Senate Committee Considers "Classroom Instruction" Bill

A Senate committee is being asked to approve a bill that would call on school districts to spend at least two-thirds of their current operational expenditures on “classroom instruction.” The sponsor, Representative Scott Muschany of St. Louis, says the idea first hit him as he listened to the suggestions put forward during last year’s school funding formula discussions. But Sharon Rees, President-elect of the Missouri School Boards’ Association, says this proposal does not include a lot of important positions under the category of “classroom instruction.” She also has concerns about a possible loss of local control. Muschany points out his two-thirds proposal is a goal, not a mandate, which would be sent to a vote of the people. This proposal builds on the so-called 65 percent solution suggested by Governor Matt Blunt.