By Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio
Jefferson City, Mo. – Federal aid for Missouri's schools and health care needs is on the way, after the U.S. House today passed a $26 billion spending package.
Missouri's piece of the pie totals about $398 million: $189 million is designated for K-12 schools for the school year now getting underway. The rest, $209 million, will help cover the state's Medicaid costs. Linda Luebbering is Missouri's Budget Director.
"We're facing...what states are calling a cliff in Fiscal Year 2012, and that $209 million is going to help fill up some of that hole," Luebbering said.
Luebbering adds that it may also prevent the need to cut the budget during the course of the year, which Governor Nixon did several times last year.
Meanwhile, it's not known yet how the education funding will be divided up among the state's 500-plus school districts.
DeeAnn Aull is with the Missouri chapter of the National Education Association.
"We have approximately 3,100 educators who have been laid off or basically retirees who were not replaced, so this will go a long way to helping solve that problem this year," Aull said.