Gov. Jay Nixon came to St. Louis County Tuesday to make official his vow to veto school transfer legislation that allowed the use of public money to pay for certain students to attend private schools.
Nixon called state lawmakers' latest attempt to overhaul a student transfer law a "dangerous voucher scheme." The legislation also would have eliminated a requirement that unaccredited districts pay for students' transportation to new schools and called for accreditation of individual schools rather than entire districts.
Students in unaccredited districts in St. Louis city, St. Louis County and Jackson County could have tapped local tax revenue to pay for private school tuition, subject to local voter approval. Systems that had lost accreditation for at least three straight years would not have needed voter consent.
