State budget sent to Senate floor with freeze on public education funding.

Missouri's $24 billion budget was sent to the Senate floor Thursday, April 12, with a near stand-still level funding for public education.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, said this was probably the most difficult budget year ever. The budget in the Senate is $86 million below what the House had passed last month, but freezes funding for K-12 and higher education.

Colleges and universities were facing a 15 percent cut under a proposal from Gov. Jay Nixon, but were spared when the House passed its budget last month. The House was able to fund public universities at the same level as last year through a $40 million boost from a national settlement against mortgage companies and cuts to a $28 million health care program for the blind.

Schaefer's committee also endorsed the House plan to keep funding stable for K-12 education, including a $5 million increase recommended by Nixon. Despite the small increase, the formula for funding local school districts is still below the recommended amount in state law.

The lack of adequate funding means the rural schools without a large local tax base will continue to lose funds disproportionately to suburban schools with higher local revenue.

The Senate Appropriations Committee also kept funding for higher education equal to last year, but it did not go along with the House's cut to the blind. Schaefer proposed a new plan to fund the 2,800 people who do not qualify for Medicaid benefits.

Schaefer's proposal would require people on the current program to now pay a $111 premium and a $600 deductible to receive state medical coverage. Those costs are based off the average amount paid by a state employee.

Tax credits have also been a discussion point for the state's budget. Although the General Assembly has twice failed to cap some of the existing programs, some senators may be looking at the budget to address the issue.

Sen. Will Kraus, R-Jackson County, said the state could have a lot more money to spend if tax credit programs were reined in and capped. Schaefer said there could be some discussion on the Senate floor, but it would be "outside the scope" of the budget.

Schaefer said it was unrealistic to assume "everybody's problems are going to be solved by putting in the budget."