Missouri Gov. Mike Parson reverses last of 2020-21 budget cuts, citing improving economy

On July 1, the first day of the state’s current fiscal year, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced more than $400 million in budget cuts and braced for the pandemic to wreak havoc on state revenue.

"We started off this year excited for the future," Parson said then. “Needless to say, when COVID-19 hit, everything changed."

It's changed again, at least from a financial standpoint.

In a news release Monday, Parson said he’s restoring the final $281 million of the money that was withheld earlier as the economy continues to beat his administration’s expectations.

Back when the budget restrictions were being prepared, Parson’s team expected the state’s unemployment rate to hit 16 percent, according to the release. Instead, Missouri’s number has stayed well below double digits. It was 5.8 percent in December, the most recent month for which data is available.

Roughly $120 million of restored cuts will flow back into K-12 schools around the state, including Springfield Public Schools.

Other marquee items coming back include appropriations for Bright Flight college scholarships, maintenance and repair of state buildings and funding for the State Historical Society in Columbia, which is in charge of planning events for Missouri’s 200th birthday this year.

Parson is also releasing $3.6 million allocated for child welfare staff at the Department of Social Services, where roughly 100 layoffs in the Children’s Division raised concerns last year.

Kelli Jones, a spokeswoman for the governor, said that won't translate into new positions, though.

"The release of the restriction has no bearing on the staffing decision," she said.

MORE: Following staff cuts, Children's Division workers express fears for kids

Parson released money withheld from state colleges and universities last month to bring them back up to the full amount of state aid authorized by the legislature last spring.

Parson also restored a $9 million line item for job training programs and $8 million for the state tourism office, which saw its budget line cut nearly in half over the summer.

The good news comes as the legislature weighs another budget proposal from the governor that doesn’t look anything like the doomsday scenario feared in the early days of the pandemic.

If approved, Parson’s budget will fund a voter-mandated expansion of the state’s Medicaid program without the cuts he and other prominent Republicans warned would result.

MORE: 3 things that stood out in Gov. Parson's State of the State

It would also restore education funding to pre-pandemic levels and set aside more than $100 million to take care of a maintenance backlog with state buildings.

Austin Huguelet is the News-Leader's politics reporter. Got something he should know? Have a question? Call him at 417-403-8096 or email him at ahuguelet@news-leader.com.