis Local 420, told delegates of the St. Louis Labor Council. “Thanks to you all, and thanks to our union-friendly senators led by Senators Doug Beck and Karla May.”