(Jefferson City) -- Missouri State Representative Jeff Farnan hopes lawmakers reach consensus on the state's fiscal 2026 budget before the end of this week. State law requires the Missouri Legislature to pass a state budget by May 9th--which is Friday. Speaking on KMA's "Morning Line" program Wednesday morning, Farnan says one of the main sticking points is public school funding. Governor Mike Kehoe and House Republicans want $300 million less for K-12 public education than Senate legislators. "When we sent our bill over the Senate," said Farnan, "they did add an extra $300 million to education. The governor hadn't requested that, so I think that's going to be the biggest sticking point--if we really want to spend that much extra money on education. I'm all for it, but I know there's a lot of Republicans down here that say, hey, education has enough." Kehoe also proposes $50 million for public school students to attend private schools--something Farnan opposes. The Maryville Republican also hopes the Senate restores funding originally stripped from the House budget proposal allocating funds for rural fire equipment and buildings. Farnan cites the Graham Fire Department as among those in his district in need of additional support. "Interesting fact--they sent in a proposal, and they were using a 1957 pumper trunk," he said. "With the budget, they're not wanting a new one--they just want something from the '80s or '90s. But then, if they get something bigger or newer, then they don't have a building big enough to house it." Farnan says the disastrous southern California wildfires earlier this year prompted the push for additional fire safety funding. "If something like that would have happened here," said Farnan, "say, we have a brush fire or CRP ground that catches fire, this district wouldn't have enough resources to put it out. So, that's where this proposal came from."
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