Parents for Missouri Public Schools is us — regular parents, teachers, and people who care about kids. We’ve made a commitment to work together to spread the word — Amendment 5 is a tax scam that will cost most of us more and devastate our public school budgets.

The good news is we think we can beat the billionaires and Amendment 5, but it’s going to take all of us working together. Read on for our recent press release and ways to get involved!

We know organized parents can stand up to protect our public schools.

Let’s do this!

Courtney, Marissa, Jamie, and the entire Parents for Missouri Public Schools parent volunteer team

P.S. Pass this on! Invite others to join us!

Everywhere, MO—On May 26, over 120 parents and caregivers from every corner of Missouri came together to launch Parents for Missouri Public Schools, a statewide campaign formed to defeat Amendment 5 on the August ballot.

"I want my daughter and her friends to have an amazing and fully funded public education, and I don't want them to ever have to question whether they are worth it. Amendment 5 would threaten the basics just to give wealthy people a tax break. Our kids are worth more than that." —Kathryn Evans, Kansas City Public Schools parent and leader with Parents for Missouri Public Schools

"My son is successful in school because his special needs are met with additional resources required by his IEP (individual education plan). Any cuts caused by Amendment 5 could compromise his special education—harming him and thousands of other kids like him." —Sierra Kilpatrick, North Kansas City parent and leader with Parents for Missouri Public Schools

“Children in my community aren't a line item in the state’s budget. They are powerful assets. I want my kids to attend schools where they learn to collaborate across differences, where they practice deep thinking and engage in complex problem solving. Amendment 5 threatens all of that.” —Jamie Martin, Francis Howell parent and leader with Parents for Missouri Public Schools

These parents are mobilizing thousands of others against a steady stream of federal, state, and local policies aimed at defunding public education. Many districts are already seeing impacts from county property tax caps and the Missouri legislature’s vote to underfund the state's education formula—a loss of $190 million for Missouri schools. The same legislators allotted $60 million to expand private school vouchers this year.

Now Amendment 5 poses a double threat: it deepens the $2 billion budget deficit—largely the result of capital gains tax cuts—while giving lawmakers unchecked authority to expand sales taxes. Under this amendment, public education faces losses of approximately $1.4 billion per year—all while Missourians pay more out of pocket than before. Rural districts will be the hardest hit. For communities of color, it continues a long pattern of racial disinvestment in public education. In short, the wealthy get more. Missouri kids get less.

The Parents for Missouri Public Schools campaign is made up of parents and caregivers across party lines, spanning urban, small town, and rural communities. They are united by one conviction: deep-pocket billionaires shouldn't benefit at kids' expense.

Missourians ready to stand up for public schools can learn more at https://parents4mopublicschools.org

Parents for Missouri Public Schools is a statewide campaign of Missouri parents and caregivers committed to protecting public education from billionaire-backed privatization.