Stouffer: Education First in a Balanced Budget

We are entering the home stretch of the 2011 legislative session, with several bills left to tackle and a budget to send to the governor.

The best part about the Fiscal Year 2012 budget for Missouri is that it will be balanced without raising taxes. Education remains our top priority, and we will continue to fund it at this year’s levels, plus it will add funding to school transportation and higher education. The Missouri Senate added $20 million for K-12 transportation, which means nearly $120 million will go toward transportation for school districts.

The 2012 fiscal year will start on July 1, 2011. The $23.2 billion budget represents a $6 million reduction from what the governor presented to the Legislature back in January. Once again, we have had to make very tough decisions. The state is required to have a balanced budget every year, unlike the federal government. We do not spend any money we do not have. When we heard late last year we could expect a $500 million deficit, we went to work finding ways to save in some areas and make all of state government function better.

Our work is not finished, though. We are already hearing that Fiscal Year 2013 could prove to be more challenging, depending on the economy for the next year. We could see anywhere from a $200 million to a $700 million shortfall for the fiscal year that will start in 2012. We knew, when the recession started, that this would be a long journey. We are prepared for what is to come. Smart budgeting has kept Missouri above where most states are financially, and this trend will continue.

Fortunately, revenues are up in Missouri, but now is not the time to start creating new programs and making promises that cannot be kept. Our policy of budgeting conservatively proves to be a successful method, and it will remain this way. My hope is to see continued economic growth combine with the pro-jobs agenda of the Missouri General Assembly to make the state an economic powerhouse and lead the country in the years to come.