JEFFERSON CITY — State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville, announces the Fiscal Year 2022 budget finalized this week by the Missouri General Assembly includes several appropriations that benefit his district.

Hillyard Technical Center, which provides career and technical training to high school students within the St. Joseph School District, will receive $1.1 million to replace outdated equipment. A one-time $650,000 appropriation for Missouri Western State University will fund renovation of a dormitory at the St. Joseph campus. In addition to housing freshman students, Scanlon Hall also hosts members of the Kansas City Chiefs during the team’s annual training camp, which is held at the campus. The renovation of the dormitory was one of the team’s conditions to continue its training camp in Missouri.

“I am pleased that my colleagues recognized the benefits of these initiatives and included them in next year’s budget,” Sen. Luetkemeyer said. “Both of these budget items will generate increased economic activity that benefits not only the St. Joseph community, but all of Northwest Missouri.”

The $34 billion budget approved by the Legislature fully funds the school foundation formula, which supports K-12 education in Missouri. Senator Luetkemeyer has voted to fully support Missouri’s public classrooms each of the three years he’s served in the Senate. Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Luetkemeyer also co-sponsored legislation that blocks the state from attempting to recover COVID-19 unemployment overpayment benefits from Missourians who received those payments in error due to a state computing problem.

“Missourians who lost their jobs during the pandemic, who were over paid unemployment benefits due to no fault of their own, should not have the state threaten to foreclose on their homes to enforce those repayments,” Luetkemeyer said.

For more information about Sen. Luetkemeyer, visit www.senate.mo.gov/mem34.