July Update

July 3, 2023

Parson's Pre-K Promise Fulfilled

Late Friday afternoon, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed the FY2024 state operating budget, which began July 1, totaling approximately $51.8 billion in appropriations for the Show-Me State.

Governor Parson fulfilled his promise to make significant investments in early care and education by approving record funding for pre-Kindergarten programs and a substantial boost to the child care subsidy program.

The $82 million increase in funding is the largest in the state’s history and is a step to ensuring every child from birth to five has access to quality care and education. This investment is the latest step in a ten-year effort to build and fund an early childhood system for the Show-Me State.

“Early childhood care is essential to our state’s success, and we’re honored to champion this historic investment in our families and future generations of Missourians,” said Parson. “

"If we are to truly make a difference, it starts with our children, and this landmark funding will support our work to ensure every Missouri child is supported with the right tools to succeed. This was a team effort, and thanks to dedicated childhood education advocates like Aligned, we were able to get it across the finish line. Now, let’s celebrate this moment for Missouri kids, families, and businesses,” he added.

Additionally, Governor Parson issued 201 line-item vetoes, totaling $555.3 million. You can see the complete list of budget vetoes and approved budget documents here.

Download the press release Aligned issued Friday.

About Aligned

Aligned is the only state-wide non-profit, nonpartisan business group working in Kansas and Missouri on educational issues impacting the full development of our children, from supporting high-quality early learning to solid secondary programs that provide rigorous academic programs and real-world learning opportunities.

Our vision is that our public education systems in Kansas and Missouri have the resources and flexibility to prepare students to pursue the future of their choice.

We are currently focused on education policies that will strengthen early childhood education, teacher recruitment and retention, and school finance reform.

Learn more about our work.

Budget breakdown

Here are some of the highlights of Missouri's $51.8 billion state budget for FY24.

$160 million in new funding for children and families

$78 million to increase rates for child care providers;
$56 million for public and charter schools to provide Pre-Kindergarten programs to all students qualifying for free and reduced lunch; and
$26 million for private child care providers to offer Pre-Kindergarten programs to students qualifying for free and reduced lunch.

Other budget wins for education

$248 million for broadband deployment in unserved and underserved communities;
$3.6 billion to again fully fund the K-12 Foundation Formula;
$288.7 million for capital improvement projects at public higher education institutions;
$233 million to fund school transportation needs;
$70.8 million core funding increase for state higher education institutions;
$60 million to invest in semiconductor production research, development, and skills training;
$38 million for the fourth year of MoExcels projects and employer-driven workforce training investments;
$32 million for the Career Ladder program to recruit and retain educators;
Full funding for the Teacher Baseline Salary Grant Program which increases baseline K-12 educator pay to $38,000 per year (participating schools will no longer have a grant match requirement); and
$3.5 million for Apprenticeship Missouri and Youth Apprenticeships.

News

Missouri nonprofit plays central role in rejection of Biden student loan forgiveness plan
The Road to Recovery repor t from the Council of Chief State School Officers outlines how states are using ESSER funding to strengthen and expand access to the teaching profession
MO DHSS free summer meal program for low-income families
Lincoln University receives $10 million grant from USDA to increase diversity in the agricultural workforce
MO Department of Higher Education partners with STL and KC-area agencies to address the childcare crisis
The Missouri School Boards Association has called on legislative leaders to form a commission to study changes to the education foundation formula

Looking beyond this year's budget

Aligned was proud to serve on the Early Childhood Steering Committee led by Kids Win Missouri and the Children's Trust Fund (CTF) to address the state's need to improve access to high-quality early childhood care, education, and services.

The committee's goal was to identify recommendations and strategies for closing gaps in access. We also received input from national early childhood experts, research-based best practices, and innovative solutions from other states.

CTF and Kids Win Missouri just unveiled the final report. Our advocacy community is eager to begin the work to secure the long-term investment needed to fully serve Missouri's children by continuing to increase funding for child care and early education, expand access to evidence-based home visiting, and build out a system infrastructure that will scale quality programs and improve the state's data systems.

According to the blueprint, an estimated 70,000 unserved children from low-income families need access to child care and early childhood education. An estimated 31,000 unserved children from low-income families also need access to evidence-based home visiting.

The funding approved for FY24 (an increased $160 million) represents a tremendous first step towards meeting the $1.2 billion annual investment needed to ensure all economically disadvantaged children have access to high-quality programs and services.

Download the blueprint here.

Happy 4th of July!