Public school leaders across the state have implored the Missouri Legislature to fix a knotty student transfer law and an underfunded school aid formula.
They’ve warned that open-ended transfers could result in overcrowded suburban classrooms and bankrupt city schools. They’ve predicted that a quirk in the aid formula could force some small rural schools to close.
Some wealthy St. Louis County districts have their state funding basically frozen at an earlier level. Thus, if no formula change passes this year, they could escape cuts, with other school districts — which are predominantly poorer — bearing the burden of the underfunded formula.
As for the rest of the omnibus bill, Dieckhaus said he lumped expanded charter schools, virtual schools and tax credit scholarships into the package because they are part of the Turner fix and would help accommodate the thousands of students who want out of failing city schools.
While the St. Louis Public Schools have made academic strides, Dieckhaus said children shouldn’t have to wait for the district to regain accreditation. That, he said, is expected to take three more years.
For the rest of the article, go to Efforts to fix Missouri’s school aid formula, transfers appear knotted — again
