By AP/St. Louis Public Radio
Jefferson City, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon says he will ignore lawmakers' instructions to shield some of Missouri's public school districts from a two-percent midyear funding cut. Instead, Nixon plans to spread the 43 million dollar shortfall across all 524 districts.
Lawmakers tried to exempt about 150 districts from the reduction, but Nixon says that would have been unconstitutional.
Yesterday he directed education officials to follow their initial plan of dividing the shortfall among all the districts.
Reaction among lawmakers was mixed. Some accused Nixon of overstepping his authority while others praised the move as providing stability for schools.