MO Citizens for Safe Communities

06/16/2026

Missouri is one of 41 states that holds nonpartisan school board elections — on purpose.

SB 1002 would let St. Charles County school board candidates voluntarily put their party affiliation on the ballot. Once that door opens, it doesn't close. What follows is national money, national agendas, and national culture war politics deciding who runs your local schools.

We've worked too hard in this community to protect our kids' education from outside interference. This bill invites it in.

■ Call Gov. Kehoe at (573) 751-3222 and ask for a veto.

06/10/2026

Have you called or emailed Kehoe yet? This is time sensitive! If you can get one other person to do it as well, even better!

06/08/2026

IMPORTANT! Please read!

05/23/2026

Hey friends! Governor Kehoe decided today to put the income tax scheme on the August ballot. We have just over 2 months to save $1.4 billion for public schools. We'll have a statewide emergency call Tuesday evening 7:30-8:30pm. Sign up here: https://parents4mopublicschools.org/.

On the call we'll talk through:
- What's on the line and what it means for us
- What August means about our big plan to win together -- and set up the next legislative session to actually fully fund our schools
- What you can do -- and what you can organize others to do

Right now, our schools are underfunded, and there's potential for it to get much worse as Amendment 5 heads to the ballot in 2026 to decide if Missouri should repeal the income tax. If Amendment 5 passes, our schools will see significant cuts to their budgets. The worst hitting rural and small-town....

05/02/2026

⚠️ URGENT: Missouri SB 1002 heads to a House committee vote THIS MONDAY, May 4th — and MOCSC opposes it.
What is it? SB 1002 would move school board elections and bond/tax levy votes in St. Charles County only to November — and allow school board candidates to declare a party affiliation on the ballot.
Here’s why we’re saying NO:
🔴 It injects partisanship into local education. Party labels have no place on a school board ballot. National political identity should not determine who oversees our kids’ classrooms.
🔴 It creates a two-tiered system — and a chaotic one. This bill applies only to St. Charles County based on population thresholds. That means as counties grow or shrink, the rules could change. Missouri deserves consistent, nonpartisan school board elections statewide — not a patchwork that shifts with census numbers.
🔴 It delays urgent school funding. Moving bond and tax levy votes to November means critical funding decisions could be pushed into the middle of a fiscal year, creating budget disruptions for our schools.
🔴 It disrupts board transitions. New board members would be seated in November instead of April — mid-fiscal year — creating unnecessary instability in school leadership.
🔴 It lengthens unpaid terms. Board members already volunteer their time. Extending terms to four years could discourage good candidates from running.
Our St. Charles County reps largely support this bill — so we need to reach House members from other districts who may be open to opposing it. A quick call or email goes a long way.
📋 Three ways to act RIGHT NOW:
1️⃣ Call or email your state House rep — especially if you’re outside St. Charles County
2️⃣ Submit written testimony online before Monday’s 1PM hearing
3️⃣ Testify in person — the hearing is Monday, May 4th at 1PM in Hearing Room 1 (basement), Jefferson City. We’re looking for 2-3 constituents willing to go. Message us if you’re interested!
📖 Full toolkit with talking points here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ElqqJhWFJcSpq4xnPgRIzozoUw55DkDbSx0jZni9wkg/edit?usp=sharing
This is moving fast. The legislature wraps May 15. Share this post and make some noise this weekend.

04/16/2026

UPDATE on 4/16/26 @11:18 am

The senate ended up picking up HJR 173 at 11:30pm last night. All Dems and 3 Republicans (Hough, Moon and Nicola) voted no. The dems did not filibuster which is very disappointing. This bill puts the question on the ballot for if we should remove state income tax so there is still a path forward to beating it.

My understanding is there will be an emergency meeting most likely on Monday evening from 7-8pm to share report outs and plan the fight forward. Will send y'all the info once I have it.

🚨 Testimony needed against HJR 173 🚨

Shout out to those who reached out to their elected and those who submitted testimony today in opposition to HJR 173 (the bad income tax scheme). They picked it up tonight and put it right back down. So the fight and filibuster will NOT be tonight.

This thing is still looming, but this does give us more time to get testimonies submitted. If you submitted one, invite another 2 people to submit one. If you haven't done yours yet, take a stab at it tonight! It can just be a paragraph long. We're currently at about 50 testimonies and would be great to get us to 100 in the coming days.

Link in the comments!!!!

04/08/2026

Congratulations to all of tonight's winners! 🎉
A heartfelt congratulations to every candidate who was elected to their local Board of Education this evening. Serving on a school board is no small commitment, and we wish each of you well as you take on this important role in your community.
We also want to recognize every candidate who ran. Putting your name on a ballot takes courage, and your willingness to serve makes our communities stronger.