A nearly four-year relationship between Missouri and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is coming to an end after recent budget cuts to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Earlier this year, the Imagination Library program lost $4 million following major cuts in the fiscal year 2027 state operating budget. State officials said the Imagination Library is no long accepting new applicants, but the program will continue operating for those already enrolled until the remaining $2 million is depleted.
In 2024, Missouri granted the department $11 million, becoming the first state to fund the program across all counties completely.
At its peak in late 2025, just under 170 million children under the age of 5 nationwide were enrolled in the program, which gifted free books to children from birth to age 5.
The program was a signature of the philanthropy of country music legend Dolly Parton, who died Aug. 25. References to the program and the budget cuts in Missouri have been seen on social media.
Many programs within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education are experiencing reduced funding due to budget bills. The department lost over $206 million in funding after budgets were finalized, despite gaining $46 million from the general fund.
The bulk of the loss comes from federal funding, which was $232 million short of the previous year’s grants.
In a statement to St. Louis’s NBC affiliate KSDK in June, Lucas Bond, communications director of the DESE, said department officials are unsure about the future of the organization in Missouri as a state funded program.
“Partnering with local programs could be a potential in the future with time, funding, and partnerships coordination,” Bond said.