This week, the state house passed a supplemental spending plan that will provide vital funding for K-12 schools, the state’s Medicaid program, and the statewide pay plan. HB 3014 includes more than $2.8 billion in funding for K-12 schools in Missouri. That total includes nearly $1.8 billion in elementary and secondary education relief funds that are allocated to local school districts. HB 3014 also includes additional funding for the state’s MO HealthNet program. The funds are necessary to avoid a funding shortfall in the program due to the increased Medicaid population.
Additionally, the bill provides a pay increase for all state employees. State jobs have a 26% turnover rate and a more than 55% turnover rate in jobs that pay less than $30,000 annually. Our plan ensures that state employees working in direct care agencies would receive either a 5.5% pay raise or an increase to an hourly wage of $15 per hour, whichever is greater. Employees in other state agencies would receive a 5.5% pay raise or an increase to a $12 per hour wage, whichever is greater.
