Blunt signs education bills in Springfield

HB 2002 recommends:

• A $121.3 million increase to continue full funding of the foundation formula;

• A $5.5 million increase in funding for the School District Trust Fund;

• A $3.5 million increase in funding for the A+ Schools Program;

• A $2.9 million increase in funding for severely disabled children’s education;

• $15 million for the Small Schools Program;

• $5.8 million for the Missouri Virtual School Program;

• $1 million for eMints in support of the Missouri Mathematics, Engineering, Technology and Science Initiative; and

• A $2.6 million increase in funding for sheltered workshops.

HB 2003 recommends:

• A $43 million increase in funding for Missouri’s public two-year and four-year higher education institutions;

• A $23.8 million increase in funding for the Access Missouri Financial Assistance Program;

• A $437,640 increase in funding for the Missouri Telehealth Network, which gives people in underserved areas access to health care; and

• $1.6 million, including a $100,000 increase in funding, for the Missouri State Historical Society.

The bills’ funding represents part of a $1.2 billion increase in education funding during Blunt’s four years in office, according to a news release. That figure includes $652.5 million for elementary and secondary education, $218 million for higher education, and $335.3 million for the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative.