Accountability in Missouri’s Public Schools
Successful leaders know that while it might feel good to have “yes men” around, they are not the best people...
Reputation and Reality Matter in City Governance
When entrepreneurs and job seekers consider where to live or invest, they don’t rely solely on tax rates or housing...
What Missouri Can Learn from Arizona’s Education System with Sean McCarthy
Susan Pendergrass speaks with Sean McCarthy, Director of Fiscal Policy for the Arizona House of Representatives, about the state’s innovative...
A Free-Market Guide for Missouri Municipalities, Part Two: Taxation
Download the Full Report Here A Free-Market Guide for Missouri Municipalities is a multi-part series by David Stokes, director of...
Beware the Budget Mirage
When it comes to Missouri’s budget, what you see is not always what you get. Recently, as Missouri’s House of...
Don’t Throw It Out—Fix It
Missouri currently has a very weak system of accountability for public school districts. Every spring, students take assessments under the...
Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater
As part of the dramatic cuts at the U.S. Department of Education under the Trump administration’s DOGE program, the entire...
Charter Schools Are Highly Effective in Missouri
In 2023, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University released its third National Charter School Study....
Platte County Commission Decision Not to Levy Taxes Upheld in Court
My colleague David Stokes has written a good deal about an effort in Platte County to institute a sales tax...
Attitudes on Open Enrollment in Missouri
Missouri families are still waiting for access to open enrollment. The Missouri House recently passed House Bill (HB) 711, but...
Crystal City to Vote on the Four-Day School Week
On Tuesday, Crystal City voters will decide whether to retain their district’s four-day school week (4dsw) or return to a...
Another Crack at the Income Tax
Are you ready for spring? It appears members of Missouri’s general assembly certainly are. Before lawmakers left Jefferson City for...
A Sweet Deal for Sugar Creek
The following letter appeared in the Kansas City Star. There is a proposal to sell the Sugar Creek water and...
Weighing Consumer Regulated Electricity to Meet Energy Demand Growth
The Missouri Legislature recently passed Senate Bill 4 to address concerns about the state’s energy future. Much of the bill...
Preventing a De Facto Ban of Charter Schools
The passage of Senate Bill (SB) 727 last year was an important step toward expanding charter access in Missouri, increasing...
Reporting on Housing Fails to Ask Basic Question
The Kansas City Star recently published a piece on investor-owned housing that seeks to raise the alarm on corporate landlords,...
Jackson County Assessment Disputes Will (Hopefully) Lead to Real Change This Time
A version of this commentary appeared in the Examiner. It’s an obscure state law that every article about government and politics...
March 26: Insider’s Hour in Kansas City
What’s Happening in Jefferson City? Get the inside scoop on the Missouri legislative session and policies that could directly impact...
Where’s Show-Me DOGE?
Missouri’s financial clock is ticking. It’s been nearly two months since Governor Kehoe announced during his State of the State...
New Data Update: See the Latest Missouri School Rankings and Spending Reports
As of March 12, 2025, MoSchoolRankings.org features the latest performance data for every Missouri public school and district. See where...
