As many are aware, Kansas made national headlines last night when voters defeated a constitutional amendment that would have allowed state lawmakers to further restrict or ban abortions.

In Missouri, voters chose their Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, current Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who topped former Governor Eric Greitens and current U.S. Representative Vicky Hartzler. Schmitt will face Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine in the general election.

See the Kansas results here.

See the Missouri results here. 

Missouri Highlights

Missouri State Senator Bill White (R-Joplin), a longtime advocate for children and the Chair of Seniors, Families, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee, lost his primary election to Jill Carter, who campaigned on healthcare choice and citizen's rights. Representative Travis Fitzwater (R-Calloway Co.), a longtime supporter of career education, edged out three other candidates to win his primary. The current Senate Education Chair, Cindy O'Laughlin, ran unopposed.

We are studying the list of general election candidates, many of who will run unopposed in the general election. The list includes school board members, former teachers, and many others who listed education as a top priority.

Kansas Highlights

The Topeka Capitol Journal reported...

"In the biggest upset of the night, Scott Hill — a former Kansas State Board of Education member who gained attention by supporting eliminating evolution as an underlying principle of state science curriculum in 1999 — defeated incumbent Rep. John Barker, R-Abilene."

"Bob Lewis defeated incumbent Rep. John Wheeler, R-Garden City, by about 180 votes after criticizing Wheeler's voting record on a so-called parents' bill of rights and touting his own endorsement from the Kansas Rifle Association PAC."

"Carrie Barth defeated Rep. Mark Samsel, R-Wellsville, by almost 1,200 votes with all precincts reporting.Samsel was accused in spring 2021 of assaulting two students in a classroom while substitute teaching. He ultimately pled guilty to three lesser charges of misdemeanor disorderly conduct. His 90-day jail sentence was suspended for a year of probation."

July 15th marked the deadline for the Governor of Missouri to veto legislation passed by the General Assembly. This year, the legislature passed 60 bills, of which four received vetoes and seven appropriation bills received partial vetoes.

Aligned was pleased to see Governor Mike Parson approve the following:

• SB 672 - a workforce development bill that includes grants for apprenticeship programs
• SB 681 - an omnibus education bill that includes competency-based education, visiting scholars expansion, reading intervention, and an innovative school transportation model (all Aligned priorities)
• HB 1552 - a school funding bill that brings state aid for charters in line with traditional districts
• SB 2365 - an early care and education bill that makes the early learning quality assurance report permanent

Parson vetoed two sections of HB 3002 - the $10.4 billion appropriation bill for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The bill includes $270 million in one-time funds. 

The Governor vetoed section 2.025, which included a $4,875,000 increase to the School Turnaround Program. He cited that this program requires a multi-year commitment, and this was one-time funding for his veto. He also stated that "no performance measures reflecting program success demonstrated to date."

He also rejected $2 million in one-time funding for a chemistry and physical science 3D game-based learning platform for middle and high school students as it appeared to be an appropriation made for one specific vendor.

You can read his veto letter here. 

Another non-education-related bill that failed to win the Governor's approval was HB 1720 (Pollitt), an omnibus agricultural bill related to economic opportunities. This bill contained numerous provisions, including one relating to recycled asphalt shingles which the Governor viewed as a single-subject/Hammerschmidt violation.

In late July Governor Parson met with House and Senate leadership as well as the budget and appropriations committee chairmen and vice chairmen to call for a special session to pass an income tax reduction and “permanent tax relief” to be considered as part of the agriculture omnibus package. But the word is the Senate appropriators are not warm to the Governor's plan. 

Stay tuned. 

The Missouri Budget Project updated its FY23 budget report to include Governor Parson's vetos. 

"In May, Missouri legislators approved funding to provide critical public services during the budget year that began July 1, 2022, and ends on June 30, 2023 (fiscal year 2023). In June, Governor Parson vetoed about $644 million. The state budget now in effect for FY 2023 totals $48.399 billion."

Federal funding for education roughly doubled from FY 2022 due to the influx of COVID response dollars.

The Missouri State Treasurer's Office tracks federal COVID-19-related spending. See the portal here. 

State revenues continue to climb due to the economic boost from inflation and higher wages. According to Budget Director Dan Haug, "Net general revenue collections for June 2022 increased 20.5 percent compared to those for June 2021, from $1.22 billion last year to $1.47 billion this year. Net general revenue collections for 2022 fiscal year-to-date increased 14.6 percent compared to June 2021, from $11.24 billion last year to $12.88 billion this year."

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway reported on state agencies' use of federal dollars. See the news release, which includes a link to the audit, here. Her findings showed that the Department of Social Services lacked adequate controls to prevent overpayments of subsidies to childcare providers and that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education failed to comply with certain reporting requirements related to federal funds. 

Governor Laura Kelly announced plans to expand healthcare coverage under the state's Medicaid program to mothers from 2 to 12 months post-delivery.

"Our efforts to expand health care coverage have paid off, benefiting moms and giving babies a stronger start to life," said Governor Kelly. "This bipartisan work will reduce maternal mortality, improve child development, and save Kansans money on vital health care."

See the press release here.

For comparison purposes, Missouri offers postpartum coverage for 60 days.

Other bits

The primary election for the Kansas Board of Education was held yesterday. Here are the matchups for the general election:

District 1 - Danny Zeck - R & Jeffrey Howards - D

District 3 - Michelle Dombrosky R & Sheila Albers - D

District  5 - Cathy Hopkins - R will be unopposed

District 7 - Dennis Hershberger - R will be unopposed

District 9 - Jim Porter - R will be unopposed

The Kansas State Board of Education meets next August 9th and 10th, among the topics will be a consideration on a recommendation on a visiting scholar license to teach. See the agenda here.

The Aligned team turns into total policy nerds during the summer as we research the most pressing needs for learners in Missouri and Kansas. We have been studying strategies to improve teacher recruitment and retention, identifying opportunities to expand real-world learning, and gearing up for a community outreach project to gather insights on early care and education. We encourage you to contact us with ideas, questions, and feedback.

All our best,

Torree Pederson

President

Aligned

Torree@WeAreAligned.org

(913) 484-4202

Linda Rallo

Vice President

Aligned

Linda@WeAreAligned.org

(314) 330-8442

Download our 2021 Annual Report.