A group of Kansas City parents says Missouri lawmakers’ plan to phase out the state’s income tax could “devastate” public schools.
On Aug. 4, voters will consider a plan to amend the state constitution to reduce and eventually eliminate the state individual income tax and replace it with sales and use taxes. The income tax accounts for about 65% of the state’s general revenue.
A statewide coalition called Parents for Missouri Public Schools argues the tax plan could lead to less state funding for schools. Organizers held a regional launch in Kansas City on Thursday to inform parents, educators and community members about the proposed amendment — and lay out what they say is at stake.
LaNeé Bridewell, the coalition’s co-lead for the Kansas City region, said her son is a high school senior, but she wants to ensure his school is open long after he graduates.
“It's about my neighbor's son, it's about the kids who go to my church, it's about the people in my community, and wanting to make sure that this cornerstone is not cast away,” Bridewell said.
Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe said the plan will attract more businesses to Missouri, which he said is falling behind other states that don’t have income taxes, including Tennessee and Texas.
Republican lawmakers, who largely support the bill, said sales taxes are a fairer system and give residents more freedom to choose how they spend their money. Others said the state’s tax system needs to be modernized, which could include expanding sales taxes to digital products.
Kehoe said healthcare and agriculture would be exempt from being included in any sales tax expansion. Municipalities would have to reduce personal property and other local taxes when local revenues increase, but the amendment prohibits them from reducing funding for public schools.
But as Missouri already faces a fiscal cliff, Bridewell and other organizers don’t trust that expanding sales taxes will be enough for the state to cover its bills — including funding for education.
“We'll be paying more and getting not just a little bit less, but a lot less, and that's just public schools,” Bridewell said. “This is said to affect everything from the overall budget to mental health services, roads, hospitals, libraries.”
The state’s budget fell $190 million short of fully funding public education this year, and already lags behind other states for the percentage of resources it gives to schools.
The Missouri Budget Project, a policy analysis organization, said eliminating the income tax could cut $1.4 billion in general revenue funding for local schools if cuts are equally distributed across the budget — adding up to the salary of 27,000 teachers.
Jaimie Hobbs teaches English as a second language in Kansas City Public Schools and said when she first heard about the tax plan’s potential cuts to public education, it made her heart sink. She joined the group, which is open to members who aren’t parents, as a way to find likeminded people and channel her frustrations.
When schools lose money, Hobbs said, transportation routes and services for children who have disabilities or need language support are at risk. She’s worried less money for schools would mean fewer teachers and support staff.
“Whenever that happens, it’s just chaos. It's hard to learn, it's hard to teach, and so we're really trying to protect this fragile ecosystem that we have in the public schools right now,” Hobbs said.
Kansas City Public Schools and the Lee’s Summit School District’s school boards recently passed resolutions warning of funding threats to public education, including the impacts of eliminating the state income tax.
Local organizer Allie Woods said families rely on schools for services like free meals and transportation. She and her husband rely on before- and after-school care so they can both work full-time.
“Having before- and after-care for whatever the reason, whatever the need, whatever someone's work schedule is incredibly important,” Woods said. “I do fear that that would go away and or look different if this budget is different come August 4.”
The statewide group is an extension of Parents for KC Kids, a group organized to pass a historic bond in Kansas City Public School to fund building improvements and address longstanding maintenance needs.
Woods said she’s been organizing since then, and is now canvassing at playgrounds, neighborhood associations and other community events to spread awareness of the amendment and how it could impact schools.
The group has hosted bi-weekly meetings statewide to onboard other parents and work with them to engage with others in their community. Organizers said their first meeting saw about 120 people attend from Kansas City to the state’s bootheel.
David Tremaine, the group’s co-lead for the Kansas City region, said parents have a stake in the state’s tax plan because their children’s education is on the line. He said more state funding for education would mean schools could invest more in resources for kids like his son, who has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and needs additional support.
“There are a lot of reasons that public schools are important to a lot of people, but the people that they're most important to are the people that send their hearts to them every day and we want to build power with those people,” Tremaine said.
