May 19, 2013

You are here: Home / Archives for foundation formula

Legislative panel considers higher education funding formula

October 25, 2012 By

The Joint Committee on Education has one meeting left to discuss what should go into a funding formula for higher education. The Committee’s second hearing featured discussion of how to measure performance of the state’s universities.

Senator David Pearce (Courtesy, Missouri Senate)

Chairman, Senator David Pearce, says the Coordinating Board for Higher Education recommends institutions not be rewarded for performance with existing funds. “So, we’re not going to be taking money away from existing institutions. Rather, it would be new funding that we would have for higher education. Now, that’s (the Coordinating Board’s) recommendation. I’m not saying that will be the recommendation of the Committee.”

Pearce says about 12 states are now basing higher education funding on performance. “Some, it’s just a very, very small percentage of their budget. In the state of Tennessee it’s nearly 100 percent of the budgets for the universities are based on performance.

“In these times of tough budgets and very tight dollars, we’ve got to make sure that our dollars are spent wisely and that those universities that are doing a good job are rewarded … and to show those universities that might not be doing well that they need to improve.”

Pearce says the formula will have to weigh the differences between institutions, which he says is challenging. “For example, you have some schools … there’s three universities … that are open enrollment. So, that means they take everyone that comes through their doors. Yet then you have some universities that are moderately selective and then those that are highly selective like the University of Missouri or Truman State.

“So, how do you compare all of those together? The answer is, you probably don’t. You have to come up with some standards to compare against themselves, or maybe find like institution in different states and compare them that way. Our community colleges, for example, are open enrollment. They might have to do a lot of remediation, but on the other hand they’re serving a very, very good public interest.”

The Committee must submit a recommendation by the end of next year, but Pearce says it is being proactive. “My thought is we will have an initial recommendation hopefully by the first of the year … that there might be some things that we can put in the legislature next session, but then we have to have it done a year from this December.”

The Committee meets one more time, November 14 at the Haverner Center at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla.

Filed Under: Education, Featured, Legislature, News Tagged With: , , ,

Jones wants interim education committee

June 8, 2012 By

The likely next Speaker of the Missouri House wants to see a committee formed to work on education issues in the interim, after some key issues were left on the table in the 2012 session.

Minority Floor Leader Tim Jones

Majority Floor Leader Tim Jones (R-Eureka) says compared to past years when education issues fizzled, the 2012 session was “remarkable” with several passing out of the House.

“We had the charter school bill which became law which I’m very happy with, that became law … We passed the teacher tenure bill. A small step forward but a significant step. It passed the House, it almost got through the Senate. Died on the Senate floor in the last day. A second bill that passed, that school busing transportation bill which is a form of education reform. That also became law.”

Jones wants to keep that momentum going ahead of the 2013 session.

“I would like to see some kind of interim committee or even joint interim committee where the sides could get together and talk about the future. Maybe a little difficult in an election year but this issue is a priority for all Missouri children and families so I’d like to see it happen.”

Jones can’t appoint committees, but Speaker Steven Tilley can. He says if Jones wants to see any interim committees formed, “I’d be open to any suggestions he might have.”

Jones says the foundation formula for public school funding will be a key issue in 2013, but he also wants to see things like tuition tax credits and teacher tenure addressed.

With many faces in the legislature changing, Jones isn’t sure who he wants to chair such an interim committee but he knows who he would want on it: Representatives Steve Cookson (R-Fairdealing), Mike Lair (R-Chillicothe), Mike Cierpiot (R-Lee’s Summit) and Rick Stream (R-Kirkwood) are some names he mentions.

Filed Under: Education, Featured, Legislature, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

House Republicans and Democrats assess the session (VIDEO)

May 21, 2012 By

As one might expect, Republicans and Democrats in the House see the 2012 legislative session two very different ways.

Representatives Tim Jones (left) and Mike Talboy (right) courtesy, Missouri House Communications

Republican Majority Floor Leader Tim Jones (R-Eureka) says the House kept the promises it made and had a successful session. “We are very proud of our session, we are very proud of our caucus. We were very proud to welcome our members across the aisle … along with our colleagues in the Senate.”

Jones touts accomplishments including a charter schools reform and accountability bill, a co-employee liability fix and narrowing the difference in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine-related offenses.

Democrats backed all of those proposals, but Minority Floor Leader Mike Talboy (D-Kansas City) says the two top priorities going into the session, a foundation formula fix and job creation, went undone.

“Regardless of whether it’s the House’s fault or it’s the Senate’s fault, when you have the majorities that were discussed at the beginning of this cycle, one of those two things should get done.”

One fundamental difference between the two parties’ positions going forward regards new revenue.

