Tagged: school bus

Updated 3:29 p.m. March 15, 2011 with information from committee meeting.

A Missouri House committee has opted not to try to increase funding for school busing and the state's A+ scholarship program.

Some lawmakers had distributed amendments Tuesday that would have provided about $35 million of additional money for public school transportation. But the committee did not vote on any of those amendments Tuesday.

Republican leaders in the Missouri House are calling on Governor Jay Nixon (D) to release more funding for school buses.

The challenge follows Thursday’s news that state revenue collections are up by more than six percent since July of last year. 

Reporting from Illinois Public Radio's Luke Runyon used in this report.

School officials say Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's decision to slash school transportation spending could hurt instruction, even though he wants to increase the amount the state spends per pupil.

The budget Quinn unveiled in Springfield yesterday cuts $95 million from the state school busing fund.

Governor Jay Nixon (D) has released an additional $10 million withheld from school bus funding for Missouri's public schools this year.

Nixon initially ordered $70 million withheld from K-12 transportation funding, citing dwindling revenues.