A local lawmaker has pre-filed two pieces of legislation that would bar charter schools from opening in Boone County, less than a year after a law was passed allowing them to operate.
One of the bills filed by Rep. David Tyson Smith, D-Columbia, would repeal the provision entirely and immediately bar charter schools from opening within the county.
The other would put the matter up to a vote in the county, which Smith said would effectively do the same thing.
“It would be voted down,” he said. “It wouldn’t even be close. People in Boone County hate the idea of charter schools.”
During the last legislative session, which concluded in May, the Missouri General Assembly passed a wide-ranging education bill that addressed school funding, raised teacher salaries and allowed charter schools in Boone County.
According to previous reporting, Smith attempted to remove the portion of the bill authorizing charter schools in the county, but he was unsuccessful.
The Missouri Senate 19-10, with five senators absent. It then passed the Missouri House of Representatives with a slim 82-69 majority.
According to Smith, Boone County residents don’t want to see charter schools open in their districts. Because they receive taxpayer support, they would drain resources from public school districts, he said.
“This was probably one of the most unpopular pieces of legislation that was passed,” he said. “People want this to go away. Charter schools are poison to the community.”
In May, the superintendents of nearly every school district in Boone County, including Columbia Public Schools, sent a joint letter to then-Gov. Mike Parson opposing the legislation. The letter indicated that the creation of charter schools would “have a devastating effect on some of our continued ability to operate.”
Although the charter school provision of the legislation was opposed by a majority of the Boone County delegation, it was strongly encouraged by former Sen. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, who served as the Senate’s powerful president pro tem. Former Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch, R-Hallsville, also supported the provision.
Smith said Rowden’s support “had a lot of influence” on the bill’s passage.
Rowden did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday, but according to earlier reporting, he assured colleagues in the Senate that the legislation was not intended to replace or damage public education.
“We’re just trying to simply give another option for folks in Columbia,” he said.
Even though the education bill that included charter schools in Boone County received support from much of the Republican supermajority last session, Smith said he believes there is a chance his bills will pass.
No interest in charter schools in Boone County had surfaced as of Dec. 22, making it unlikely that any would be authorized to open before August 2026.
