By Jorie Shuckman
FOCUS St. Louis

The Missouri legislature has a couple of different education proposals it is debating this session that you may be interested in. With the repeal of the casino loss limits and the increase in casino taxes passed in the November election, the Missouri government stands poised to collect a great deal more money from the casinos, money that is supposed to be designated for education.  Not only should we make sure that the money does indeed go to education, but you should also be aware of a couple of bills. 

One idea before the legislature is that all additional money from the casino would be used to control higher education tuition at the state’s universities.  The current funding formula for elementary and secondary schools would be reworked, and money from the casinos would be set aside specifically to either lower higher education tuition, or to increase it a lower rate than was previously planned.

The other bill you may be interested in is one that creates the “Persistence to Graduation” fund.  It would encourage all school districts that have at least 60% of their students qualify for free or reduced lunch to apply for grants that would implement strategies to prevent drop-outs.  The Department of Education would monitor the program for abuse of funds, and grants would stretch from 1 to 5 years, with school districts encouraged to renew them.  Preference would be given to “school districts that propose a holistic approach to drop-out prevention.” 

Money is obviously not easy to come by in this economy, and the bill makes no mention of where the funding for this program would come from, other than general revenue. 

Is this the best use of limited education dollars during an economic downturn?  Or can you never put a price on trying to keep kids in school?