Metro schools face cuts as state money falls short
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Missouri's current budget falls about $190 million short of fully funding the state's school aid formula, and KC-area districts are paying the price.
Why it matters: Districts spend about 80% of their budgets on employees, so they're leaving jobs open, raising property taxes and weighing cuts to busing and student devices.
Zoom in: North Kansas City Schools, the state's second-largest district, has to cut $16 million a year starting in 2027-28 after a $5.6 million state aid shortfall last year and rising costs, despite steady enrollment.
- It has left some administrative and support jobs open without cutting teachers and won't close schools.
- Families at roundtables questioned whether every elementary student needs their own device and asked the district to run busing and other operations more efficiently before cutting services students use directly, the district tells Axios.
Case in point: Lee's Summit undid part of a voluntary property tax cut last month to close a $7 million to $10 million shortfall driven partly by lower-than-budgeted state aid.
- The district had said the gap equaled up to 225 positions. The vote erased it, spokesperson Talia Evans tells Axios.
State of play: Missouri's education department recommended fully funding the formula next year, but the State Board of Education voted in September to keep funding flat, about $270 million short.
- That could cut the per-student amount the formula uses to set aid from about $7,150 to around $6,750, the department tells Axios.
Friction point: The two state Senate candidates from Lee's Summit split on school funding.
- "If it's a choice between 94% of what the school asks for and zero, I'll go with 94% every time," House Speaker Jon Patterson, a Republican, said this month. He didn't respond to Axios.
- "We cannot keep asking schools to do more while giving them less purchasing power to do it," Democratic state Rep. Keri Ingle tells Axios.
What we're watching: Jackson County's property tax credits for homeowners could cost some districts too.
- Kansas City Public Schools could lose tens of millions over several years and likely tap reserves but can keep staffing for now, spokesperson Zoë Shriner tells Axios.
What's next: North Kansas City's school board will see recommendations in December, and lawmakers return Jan. 6 to set next year's school funding.