A Moment with Mike for March 26th

As we begin the second half of this legislative session this week, the primary order of business will be to discuss and pass a balanced budget that will serve our state wisely. Most legislation affects specific groups but the one thing that we can all seem to relate to and makes up nearly a third of our budget is education. Whether you have a child or grandchild going to school in Missouri, or a friend or family member who is a teacher, or if you yourself teach or are enrolled in higher education, Missouri’s education system matters to you – and therefore matters to us.
Properly funding education is of course the foundation for providing quality education for Missouri’s youth. Last years increase of $132 million marked the third year of increased funding for elementary and secondary education and the budget committee will once again bring forward an increase in educational spending.
Aside from adequately funding education, there are ways we can work to make the classroom experience better for our students and the first half of this legislative session has seen an emphasis on educational issues. The House has passed a comprehensive bill that will give students a safe learning environment free from the threat of educator sexual misconduct, but also protect the rights of that huge majority of dedicated innocent teachers whose images are tarnished by a few. We are also working on a bill that will give our teachers more freedom to enforce classroom discipline without fear of being sued. The "Teacher Protection Act" would prevent lawsuits against teachers who discipline students as long as they are following school board and administrative policy.
We also know that one of the best ways to ensure we are providing a quality education is to attract the very best teachers possible. We are working on a bill that would give teachers a much needed pay raise so we can continue to attract and retain high quality teachers here in Missouri. Our teachers are doing an amazing job of providing quality education but in most cases being paid less than their counterparts in other states and certainly less than they deserve.
I am proud that we have focused much of our time the first half of session on education, an important and tangible issue that affects all of us in some way. I am confident that the second half of session will see continued efforts to improve education but will also see an effort to tackle other important issues such as illegal immigration and property tax reform as we try to make Missouri a better place to live.
If you have questions, you may reach me at my Capitol number 573-751-9465, at the local district number, 660-582-4014, by email at mike.thomson@house.mo.gov or by mail at Room 406A State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.