Preserving Community College Funding
As the Missouri General Assembly continues to discuss the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year, one priority is maintaining adequate funding for Missouri’s institutions of higher education, whether they be four-year universities or community colleges. One effort currently under consideration is Senate Bill 990, which I’ve sponsored. If passed, this measure will boost funding for community colleges in Missouri by doing away with inefficient laws that keep these schools from levying the taxes they need to survive.
Under current law, it’s possible for a school district to attach itself to a community college district through an onerous process of gathering a certain number of signatures on a public petition, which then triggers a referendum on the question. Senate Bill 990 would allow the referendum to take place without a petition when a majority of a community college’s board of trustees vote to propose one. Either way, the community college tax is only extended to the school district if the voters of that district approve the plan. But this bill would let the process play out without the strange, costly procedure of first circulating a public petition.
This plan supports community colleges, but it also helps students. When a school district and community college district combine, it brings many students who were previously in one district into the other. Students who hadn’t been able to receive an in-district tuition discount under the old district lines would then be able to do so within the new amalgamated district. Senate Bill 990 has already passed the Senate, and is currently making its way through the House of Representatives. I look forward to seeing it through the rest of the process.
As always, please feel free to call, email or write with your ideas or concerns. My Capitol office number is (573) 751-1415, my email is dan.hegeman@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 332, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.