Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Contact: Spence Jackson, (573)751-0290
Missouri Educators Laud Blunt for Commitment to Schools
Local Teachers, Administrators and School Board Members ask Legislature to Support Governor’s Call for Increased Funding
JEFFERSON CITY—Education leaders representing teachers, administrators and school board members commended Missouri Governor Matt Blunt today for his unwavering commitment to Missouri’s public schools.
Representatives of the Missouri Teachers Association, the Missouri Association of School Administrators and the Missouri School Board Association joined Blunt in encouraging the Missouri General Assembly to pass his proposed $170.6 million increase in funding for local schools, a 4.7 percent increase from last year.
"Failure is not an option when it comes to our children’s future," Blunt said. "When I announced my candidacy for governor, I said that public education would be my administration’s top priority. The budget I have submitted to the legislature reflects that promise, and I ask members of both chambers to join me in this effort to make education the true priority of state government. We owe our children and ourselves no less."
Blunt’s proposed budget prioritizes the needs of Missouri children. In addition to his proposed increase in education funding, his budget protects all children who are currently covered by the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program. Blunt has also proposed increasing funding for the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program by $5 million. The increase will enable PAT educators to work with more than 10,500 additional families statewide
Blunt’s budget and legislative recommendations call for improvements to the state’s First Steps program for developmentally disabled children, and earmarks $875,000, for the very first time, from the state’s tobacco settlement money to fund youth smoking cessation programs.