By Tom Weber, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Most Missouri schools are off for President's Day, but many teachers, students, and administrators are still working today. They're headed to Jefferson City to lobby lawmakers to put more money into education.
Brent Ghan, with the state School Boards' Association, says schools need nearly a billion dollars more than they're currently getting to have adequate funding. He says he realizes state government doesn't have that kind of cash, which is why he says lawmakers should find more.
"We're not advocating any particular way to raise the revenue," Ghan said. "We're simply saying the political leaders need to get together and find some sort of a way to raise some additional money for public education."
Ghan says he's more concerned with the amount of money going to schools than the formula that doles the money out.
He says changing the formula and simply shifting money around doesn't solve the problem of funding inadequacy.
Ghan says he wouldn't be surprised to see 5,000 people show up.
"Frankly we're getting tired of the political bickering going on in Jefferson City. We're not there to blame anyone; our message is simply we need adequate funding if our schools are going to continue to provide a quality education for our kids."