Kansas City, Mo.--Over 200 low-wage workers, Kansas City Public School (KCPS) parents, and community members packed an emergency meeting on Wednesday to organize against Speaker of the House Jon Patterson’s plan to swap out the income tax with sales tax hikes on everything resulting in "a $5 billion hole in the state budget." The mass meeting, led by Missouri Jobs with Justice, Missouri Workers Center, and Parents for KC Kids, occurred as state lawmakers returned to their districts for Spring Break. The press release is below:
“Missouri already ranks 49th in the nation in state funding for public schools,” said LaNee Bridewell, KCPS parent and leader with Parents for KC Kids. “This means our kids already lack the support they need in the classroom, and our teachers are already underpaid. If Governor Kehoe's tax scheme passes, public schools alone would lose about $1.4 billion. My kid's school can't take another hit, and the thousands of other public schools across Missouri can't, either.”
“If Patterson’s Everything Tax scam passes, it would mean my family pays hundreds of dollars more for the basics we rely on to make it through the week,” said Bill Thompson, low-wage worker and leader with Missouri Workers Center and Stand Up KC. “To add insult to injury, politicians like Patterson and Kehoe are trying to gut funding for critical services like in-home care, which would make me lose the ability to take care of my disabled partner, who just had her kidney removed. She deserves to heal in comfort and dignity, and lawmakers are trying to steal that away from us. We should be increasing taxes on the rich, who are already paying less than ever before for the services and supports we all rely on, while raking in record profits. But instead, some of our politicians want to cut their taxes altogether and take more money out of our pockets instead. It’s only through organizing together, Black, white, and Brown, that we can stop this assault on hard-working Missourians and win what we deserve.”
As working families face an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, House Speaker Patterson has joined his colleagues to pass the bill through the House. The measure heads to the Senate when lawmakers return from Spring Break.
“A $1.4 billion cut to public schools is equivalent to the salaries of 27,000 teachers,” said Elizabeth Warwick, KCPS teacher and American Federation of Teachers union member. “This kind of drastic budget cut would impact every single classroom in every single school in every part of our state. If this passes, kids will lose out on learning and teachers will become so burned out that they quit. This is a crisis in the making. But this crisis is avoidable. Missouri legislators can do the right thing, reject this tax scheme, and protect funds for public schools.”
Other speakers included emcee Terrence Wise, low-wage worker and leader with Missouri Workers Center and Stand Up KC, Ellen Schwartze with Parents for KC Kids, and State Rep. Pattie Mansur. This meeting was one of eight “Fighting for MO” meetings between March 12 and March 21 in Blue Springs, Columbia, Jefferson City, Kansas City, Springfield, St. Charles, and St. Louis City and County.