The Missouri State Board of Education voted at its September 15, 2026 meeting to request $4,282,736,000 for the foundation formula in fiscal year 2028. DESE’s official meeting recap says that keeps funding at the fiscal year 2027 level and leaves the formula approximately $270 million short of full funding. A preceding proposal that included full formula funding failed on a 4-4 tie.
The vote sets the board’s budget request, rather than the final appropriation. DESE’s recap identified October 1 as the deadline for submitting requests to the Office of Administration. The governor and Legislature will consider funding in the subsequent state budget process. Districts therefore face a planning signal, while the final amount remains to be decided.
The adequacy target and district budgets
Missouri’s fiscal year 2027 DESE programs book lists a calculated State Adequacy Target of $7,145 for fiscal years 2026, 2027 and 2028. The target is an input to the statutory funding formula. The board’s budget request and the final statewide appropriation determine whether that formula is fully funded.
The North Kansas City budget describes the formula’s transition from weighted average daily attendance toward weighted membership. For 2026-27, its calculation combines 80 percent weighted average daily attendance with 20 percent weighted membership before applying the adequacy target, dollar value modifier and local-effort deduction. These measures are funding inputs, rather than a simple count of enrolled students.
North Kansas City plans recurring reductions
North Kansas City Schools’ official budget-reduction page reports a $5.6 million shortfall at the end of fiscal year 2026 and forecasts an additional $11 million state-funding loss for 2027-28. The district says it must reduce approximately $16 million in recurring expenditures beginning in the 2027-28 school year. Its planning process includes community meetings and consideration of options before final decisions.
KCTV5 reported that Lee’s Summit R-7 projected a $7 million to $10 million loss for the current school year and that its school board voted to partially eliminate a voluntary property-tax rollback. That local response raises property taxes to address revenue pressure; it is distinct from the statewide board’s request for fiscal year 2028.
Debate over what the request should communicate
KSMU reported that board member Mike Matousek questioned requesting money he believed was unavailable. Board member Kerry Casey argued that the board should inform legislators what full funding would require, leaving lawmakers to decide whether to underfund it. The disagreement concerned the role of the budget request as well as the state’s financial outlook.
The $270 million figure in this article is DESE’s official estimate for the fiscal year 2028 request. Other reporting has cited different projected gaps. Those estimates are not treated as interchangeable here, and the district-level shortfalls are not added to the statewide formula gap.