Gun violence is one reason why Missouri must provide more school funding, panel says

In order to provide equitable education, the state must factor in the cost of mental and social needs of students in different schools, panelists said Wednesday during a digital discussion hosted by The Kansas City Star and American Public Square at Jewell.

The event was part of Gun Violence in Missouri: Seeking Solutions, a series of virtual events hosted by The Star in conjunction with the Missouri Gun Violence Project — a two-year, statewide journalism collaboration that investigates the causes and potential solutions to gun violence.

The panel discussion Wednesday was moderated by Hurubie Meko, a reporter on The Star’s gun violence team. The project is supported by nonprofits Report for America and Missouri Foundation for Health.

Wednesday’s event focused on Star reporting showing how disparities in school funding affect access to quality education, one of the public health factors that drives gun violence.

The panel included Samantha Sherman, prevention resource center director at the Community Partnership of the Ozarks; Darren Seals, president of Sankofa Unity Center, an anti-violence organization in St. Louis; and John Myers, an education policy consultant and a fellow with the National Education Policy Center.

Many rural communities lack resources for youth experiencing suicidal ideation, Sherman said. Waitlists for professional mental health can be backed up for weeks, or even months.

Since 2015, over 20,000 youth have been referred to receive professional mental health support in Greene County, according to a survey conducted by the Community Partnership for the Ozarks.

The organization oversees 21 rural counties, and has found countless schools overwhelmed as they try to provide for all of the education and mental health problems students experience.

“There is a need for counseling resources,” Sherman said. “Oftentimes, we see school districts have one school counselor for the entire school district. They not only have to assist with things like school scheduling and applying for college scholarships, but they also need to provide mental health and crisis support. One person can only do so much.”

Seals remembers how difficult it was for him to go to school as a student after seeing gun violence in his neighborhood. He sees a similar pattern in the children he works with.

“Every little kid I see is traumatized — how do you stop it? ” Seals said. “Schools are supposed to be safe-havens… they have to put more funding into schools because we’re going to be in the same cycle 20 years from now.”

Myers also said Missouri needs to put more money into schools experiencing gun violence.

Some school districts have many students who need special education needs, are economically disadvantaged, or are English language learners. So they need additional funding.

However, Missouri falls short compared to other states in how much extra funding it provides for these types of students.

Funding for student equity is a key component to providing students tasked with additional burdens like gun violence, Myers said.

“You’re in a hole, and you have to get out of it, and from an education funding standpoint the only way to do that is to address state policy,” he said.

“The governor and the members of the general assembly are the ones, on a regular basis, who decide how much money is going to be available for public schools — and which public schools get that.”