House approves budget with much debate surrounding St. Louis schools.

Intro:	The House debated funding for early education literacy programs for over an hour, before allotting 392 thousand dollars to education.
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Wrap: The discussion began surrounding St. Louis public schools lack of accreditation.

Democratic St. Louis Representative Karla May said this problems stems from demographics, which includes low-income families.

She said St. Louis public schools deserve the money.

But Republican Livingston Representative Mike Lair said giving money alone will not help students learn.

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Description: "There are districts that do a great job that don't have anywhere near the money, they don't have the facilities. They do it with leadership and they do it with dedication."

The federal requirement for education funding is 25 percent. And more than 30 percent of Missouri's budget is education funds.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Paige Hornor.

Intro:	House budget bills lead to heated debate surrounding St. Louis City school system Thursday.
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Wrap: The Missouri House appropriated 392 thousand dollars to elementary education. That's nearly three times the amount they allotted last year, but was vetoed by the governor.

The funds are for literacy programs. But some representatives say money won't solve all the problems.

St. Louis Democratic Representative Karla May said the problems stem from low income demographics and the school system should have been upgraded years ago.

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Description: "St. Louis Public School district does deserve all the money that's going to it for those students that reside in St. Louis Public School System."

May agreed that taxes may be a solution to increasing revenue.

House Budget Chairman Ryan Silvey said no one proposed any amendments to increase revenue.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Paige Hornor.

Intro:	The House passed the state budget, but not without debate surrounding the failing St. Louis public schools.
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Wrap: The House appropriated 392 thousand dollars to elementary literacy programs.

The measure was debated for more than an hour before it was passed.

The discussion surrounded the unaccreditation of St. Louis public schools.

Majority Floor Leader Tim Jones says the money isn't going to solve the schools' problems.

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Description: "Spending more money and education results have nothing to do with each other. They have no correlation."

Democratic St. Louis Representative Karla May said funds are necessary in order to improve education.

The governor vetoed a similar part of the budget last year, which was three times less than this year's elementary education budget.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Paige Hornor.