Parson vetoed millions from KC-area projects. How will cuts affect city’s growth?

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Missouri Gov. Mike Parson last week vetoed from the state budget millions of dollars that would have gone to the Kansas City area.

Parson, a Republican, signed a $50.5 billion budget for the next fiscal year on Friday but vetoed roughly $1 billion in funding approved by state lawmakers.

The Star identified at least 12 Kansas City area organizations or entities that received cuts, totaling nearly $19 million. Several major projects also lost funding, totaling at least $41 million. Those figures are based on a review of Parson’s budget veto notes and could be higher.

The cuts ranged from smaller requests for organizations such as $100,000 for The Educator Academy, an organization that recruits and trains teachers to teach in Kansas City area schools, to large infrastructure projects such as $23 million for a highway project in Kansas City.

Charles King, The Educator Academy’s president and CEO, said in an interview he was stunned when he learned that Parson had vetoed the money for his organization.

“I definitely was disappointed in the governor’s decision,” King said. The money would have gone to help recruit and support teachers at a time when it’s increasingly difficult to enter the profession, he said.

“We won’t be able to have the extensive offerings that we once were able to provide without the support from another — like going to private philanthropy or having the funding come from somewhere else,” he said. “It will have us, you know, put our organization in just a tough bind.”

Parson on Friday was critical of some of the items lawmakers had inserted into the budget, saying he cut them to “avoid future budgetary pains tomorrow.”

In letters explaining several of his vetoes, including the money for King’s organization, he also pointed to a sweeping new education law that will cost the state an estimated $400 million more annually for public schools.

Sen. Barbara Washington, a Kansas City Democrat, said that she understands the state’s rosy financial situation won’t last forever. However, the state was in a position to help its vulnerable populations, she said.

“I feel like Kansas City did pretty okay, but there are still a lot of organizations that could have been helped without being vetoed,” she said. “We’re not talking about multi-millions, you know, sometimes $75,000, $100,000 helps an organization stay alive and to their mission.”

While Parson’s vetoes affected projects and organizations across the Kansas City area, lawmakers of both parties argue that the metro still received a large amount of funding for the next fiscal year, which started on Monday.

The budget Parson signed includes $25 million to build a medical and behavioral health care “inpatient unit” for Children’s Mercy, $5 million to improve the riverfront near the Kansas City Current stadium and additional money for the South Loop project on Interstate 670.

“Although cuts to budget items were seen across the budget, I was glad to see many of Kansas City’s priorities - including $25M (million) for a new mental health facility at Children’s Mercy - were preserved,” House Majority Leader Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, said in a statement.

But several major projects and organizations still felt the brunt of Parson’s cuts, including the Lucile H. Bluford Branch of the Kansas City Public Library. Parson slashed $3 million intended to help revitalize the library.

Anna Bernard, a spokesperson for the library, said in an email that the veto meant the library would have to rely more heavily on foundations and the community for funding.

“Library leadership is grateful to the state legislators who supported the project and confident that the governor and state legislators will reevaluate and support the project at a future date,” Bernard said, adding that expanding the branch was a “vital project” for the library.

Some of the other cuts to organizations included $2 million intended for Community Builders of Kansas City; $2 million for ArtsTech, a Kansas City nonprofit that focuses on art and technical training for underserved youth; $250,000 for WeCode KC, a group that teaches youth about technology; $50,000 for Green Acres Urban Farm and Research Project; and $50,000 for BoysGrow, an agricultural entrepreneurship for Kansas City urban youth.

John Gordon Jr., the executive director of BoysGrow, said that the money would have allowed his organization to serve more kids in the Kansas City area.

“I believe that youth services and education should be at the top of what we’re spending our money on,” he said. “I realize there’s a lot of different things that got cut, from infrastructure to national security to a lot of things. But I believe, you know, the state of Missouri, the more we’re investing in our youth, the more we’re investing in our state.”

Parson’s decision to cut funding for WeCode KC was a “huge loss,” said Sharmelle Winsett, the organization’s vice president of development and strategic partnerships.

The organization provides free and low-cost coding classes to kids and young adults as well as a workforce program that pays students while they learn, she said. Those programs provide a space for individuals so “they’re not out on the streets participating in negative and violent behavior,” she said.

“We are now in a position where we may not be able to continue the cybersecurity program through the fall. We are going to have to really buckle down and find other avenues and other sources of income,” she said. “While we’re looking for those other sources of income, there are young people that are going to hurt behind this.”

Cuts to hospital, infrastructure projects

Parson’s overhaul of the spending plan came after one of the most fraught budget processes in recent history as the Senate grappled with infighting among GOP senators.

A roughly 41-hour filibuster from a group of hard-right senators delayed lawmakers from taking action on the budget until just before the constitutionally mandated deadline in May.

The delay required the budget chairs in the House and Senate to negotiate the plan behind closed doors, a process that faced sharp criticism from lawmakers of both parties who argued it was one of the least transparent budget cycles in recent memory.

For example, in one of the letters explaining Parson’s veto of $502,000 for a historical society, his administration wrote that there wasn’t enough information about the project.

“The demographic language is not specific enough to identify where this project is located,” the letter said.

One of the cuts from the Northland that received criticism was $5 million from the $15 million that lawmakers had approved to build a behavioral health facility on the campus of North Kansas City Hospital.

Rep. Eric Woods, a Kansas City Democrat, told The Star that Parson’s decision to reduce funding for the hospital was unfortunate.

“That’s a significant decrease, but at least they’re still going to get something,” Woods said. “Mental health care access is so important, and in such short supply. We had an opportunity to really expand that here in the Northland.”

Parson, a former sheriff and staunch defender of police, also issued a $1 million cut to the Police Foundation of Kansas City. However, the group still received $5 million in the budget Parson signed.

Tye Grant, the president and CEO of the foundation, said in an email that the foundation was fortunate to receive the money. A nonprofit, the foundation helps raise money to support the Kansas City Police Department.

“We understand resources are limited and their trust in us as wise stewards of these tax dollars to make Kansas City safer is appreciated,” he said. “We will continue to collaborate with the Kansas City Missouri Police Department to prioritize needs for our community to allow everyone to feel safe.”

Several major infrastructure projects also received large cuts, including $23 million of the $53 million lawmakers approved for a highway project in Kansas City, $3.4 million to study the impacts of the Interstate-70 expansion in the Kansas City metro and $15 million of the $30 million lawmakers approved for the South Loop project on top of I-670.

Despite the cut to the South Loop project, Melissa Kozakiewicz, Kansas City’s deputy city manager, touted the $43.6 million the state has contributed in total.

“We are thankful for our partners at the state of Missouri for supporting development in Kansas City and the region,” she said.

King, with The Educator Academy, said that his organization hopes to regain the funding that was cut in the future. Organizations like his are providing avenues for people who did not go through traditional routes to become teachers, he said.

“Teacher preparation and retention efforts should remain a priority for the state and…a future governor should make this a priority,” he said, adding that he’s “hopeful that the state won’t leave us behind.”