State Capital Bureau - akessler@joplinglobe.com
JEFFERSON CITY - Joplin area state representatives had no desire to squeeze between school districts and their tax rates.
Rep. Bryan Stevenson, R-Webb City, said he does not think the Missouri Legislature should get involved in the tax levy debate.
"That's not our purview," Stevenson said. "It should be decided by the school board and the local voters."
Rep. Marilyn Ruestman, R-Joplin, echoed that sentiment, saying that the local districts don't usually include the legislators in the process.
"That's the way it ought to work," Ruestman said. "It's not our role."
Ruestman said as long as local school boards adequately explain the options to their constituents, it should be up to the voters to decide if they want a tax increase.
"It's kind of like a jury trial, you have to believe in the system," she said. "I believe juries in the end usually do the right thing."
But one problem for local school districts is that it's hard to plan for the future when the education budget is still in limbo.
Ruestman said she was confident the legislature would allocate education money to at least the same level as last year, and said "it could even be a little more."
The problem, however, is that while legislators can vote for education spending, that money might never make it to the schools if Gov. Bob Holden decides to withhold some it once again.
"We can't force the Governor to spend that money," Stevenson said. "I have no way of predicting what the Governor will do."
But with an upcoming election, it remains unclear whether the Governor would actually withhold education money again.
"I don't think he will withhold (the funds)," said Ruestman. She said it was a good sign that the legislature and the Governor have been coming to a consensus over the budget numbers.
In a meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday, legislators once again cited a revenue estimate of $6.4 billion for the upcoming fiscal year. That number has been agreed to by the House, Senate, and the Governor.
But with withholdings still a possibility, some legislators are considering using the Governor's supplemental budget as a negotiating tool. They could force the Governor to agree up front not to withhold education funds before agreeing to any extra appropriations.
"I think they'll negotiate his supplemental budget on behalf of education," Ruestman said.
Stevenson agreed, saying he was "hopeful we could use the supplemental budget process to encourage him to release additional monies. In addition to education, he also cited the $200,000 withheld from rural firefighters as another point of contention likely to arise during the supplemental budget negotiations.