Before the 2016 Legislative Session concluded in May, the General Assembly presented the governor with a balanced budget. The budget for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY 2017), which runs July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017, was $27.2 billion, but after recent budget withholdings from the governor, the FY 2017 Budget is now $115.5 million lower than before, following the announcement of temporary cuts. The budget cuts will affect 131 programs and state agencies.
Withholdings from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education include:
•$5 million, which comprises all of the allotted funding for the Foundation School Transportation increase. This program would have provided transportation for students across the state.
•$537,750, which would have been the total increase in the amount of Legislature-approved funding for the Parents as Teachers Program.
•$50,000, the total in approved funding for the new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Pilot, was withheld.
•$1 million increase in funding for the Missouri Preschool Program was also witheld; and
•$100,000 of the approved $700,000 funding for an increase in active shooter trainings at our schools.
The budget does include a $70 million increase for K-12 classrooms, and a more than $50 million increase for Missouri’s colleges and universities.
Budget withholds from other departments include:
•All of the funding for the Department of Agriculture’s new program, Missouri Agriculture Product Promotion, was cut.
•All of the $1.63 million grant to the Department of Public Safety for county sheriffs to issue conceal and carry permits was withheld. The $1.5 million increase in funding for the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency disaster payments was also withheld.
•An increase of $200,000 to the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program was cut. This program would have appointed a third-party to work with children who are involved in the court system through no fault of their own. The governor also withheld the $750,000 increase for a section of the highly successful drug court program in our state.
The Department of Mental Health’s $200 million increase in funding remains intact.
Keep in mind, however, in previous years, the governor has cut funding at the beginning of a fiscal year and then restored the funding later, so some of these programs may see the return of some, or possibly all of their funding.
Mike Cunningham is a Republican member of the Missouri State Senate, representing District 33. Contact him at 573-751-1882 or www.senate.mo.gov/cunningham