Senate approves consolidating education departments

After several weeks of debate, the Senate cast a final vote consolidating Missouri's two education departments into one department. The move would eliminate the Coordinating Board for Higher Education and the Higher Education Department and create a single entity under the authority of a six-member education board. During the week of April 19, the Senate voted to pass a joint resolution to dissolve the higher education board and combine the departments, but a second joint resolution, which details the number of board members and the power given to the new board, created some contentious debate among senators. Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, said the two resolutions rely upon each other, and passing one without the other would complicate the consolidation. The Senate voted 30-2 to pass the second joint resolution, with Sens. Frank Barnitz, D-Lake Spring, and Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, voting against the joint resolution. Both joint resolutions will head to the House for further debate. Because the merger requires changing language in the Missouri Constitution, voters would get the final say when they vote on the consolidation in the November election.