Our reserve is for a rainy day — and we are getting ready for a storm that districts have never seen before. We anticipate that next year it will be equally significant.””

— Maries County R-2 Superintendent Dr. Lenice Basham.

Dr. Lenice Basham shared with the Maries County R-2 Board of Education on Thursday that the district was told to expect about a 10-percent reduction in funding while Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced June 1 the state is restricting another $209 million.

“We are hearing from a lot of people that it is a 10 percent reduction in funding,” Basham said. “For us, that is somewhere around $300,000.”

Basham said Parson has advised superintendents and school districts to prioritize their programs at the local level to decide what is essential and what can temporarily be put on hold until later in the school year.

“The governor has begun a round of withholdings from the basic Foundation Formula and Classroom Trust starting with the May state payments,” Basham said in her report, referring to the formula Missouri government uses to determine funds to send to each district. “We are going to have to reevaluate our priorities as additional significant withholdings will continue with the next fiscal year.”

This month, the state withheld all of the Classroom Trust funds. In May 2019 the Maries R-2 district received $25,523. 25 in the Classroom Trust. In May and June 2020 the district is expected to receive zero dollars.

Parson announced in a press release on Monday that expenditure restrictions due to the economic impact of COVID-19 is “unlike anything we have ever experienced before, and we are now expecting significant revenue declines.”

Between March and April, Missouri saw a decline of over 300,000 jobs, a decrease of about 10 percent, which makes Missouri’s unemployment levels back to numbers last seen in 1996 when unemployment was at 9.7, according to the governor’s press release. Prior to the economic shutdown, employment numbers were at a low 3.9 percent.

“We have already had to withhold over $220 million dollars due to budget concerns resulting from COVID-19,” Parson said. “In addition to these restrictions, we will be restricting another $209 million  in June.”

That $209 million in restrictions joins the April budget reductions of $180 million and $47 million respectively.

District superintendents were expected to meet with Parson on June 2 (Tuesday) to clearly designate what the percentage of withholdings will be and how it will impact each district.

“Be prepared to have a special meeting in June to start looking at what programs may need to be cut,” Basham told the board of education.

Districts usually receive a percentage of funds from Missouri casinos that are designated under the fund “Classroom Trust.” However, Maries R-2 receives a small percentage of that, last year was $6,000, or very little as this year was zero, and next year may equal a similar amount.

“Our reserve is for a rainy day — and we are getting ready for a storm that districts have never seen before,” Basham told the board.

She added that the district is eligible for funding from the CARES Act, which will offset some expenses, but not very many. She hopes to know more when Parson releases the new Phase 2 restricts in June.

“We anticipate that next year it will be equally significant,” Basham said. “I just wanted you guys to be really aware of what is coming down.”

In Owensville, Gasconade County R-2 Superintendent Dr. Chuck Garner agrees with Basham that the withholdings will be significant.

“We are calculating the numbers now,” Garner said on Monday afternoon nearly 30 minutes following Parson’s announcement. “We are trying to figure out what that is going to look like for us and it will be significant at this point.”

Garner added that he was informed at 2:30 that the district would not receive any reimbursement for transportation in June — even though budgets are decided in May and June before school starts and then distributed over a 12 month period.

“We got withheld in May and are now being withheld in June,” Garner said.

Garner said the reductions translate into 13 percent less funding for transportation this year.

In May 2019, transportation for state schools was allocated $107 million dollars, but with reductions, they are now expected to receive $93 million dollars, Garner said.

“If we don’t receive all of our money from the state, we have to figure out what that means for us,” he said.

Maries R-1 Superintendent Mark Parker said Tuesday afternoon following conference with Parson that they are estimating about a 4 percent reduction in the budget. His district has been trying to cut costs since March when students were sent home during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am cautiously optimistic but I know we are going to be needing cuts,” Parker said. “Consistent budget items are salary and stuff like that. We were able to make some staffing changes at the end of the year that I think will help us out.”

Parker said Parson thinks the fourth quarter will be better, but it won’t help schools who need to finalize their budgets for the 2020-21 school year by June 30.

“We will try our best to keep our education level where it is, and at the same time trying to get ready for school to restart and all the restrictions with COVID — it is going to be very, very challenging.,” Parker said.

A breakdown of the new $209 million in reductions includes over $41 million from the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development and over $131 million from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.