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Some Mo. senators want to reject federal school funds

Mo. Capitol
Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio
Mo. Capitol

Some Republican lawmakers in Missouri are suggesting the state reject a $189 million federal payment for K-12 public schools.

Others want to accept it, but also want to spend it differently than Governor Jay Nixon(D) has proposed.

The school funding issue intensified today as lawmakers tried to figure out how Nixon's plan would affect their local districts.

Nixon wants to give schools the influx of federal money this year, then cut their funding for the 2011-12 school year.  He wants schools to balance out the cut by carrying over money from the current school year into the next.

State Senators Jim Lembke(R, St. Louis) and Jason Crowell(R, Cape Girardeau) said Missouri should turn down the federal money.

Meanwhile, House Budget Chairman Ryan Silvey(R, Kansas City) want to accept the money.  But he favors a flat funding model over Nixon's increase and decrease.

Marshal was a political reporter for St. Louis Public Radio until 2018.