House lawmakers make last effort for education bills

JEFFERSON CITY - With only a few alterations, the Education Appropriations Committee approved the majority of Gov. Jay Nixon's education funding recommendations.

On Tuesday, the committee did not discuss the foundation formula or Nixon's in-state tuition freeze agreement, instead focusing on primary and secondary education issues.

The committee voted against allocating funds from the Career Ladder program into the Parents as Teachers program.

Most representatives were torn between the two, but said fully funding both would not be possible.

"I feel like criticizing either of these programs would be like criticizing Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny," Rep. Steve Hodges, D-East Prairie, said.

Parents as Teachers began as a pilot project in the 1970s in Missouri. The project was developed by current U.S. Sen. Kit Bond. Since then, it has spread to all 50 states and assists more than 330,000 children nationwide. The program utilizes certified educators to help train parents to educate children before they attend kindergarten.

Last month, Gov. Jay Nixon announced the Parents as Teachers program would receive a $2 million cut for the current fiscal year. Nixon also recommended a $4.1 million cut to the program for fiscal year 2011.

The sponsor of the amendment, Rep. Chris Molendorp, R-Belton, said he wanted to allocate $1.9 million recommended for the Career Ladder program -- which provides pay raises for teacher program -- into Parents as Teachers. The proposed appropriation would have cut Career Ladder's funds by about 5.2 percent.

The two school districts in Molendorp's district have the Parents as Teachers program but do not offer the Career Ladder program.

"I think it's important for districts to continue this," Molendorp said. "I think it's reasonable for us to find a small amount of money to help them continue this."

Education Appropriations Chair Mike Thomson, R-Maryville, sponsored an amendment reducing the amount of Regional Professional Development Centers from 11 to nine. The RPDCs provide services for teachers, administrators and school districts. The two centers that would be affected are in Joplin and St. Joseph.

Rep. Martin Rucker, D-St. Joseph, who represents the district where one center is located, said he could not support the amendment.

"We're just trying to get up to par with everyone else in Missouri," Rucker said. "We're just trying to get our piece of the pie like everyone else."

Thomson said his amendment did not favor any particular center, but would support and improve the original nine RPDCs.

"It's simply the fact that they watered down the funding," Thomson said.

Another amendment, sponsored by Rucker, would move $500,000 from a state level competitive grant program and transfer them to early childhood development programs at Lincoln University. Rucker said the funds would be a one-time deal to upgrade the program's facilities.

Rep. Kevin Wilson, R-Neosho, said he did not agree with taking funds from the competitive grant program to give directly to a school.

"We're basically awarding $500,000 and we're going out of the basic nature of the program," Wilson said.

Although the Education Appropriations Committee has made the final decision on its bill, the Budget Committee determines the final version of the education appropriation to presented to the House.