The Missouri General Assembly has spent the entire session crafting a state budget.  Thirteen budget bills (House Bills 1-13) make up the state's nearly $25 billion operating budget for FY 2014, which will last from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014. The thirteen House bills were voted out of conference committee, yesterday, which irons out the differences between the Senate and House budget plans.  One last vote by both the House and the Senate are needed before advancing the budget to the Governor.  The constitutional deadline to have the budget to Governor Nixon is Friday, May 10, at 6 p.m.

Budget items of interest for the Gifted Association of Missouri:

• $60,000 for a full-time gifted coordinator in the Division of Learning Services at the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education;
• $200,000 for the 2014 Missouri Fine Arts Academy
• (Last week, Governor Nixon released the $200,000 funding that was withheld earlier for the 2013 Academies)
• $16 million for Bright Flight Scholarships (which is a $2.4 million increase)
• $315,875 from Federal Funds for courses, exams, and other expenses that lead to high school students receiving college credit and Advanced Placement examination fees for low-income families and for science and mathematics exams;
• $9,027 for the Morgan Ferman Memorial for Education of the Gifted.

 

Thanks goes to everyone who worked with me all session to continue calls and contacts to your State Representatives and State Senators to support gifted education!!

Please don’t forget to say thank you!!!  Legislators get lots of calls of requests.  Many advocates forget to say “thank you”.  A call over the weekend to say thank you to your Representative and Senator will impress upon them how critical gifted education funding is to his/her district, and that you recognize their support.

Thanks again!!  Let me know if you have any questions.