HCS HB 2040 & 2430 -- ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

SPONSOR:  Muschany (Jetton)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
Student Achievement by a vote of 6 to 1.

This substitute changes the laws regarding elementary and
secondary education.

TEACHERS AND EDUCATION PERSONNEL

The substitute establishes:

(1)  A one-time award of $2,500 to certificated teachers with 20
years or more of experience earning less than $50,000;

(2)  A recruitment award of $5,000 for math, science, or special
education and $2,500 for other subjects for teachers who become
employed by districts with provisional or unaccredited status or
districts that have an assessed value of less than $70,000 per
student;

(3)  A retention award for certificated teachers earning less
than $50,000 in districts that have an assessed value of less
than $70,000 per student and are accredited without provision.
Beginning August 28, 2009, award amounts will be $2,500 for five
years' service and $2,500 for 10 years;

(4)  An accreditation improvement award of $2,500 for teachers
who are employed by a district when it achieves accreditation
without provision; and

(5)  A pilot project funded by an annual appropriation of $20
million to recognize instructional excellence in participating
districts.  The substitute establishes a procedure by which
districts prepare an assessment plan and an award plan that will
lead to awards of 5% to 10% of the teacher's salary, based on
both student and teacher performance according to criteria
specified in the substitute, to the district's top 20% of
teachers at the elementary, middle or junior high, and high
school levels.

The awards are subject to appropriations and will not be used in
calculating final average salary for retirement.  The annual
teacher recruitment and retention report will include information
on the efficacy of the first four incentives, and the Joint
Committee on Education will review the impact of the pilot
project during Fiscal Year 2012 and again in Fiscal Year 2014 and
make recommendations about the continuation of the program prior
to the scheduled end of the project.

For the period between January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2014,
teachers and nonteacher educational personnel who are 75 years of
age and whose cost-of-living increases are capped will receive an
additional monthly payment of $5 multiplied by his or her years
of service for teachers and $3 multiplied by his or her years of
service for nonteachers.

The substitute also contains procedures for the reporting of
administrative salaries and expenses and a reduction of
appropriations for the Commissioner of Education's Areas of
Critical Concern Fund and approval authority for expenditures
from that fund becoming a duty of the Joint Committee on
Education.

SCHOLARSHIP TAX CREDIT

Beginning January 1, 2008, the substitute establishes Bryce's Law
which authorizes a tax credit for an individual who donates to a
scholarship-granting organization if the donation is not claimed
on the taxpayer's federal income tax return.  The tax credit may
be taken against income tax, corporate franchise tax, insurance
premium tax, financial institutions tax, and express company tax
liability.  The credit will be for 80% of the amount of the
contribution but cannot exceed 50% of the taxpayer's state tax
liability, up to $800,000 per year, and is nonrefundable but may
be carried forward for four years or transferred or sold for
between 75% and 100% of its par value.

Eligibility standards for students receiving scholarships are
attendance at a public school with an individualized education
plan (IEP) or until enrollment in a Missouri school.  Up to 10%
of students with an IEP may receive a scholarship each year.
Scholarship-granting organizations must meet requirements for
fiscal soundness, percentage of revenues devoted to educational
scholarships, and public reporting.  Private schools qualify to
accept scholarship students by meeting specified requirements
including employee background checks and providing data as
requested, among others.  Scholarships may also be used at a
public school outside the student's resident school district.
The substitute specifies how scholarship checks will be
distributed.

The Department of Economic Development must conduct a study to
measure student achievement, satisfaction with the program, its
fiscal impact on the state and public schools, and other criteria
and provide the General Assembly with a final copy of the
evaluation by December 31, 2013.  The department cannot use
public money for the study and may contract with one or more
qualified researchers who have previous experience evaluating
similar programs.

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

The substitute contains provisions regarding school liability and
safety measures including discipline procedures, reporting of
information, administration of medicine, and commissioning of
school law enforcement officers.  Procedures for obtaining
electronic media for blind students from publishers are
established, and the State Auditor is authorized to audit school
districts in the same manner as state agencies are audited.

The Missouri Preschool Plus Grant Program is established, upon an
annual appropriation of $5 million, to provide grants to school
districts and community-based organizations in St. Louis and
Kansas City for high quality early childhood educational services
for up to 1,250 children.  The substitute establishes procedures
for awarding and administering the grants, including the
collection of long-term student performance data.

The provisions of the substitute regarding the teacher incentives
and pilot project will expire six years from the effective date,
and the provisions regarding the scholarship tax credit and the
Missouri Preschool Plus Grant Program will expire December 31 six
years from the effective date.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Cost on General Revenue Fund of
$35,730,300 Up to Over $46,754,528 in FY 2009, $33,972,642 Up to
Over $47,011,365 in FY 2010, and $33,970,216 Up to Over
$47,010,100 in FY 2011.  No Impact on Other State Funds in FY
2009, FY 2010, and FY 2011.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters of House Bill 2040 say that low-paying
districts tend to have high teacher turnover, which affects
student achievement.  Several bordering states have higher
minimum salaries than Missouri.  A handful of retired teachers
and education employees are living in poverty through a fluke in
retirement coverage.  The retirement provisions will help them a
great deal for a cost of about 36 cents per active teacher each
month.

Supporters of House Bill 2430 say that the bill provides several
specific, targeted ways to increase teacher pay in a variety of
circumstances, including a performance pay incentive that is
teacher-based, rather than administrator-driven.  This approach
gets funds to where they are most needed.

Testifying for HB 2040 were Representative Jetton; Missouri State
Teachers Association; Missouri Retired Teachers Association and
Public School Personnel; Ashton Honeycutt; Helen Cline; Sid
Doerhoff, St. Elizabeth R-IV School District; and Calvin D.
Brewer and Stephen R. Pope, Chilhowee R-IV School District.

Testifying for HB 2430 were Representative Holsman; and Missouri
State Teachers Association.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bills say that the retirement
provisions need to be postponed until the contribution rate has
stabilized and the ratio of funding improves.

Testifying against HB 2040 was Public School Retirement System.

Testifying against HB 2430 was Public School Retirement System.

OTHERS:  Others testifying on House Bill 2040 have concerns about
the long-term sustainability of the minimum salary approach,
especially if legislators have to decide between allocating money
for the basic funding formula versus supplementing salaries.  A
performance pay component should be added.

Others testifying on House Bill 2430 say that the issue of
teacher compensation is complex enough that it merits an interim
committee to study it.  Even if the stipends are declared in law
not to be countable for retirement, varying interpretations of
retirement equity could lead to the stipends counting for
retirement, which would mean contributions will be needed.

Testifying on HB 2040 were Americans for Prosperity and
Foundation; Missouri National Education Association; Missouri
School Boards Association; and Penney Rector, School
Administrators Coalition.

Testifying on HB 2430 were Public School Retirement System; and
Missouri National Education Association.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated October 15, 2008 at 3:11 pm