Delayed vote on SPS legislative platform set for Tuesday. Here's what could be included

Missouri's 2024 legislative session is underway and education bills are being assigned and discussed in House and Senate committees but the Springfield school board has yet to finalize its legislative platform.

That work is usually complete in November and December but an exceptionally busy end to 2023, along with attempts to overhaul the platform and questions about what should be included have delayed the process.

The board is hopeful it can nail down a priority list at a special meeting Tuesday, the evening before Gov. Mike Parson is scheduled to deliver a final State of the State address, which will include his proposals for early childhood and K-12 education.

Each year, the platform provides a framework for how the state's largest district interacts with lawmakers — guiding the requests and messaging from top officials and a paid lobbyist.

Board member Kelly Byrne, who initially floated changes to the platform in mid-December, proposed a "simplified" platform at the Jan. 16 meeting, which was widely embraced by the rest of the board.

"My whole goal here is to try and find a document that we can get as much agreement on as possible," Byrne said.

A slightly tweaked version of Byrne's Jan. 16 proposal is expected to serve as the starting point for Tuesday's board discussion.

If approved, Byrne's proposal will mark the biggest changes to the platform in recent memory. But, like those in the past, it remains focused on adequate state funding, improving student achievement, and preserving local control.

"A lot of the statements in here are meant to reflect increasing local control," Byrne said Jan. 16. "I think that there is consensus behind that but I don't know. It's up for discussion."

The proposed platform is lengthy, with a list of guiding beliefs and details about funding and local control. Here are the state legislative priorities listed:

• Support for full funding of the foundation and transportation formulas, which determine how much state funding flows to each district;

• Opposition to any legislation diverting revenue from public schools;

• Opposition to legislation that erodes authority of local school boards or undermines the voice of local voters;

• Support for legislation that encourages and recognizes improved student learning;

• Support for student assessment systems that include multiple methods of measuring student growth and performance designed by district teachers that align with curricular content identified in Missouri Learning Standards.

The platform opposes unfunded or underfunded state mandates and seeks increased funding to meet the needs of under-resourced students and to fully cover the cost of testing students.

Under the proposal, the board seeks more autonomy to develop its own curriculum goals and the tests to measure progress. It wants more freedom to establish innovative programs. It also opposes any legislation, regulation, rule or judicial decision that would diminish its local control.

SPS role in economic development

The most recent platform was approved in November 2022 on a 4-2 vote. The makeup of the board has changed a little but existing members Scott Crise, Danielle Kincaid and Shurita Thomas-Tate were among those voting in favor; Byrne and Maryam Mohammadkhani were opposed; and Steve Makoski was absent.

The changes Byrne floated in late 2023 were not presented in a public meeting. He said after feedback from board member Judy Brunner, he decided to streamline the document before presenting it Jan. 16.

The recent platforms identified several revenue streams that flow to schools. On rewriting the funding section, Byrne said the "focus was on the funds that we think we need to get to be effective in our job and not necessarily how the state goes about receiving those funds."

He said the district also needs more flexibility to use the funds it receives to do what is best for students.

One after another, board members applauded Byrne's work to streamline the platform. Most appeared to agree with much of the wording — except one part.

Crise and Thomas-Tate expressed concern about this paragraph of the Jan. 16 proposal, under the "beliefs" section: "We believe the academic success of each student is our primary responsibility. Economic development, business interests, special interests, community health, property values and all other outside interests and factors are not our primary interest or concern, but can best be positively impacted by focusing on the academic success of each student."

Thomas-Tate agreed students must be the priority but noted the district cannot operate in a vacuum. She noted the decisions made by the district can impact the community and vice-versa.

"While I agree with the beginning and the end of this statement, the middle part I think it too pointed for me to agree with as a 'belief' that forms how we think about our legislative platform," Thomas-Tate said.

Byrne has discussed his stance on this in the past. For example, during a conversation about how often contracts were awarded to local companies, he said that should not be the priority.

"I don't think that is our job. Our job is not economic impact," he said Jan. 16. "Our job is to do what is best for the students in the district."

Crise said the district has to pay attention to what else is going on in Springfield. "Without economic development, the city cannot grow and that impacts funding for schools."

Byrne said in the interest of reaching a consensus on the entire platform, he planned to revise that paragraph prior to the Tuesday meeting.

Platform to guide work of lobbyist

Mohammadkhani said she has voted against the platform twice in the past but described Byrne's proposal as less broad than former ones. "I see this as a document that is more about what we can do specifically to advocate for our students."

She and Byrne have previously questioned the district's hiring of legislative liaison Jason Zamkus to lobby on behalf of the district. They've asked who tells him which legislation to oppose or support and suggested the board ought to have more of a say.

Zamkus is paid $60,000 a year by the district to work in Jefferson City to keep tabs on education-related legislation, provide regular updates and represent the interests of the district in meetings with lawmakers.

Mohammadkhani said: "We didn't used to have a paid lobbyist but now that we do, I want to get more bang for our buck."

The district has long hired lobbyists, most notably the late Scott Marrs, who died in 2018. However, at the time that Mohammadkhani joined the board in 2021, former superintendent John Jungmann had taken on many of the duties of a lobbyist — meeting with lawmakers, attending hearings and updating the board.

More: SPS board member supports bill stripping state board of authority to accredit schools

"The way (the platform) was written before, it was operating on the defensive against all the things that are continually eroding public schools, especially from a funding standpoint," Mohammadkhani said. "I see this as much more proactive."

The special meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. but other than the legislative proposal, the rest will be behind closed doors. This is the time of year the board evaluates Superintendent Grenita Lathan and determines if she will be offered a one-year extension on her rolling, three-year contract.

Crise, Kincaid and Mohammadkhani are running for re-election. They are among a slate of seven candidates on the April 2 ballot along with Landon McCarter, Susan Provance, Chad Rollins and Kyler Sherman-Wilkins. The three with the most votes with be sworn in mid-April.

Claudette Riley covers education for the News-Leader. Email tips and story ideas to criley@news-leader.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Vote expected Tuesday on SPS legislative platform revised by Byrne