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Schools Argue Education Cuts to MO Sup. Court

By AP/KWMU

Jefferson City, MO – The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday over whether the governor has the power to cut funding for schools.

Fourteen school districts, most of them in the Kansas City area, sued after Governor Bob Holden cut nearly $200 million education dollars this summer.

He says he did that because the budget lawmakers passed for this year spends more than the state has.

The state constitution authorizes the governor to trim spending below appropriated amounts when there's a revenue short-fall. The attorney general's office told justices that applies to spending for all purposes, including education.

But plaintiffs in the districts' lawsuit against Holden's action say the governor's withholding power is limited by other parts of the constitution that specifically address education funding.

The court took the case under advisement, but didn't indicate when it will have a decision.

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