Democrats, like outgoing representative Sara Lampe (D-Springfield) say in order to keep meeting the state’s obligations to education, transportation and public safety, more money will be needed. “We’ve had them before this legislature. They’re out there. (Increasing) cigarette tax sales collection, internet sales collection and tax amnesty. All three of those could have gone through this year but didn’t.

Jones disagrees. “‘Raising revenue’ is simply code for raising taxes. Across this nation, across this great state that is not what the voters want. They spoke loud and clear on that in 2010 and I believe they will again this fall.”

View the House Republicans’ and Democrats’ end-of-session media conferences below, courtesy of Missouri House Communications:

Filed Under: Economy, Education, Elections, Featured, Legislature, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,

At halftime, no education bill on the Missouri House floor (AUDIO)

March 8, 2012 By

House Republicans say they have achieved most of their slate of legislative priorities for the session heading into Spring Break, but House Democrats say one top priority has been absent from floor debate. An education bill has yet to advance out of the committee process.

The House Republican Caucus, lead by House Speaker Steven Tilley, says it has reached most of its legislative goals so far.

House Speaker Steven Tilley (R-Perryville) says those bills are still being worked on but right now there is no consensus in his caucus on them. While leadership in both parties called education a “must pass” issue early on, Tilley now says, “If we can get it done we certainly well and if we can’t, we can’t, and we’ll come back next year and work on it.”

Several GOP leaders said from the outset that they want to package together education issues this year. That could put the issues both parties are concerned with, fixes for the foundation formula and the Turner decision, in a bill with things like tuition tax credits and tenure reform.

Tilley stands by that plan. “Part of the logic between the leadership team is to try and put parts of it together so it actually could cobble together coalitions to get us to 82 (votes in the House).”

Minority Leader Mike Talboy (D-Kansas City) has his own opinion of the Republicans’ motivation. “I realize that they have (St. Louis philanthropist) Rex Sinquefield to answer to, and if Daddy Rex says that something needs to be in there then Daddy Rex is going to get what he wants.”

Minority Floor Leader Mike Talboy is flanked by the House Democratic Caucus after Thursday adjournment heading into Spring Break.

Talboy has said since the beginning of the session that the education issues need to be separated out. “Education of children in this state is more important than creating jobs that we don’t necessarily have an educated workforce to fill if we don’t do something about the education system, and I think that it is offensive to sit there and say that the economic development bills should stand on their own, but that the education bills are not important enough to stand on their own and pass on their own merits.”

Tilley says if an education bill does not pass, the session can still be called a success. “I’m not gonna pin any specific thing on whether it’s a success or a failure. I think you have to look at the session in totality.”

He adds, “But, it certainly would be something I’d like to get done.”

AUDIO:  Listen to the House Republicans media conference, 13:09

AUDIO:  Listen to the House Democrats media conference, 8:24

Filed Under: Education, Legislature, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , , ,

House Budget Chairman’s proposal maintains cuts for blind, restores higher education cuts

March 1, 2012 By

The House Budget Committee Chairman is proposing wiping out the Governor’s cut to higher education, in part with money that supports some of the state’s blind.

House Budget Committee Chairman Ryan Silvey; Photo courtesy, Jonathan Lorenz, Missouri House Communications

Chairman Ryan Silvey (R-Kansas City) proposes filling back in the $106 million dollar cut the Governor proposed to higher education. $28 million of that would come out of the Supplemental Aid to the Blind program. He says people need to understand what that program is and who it helps.

“There is the emotional argument which just labels people and groups them together … then there’s the argument where you actually look at the program and you see that we’re talking about 2,800 people who have income, and that their income is too much for Medicaid. That’s the population that we’re dealing with.”

The Governor blasted the elimination of that program. In a statement, he says in many cases, it provides services that “are the crucial elements that enable them to live in their own homes.” Nixon says, “We should not, and cannot, remove the funding for this program,” and calls the proposal, “just plain wrong.”

Another $5 million is what the Governor proposed putting into the K-12 foundation formula, which Silvey says was an election year stunt.

“For me it was a matter of where are you getting the best bang for your buck in the education dollar. Is it $5 a year per student, which is what his increase in elementary and secondary education would have been, or is it close to five percent of restoring the cut that he made to higher education.”

See the list of House appropriations bills here.

Silvey’s proposal does restore $889 thousand to sexual violence victim’s services, and he says some of the recommendations of the Appropriations Committee on Health, Mental Health and Social Services have not been followed after a working group reexamined those in the last week.

The House Budget Committee will meet several days next week. Republican leadership expects the budget to reach the floor the week after Spring Break.

Filed Under: Economy, Legislature, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , , ,
« Older Posts