Voucher and Charter Expansion Bill heads to Governor Parson’s Desk; Join MSBA in Urging Governor Parson to stand up for public education and VETO SB 727
Legislation that is the largest expansion of voucher and charter schools in Missouri history is on its way to the Governor’s desk, and we need your assistance as Missouri’s local elected school board members in asking Governor Parson to VETO SB 727.
In Governor Parson’s tenure as Governor, he has led the way in historic investments in public education, including:
- Fully funding school transportation
- Raising teacher pay through the teacher salary grant program
- Making our schools safer through $75 million in school safety grants
- Restarting the teacher career ladder program
- Expanded Pre-K funding
- Fully funding the public school foundation formula
However, SB 727 threatens this progress by tying poor policy, like school vouchers and charters, with funding promises that cannot be sustained. Missouri’s teachers deserve a quality salary – but SB 727 is not the answer. When the state is unable to keep its commitments on transportation funding or the teacher baseline salary program, the responsibility will fall to local taxpayers in the form of unfunded mandates.
Join MSBA in asking Governor Parson to VETO SB727 to protect public education.
MSBA has drafted two versions of a form letter:
- Version 1: Crafted for districts who have a minimum teacher salary LESS THAN $40,000
- Version 2: Crafted for districts who have a minimum teacher salary AT OR ABOVE $40,000.
Important instructions: Please select the letter that applies to your district. These letters are drafted for individual school board members to complete. Be sure to fill out the highlighted sections before you submit your letter.
Submit your letter: To allow MSBA to provide Governor Parson with an overview of all the board members and local school boards that voice opposition, email your completed letter to MSBA Director of Outreach, Caitlin Whaley,whaley@mosba.org no later than next Wednesday, May 1st.. MSBA will collect letters and deliver them collectively to Governor Parson.