The chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Republican Gary Nodler of Joplin says he's working on legislation that would require school districts to tell the state whether they're providing adequate local financial support. KSMU's Missy Shelton reports. Nodler says the proposal would make school districts more accountable for their district's level of local funding.
He says the bill would be a companion to the new school funding formula that lawmakers approved last session.
Nodler's referring to a lawsuit that more than 235 school districts have filed...The suit claims state funding for education is not distributed to schools fairly and is not adequate.
Nodler says there's a discussion that consolidation could be a consequence if school districts admit they're not providing adequate local funding. (But he emphasizes that he's not sure if consolidation will be included in the final version of the bill he intends to file.)
A declaration of adequate funding could impact a district's standing in the education funding lawsuit, which claims there's not adequate funding.
Nodler acknowledges this is a tough balancing act.
As for higher education, Nodler says he's introduced a bill that would provide transitional scholarships for A plus students who have completed their degrees at community colleges and plan to move on to a four year institution.
Nodler neither dismissed nor endorsed a plan from a top House Republican that would revive a college voucher plan that never got to the full House last year.