Students greeted Governor Nixon with a loud applause, but it may be teachers and administrators who are cheering the Governor's education spending plan the most. Canton R-V Superintendent Andy Anderson said right now smaller schools are overshadowed by bigger ones.
"And the fact that we're getting the job done and they're not and they're getting the money. To me that doesn't make sense," he said.
Anderson thinks the Governor's proposal will help smaller schools like Canton, which has been recognized for its academic success for seven consecutive years, despite financial hardships.
"Canton, the teachers were frozen for a couple years. And of course that's very hard on teachers and trying to employ people and to retain people," he said.
Nixon said increasing spending for education will pay off for Missouri's economy.
"So we think the best economic development plan long run is to have a trained workforce so investing in education and seeing improvements, plus I think additional resources on technology," Nixon said.
In addition to technology, Nixon also wants to expand Missouri's A plus program, which Canton just started this school year. It allows Seniors, who meet certain criteria, to attend a two year community college for free.
"That's a big advantage because some kids are being held back because they can't afford to go to college," Anderson said.
Other plans Nixon wants to add is to extend the amount of school days to an extra week.
