Here's how Columbia, the school district and Mizzou are reacting to Parson's budget

Missouri has completed its budget year and is onto the next.

This means that Gov. Mike Parson has signed and vetoed myriad line-items in the state operating budget, with definite impacts in Columbia and Boone County. The City of Columbia, Columbia Public Schools and the University of Missouri System are reacting to Parson's pen strokes.

A $6 million budget stabilization fund for construction of a sports park and demolition of current structures in Columbia was part of American Rescue Plan Act appropriations from House Bill 20 was zeroed out by Parson's veto. Even though this appropriation was slated for Columbia in the bill, its veto has no real impact, noted city spokesperson Sydney Olsen in a message to the Tribune.

"The specific appropriation was not one the city was engaged with, and is not related to the Columbia Sports Fieldhouse or any other city project," she wrote answering a Tribune inquiry.

The city still is reviewing all of Parson's vetoes for any city impacts, however, Olsen added.

Columbia Public Schools

CPS heavily pushed back against Senate Bill 727, an omnibus bill that allows charter school expansion in Boone County, and other direct impacts on the district, but this bill ultimately was signed in May. Charter school expansion could cost the district $13 million, according to previous Tribune reporting.

"SB 727 creates an uneven playing field in school finance as public schools and now many others are being hit by vetoes that are subject to the ebb and flow of state revenues and the legislative budget process," wrote Michelle Baumstark, CPS Chief Communications officer in a message to the Tribune. "Columbia Public Schools has been vocal about giving its local taxpayers a voice in how their money should be spent, including when it comes to funding charter schools in Boone County."

Out of 18 budget veto letters, 11 of them had line-item vetoes related to SB 727 and its $400 million annual cost once fully implemented. This equates to 58 of Parson's 149 vetoes, based on a review by the Tribune of veto letters and the list of vetoes. All of these 149 vetoes, regardless of it relating to SB 7272, equal $1.02 billion stripped from the state's budget.

One Missouri operating budget line item veto that may not have a direct impact on the district as a whole, could still affect low-income families with students in the district, Baumstark continued.

This is the Close the Gap program funding, which provides funds to families to pay for a variety of educational expenses, including tutoring, she wrote.

"(This) could impact families in our community who were utilizing the program, especially families who fall below the federal poverty level," Baumstark wrote.

Parson's veto keeps $15 million in the program and is unrelated to SB 727. Prior to the veto, lawmakers had appropriated $25 million.

"Given the short-term nature of this funding source, it is not prudent to start a new program cycle, therefore, funding is limited to existing obligations from the Fiscal Year 2024 budget," Parson wrote in the veto letter. "Further, expenditures under this program should prioritize tutoring services provided to eligible children and not technology equipment purchases."

Parson also vetoed initiatives focused on school safety, zeroing out a $750,000 line item, which he said is "for a six-month study of a school safety software program."

This potentially is related to the Raptor Alert app school districts signed up to utilize, Baumstark noted. Parson's veto letter doesn't specifically cite Raptor Alert, but does note it is in relation to SB 727.

"The veto amount doesn’t match the initial allocation listed, so we’re waiting on more information from (the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) on what this means for districts who signed up to use the software," she wrote. "The software was not immediately available at the start of the school year and mid-year implementation is very difficult for large districts. The district did sign up to use the system, but has not implemented it yet."

Any implementation also is paused until the district hears more on veto specifics.

Another of Parson's school-safety vetoes is similar to one in Kansas, Baumstark noted. The budget bill in question does not specifically call out Zero Eyes as a vendor, but "the ($2.5 million) appropriation appears to describe a specific vendor’s platform," rather than ensuring there is a competitive bidding process with the state, Parson noted when penning the veto in relation to SB 727. The district does not use Zero Eyes, Baumstark wrote.

The district previously received a $300,000 grant for safety initiatives, including visitor management and weapon detection.

"The district has been working on set up and training to fully implement the management system this (upcoming) school year as part of several new safety initiatives in the district," Baumstark wrote, adding the purchase of weapon detection system OPENGATE was approved by the school board earlier in the year, for which the district is paying.

University of Missouri

The UM System is appreciative of its receipt of $504.6 million in core funding with additional funding to support capital improvement projects at all four universities, a news release noted.

“We are deeply grateful to Governor Parson and our legislative leaders for their incredible commitment to our mission of teaching, research and meaningful engagement,” University of Missouri President Mun Choi said in the release. “This record support will directly benefit the health, economic and workforce needs of communities across the state, while providing a 13-to-1 return on investment for all Missourians.”

The 3% core funding increase means it provides greater support to degree programs, including medical, legal and agricultural, and related activities, such as $325,000 for the MU School of Law’s Veterans Clinic in Columbia.

"State support for the UM System empowers Missouri,” said Robin Wenneker, chair of the UM Board of Curators. “Funding supports the kind of world-class education we deliver every day, and that is important to our state."

More: Superintendents of Boone County and adjacent districts sought veto of charter schools bill

A variety of capital improvements also are supported by the budget for the UM system.

In Columbia, a $138 million budget appropriation will benefit NextGen radiopharmaceutical, animal science and health care engineering initiatives. MU also will receive $10 million for a meat processing training and research facility on East Campus; $3 million for the planning and design of a designated Wine and Grape Institute Research Center and Viticulture Facility in Eckles Hall; and $1.8 million for facilities and equipment for the Missouri Foundation Seed Program at South Farm.

The core increase provides $24.7 million for University of Missouri Extension, but this is down from the original budget appropriation of $29.7 million from lawmakers after Parson's veto in relation to SB 727.

More: University of Missouri reveals updates to master plan tied to MizzouForward initiative

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on X, formerly Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Columbia reactions to Gov. Parson's Missouri budget, line-item vetoes