JEFFERSON CITY — Teachers, parents, students and other advocates from across the state gathered at the Capitol on Tuesday to lobby against funding cuts for Missouri public schools.
They held a small rally in the rotunda and met with lawmakers to voice their concerns about several pieces of proposed legislation that could further jeopardize what they say is an already underfunded school system.
Missouri ranks 36th in public education expenditures per student, but 49th in the percentage of state revenue dedicated to public education, according to the National Education Association’s 2025 review.
“It’s important to not just support public schools, but to fund them fully, so that students have everything that they need and deserve to get a really good education,” said Ellen Scwartze, a parent with a child in Kansas City Public Schools.
“Even if someone is supportive, we’re hoping that they maintain that support and that they understand that tax cuts in other areas of the budget are going to affect public schools,” she said.
One of participants’ primary concerns was Gov. Mike Kehoe’s proposal to eliminate state income tax. Individual income tax accounted for 64% of the state’s general revenue in 2025, according to the MOST Policy Initiative.
State funding from general revenue accounted for 30% of funding for Missouri’s public education system during the 23-34 school year, according to a National Education Association review.
A joint resolution that would place the option to eliminate individual income tax by 2031 on the Missouri ballot is currently working its way through the legislature.
Carter Taylor, a second grade teacher in Kansas City Public Schools and legislative chair for the American Federation of Teachers Local 691, said that she came to the Capitol to represent her students who were unable to be there.
“It’s a lot easier to put me on the bus than it was to put all my second graders on the bus,” Taylor said. “They shouldn’t have to be advocates for themselves yet. They should be able to focus on being students and being kids."
A lack of funding for basic classroom supplies causes some teachers to use their own personal funds to provide necessary materials for their students, Taylor said.
Missouri currently ranks 49th in the country for average teacher salary and average teacher starting salary, according to the National Education Association’s 2025 review.
“I’ve skipped meals, most teachers I know go into debt their first year teaching, and you don’t climb out of that very easily,” Taylor said. She noted a fellow teacher who is unhoused, suggesting that it's because teacher aren't paid more.
Riley Guy, an organizer for the Columbia Tenants Union, also expressed concern about recent efforts to establish charter schools in Columbia. She said she was encouraged by her meeting with Rep. David Tyson Smith, D-Columbia, who is sponsoring a bill that would reverse the decision to allow charter schools in Boone County.
“Not all charter schools are bad, but we want to make sure our public schools are fully funded before we create charter schools, and the truth is, in Columbia, the funding is just not there,” Guy said.
“We want to make sure that our public schools, which accept kids of all religions, all levels of economic scale, are first priority,” he said.