School Administrators: Sinquefield Constitutional Amendment to end teacher tenure would cost state more than $1.5 billion

The price tag in the latest move by retired billionaire Rex Sinquefield to buy the state of Missouri and remake it in his own image comes in at more than $1.5  billion, according to a fiscal note prepared by the Missouri Association of School Administrators.

The extra standardized tests that would be required to go along with the requirement that teacher pay be determined by test scores would come in at a price tag of $1.5 billion for the state and more than $300 million for schools, MASA said:

The fiscal note which MASA prepared focused on one key area of the initiative petition, section 3(g). This section would require every student to be tested in every subject, every year to determine the compensation for every teacher. MASA used cost data from RFP for the Smarter Balance Assessments and costs from Colorado to arrive at the cost estimates. The fiscal note projects an estimated cost to the state of over $1.5 billion and over $300 million for local school districts. A complete copy of the fiscal note submitted to the State Auditor may be reviewed at this link: MASA Fiscal Note.
"MASA Executive Director, Roger Kurtz said, "We feel that this initiative petition adds a tremendous financial burden on Missouri school districts and does nothing to improve educational opportunities for our students."