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JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Senate approved the bulk of a $50 billion spending plan late Tuesday, fending off challenges from a conservative bloc of lawmakers and setting the stage for a final round of negotiations with the House.

As the legislative clock ticked toward a May 9 deadline to finish the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, the Republican-led chamber moved quickly to add $300 million to the state’s school funding formula and boosted spending on universities and colleges over what the House approved earlier.

The Senate plan also strips $50 million that Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe is seeking for a private school voucher plan amid concerns that taxpayer dollars shouldn’t go toward private, religious schools.

The added money for education came after Kehoe opted to short school aid in a bid to rewrite the state’s school aging funding formula.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, argued that lawmakers last year made promises to do more for education.

“We need to be ready to pay the bill when it comes due,� Hough said. “Our committee saw it necessary to do that.�

Approval of the blueprint sets up a showdown in the final weeks of the legislative session with the Republican-controlled House, which previously sided with Kehoe on the issue.

House Budget Committee Chairman Dirk Deaton, R-Noel, said education funding will be a major focus of talks going forward.

“Those are going to be looked at very closely,� Deaton said Wednesday. “Something’s going to have to give in that regard.�

The budgeting process comes against a backdrop of Republican attempts to cut taxes. The House Monday approved a plan to eliminate the state portion of the tax on capital gains, which could reduce state revenues by an estimated $300 million annually.

Hough warned that Republicans who control all levers of state government should be cautious about slashing revenue heading into a possible economic downturn.

“It’s easy to have conversations about cutting taxes when you have a surplus in the bank,� Hough said. “I’m a fan of cutting taxes, but I think it should be done in a responsible way.�

The Senate plan also provides nearly $130 million for raises to state employees, mostly favoring longer term workers in a bid to retain them.

Coleman targets YMCA

There was pushback on the spending plan from conservatives, but most attempts were batted down by Hough and Senate Democrats.

Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, introduced an amendment barring an estimated $12 million in state education funding to YMCA organizations because of her concerns about transgender bathroom policies.

Coleman, who earlier said she will not seek a second term after losing a bid for secretary of state last year, said locker rooms at the recreation and exercise facilities are open to transgender individuals to choose a bathroom of their choice.

Sen. Barbara Washington, D-Kansas City, said Coleman should also take away state funding to Catholic churches because of the prevalence of sexual abuse cases among priests.

“I’ve got nothing against the Catholic church,� Washington said. “But we’re not punishing them by taking money away from Catholic organizations.�

Sen. Patty Lewis, D-Kansas City, said Coleman’s proposal made her blood boil.

“It is very personally offensive to me because I know the YMCA,� said Lewis.

Coleman eventually withdrew her proposed amendment, and the education spending bill was approved on a 26-8 vote.

Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, D-Kansas City, praised a decision to add $107 million for child care programs, saying the infusion of cash would help stop a trend that has seen scores of child care facilities shuttered in the past year.

“They know they are going to be able to pay their bills,� Nurrenbern said. “This was a good step in the right direction.�

The Senate also added an overall 3% funding boost for higher education, up from the House and Kehoe’s position of 1.5%.

Hough said the increase barely keeps pace with inflation and allows the state’s colleges and universities to “barely tread water.�

“I always wish we could do more,� Nurrenbern said.

Along with flattening revenues from tax collections, inflation is playing a role across the state budget.

Among the increases approved by the Senate is $3 million to pay for the rising cost of medicine for patients in the state’s sprawling mental health system. Basic costs like mileage reimbursements and food for prisons are also primed for spending increases.

But there also is room in the budget for hundreds of special projects, including $7 million to help St. Louis Lambert International Airport usher in a new passenger terminal project.

Secretary of State sees cuts

Members of the conservative bloc complained about spending cuts made to the Secretary of State’s office, which is now run by former Sen. Denny Hoskins, a former member of the chamber’s conservative Freedom Caucus.

Sen. Ben Brown, R-Washington, said clashes between members of the GOP conservative caucus and mainline Republicans might be part of political “grudges� left over from last year’s election year wrangling that roiled the Senate for much of last year.

Sen. Mike Cierpiot, R-Lee’s Summit, said he thought Hoskins would welcome a decrease in his budget after he spent his tenure in the Senate pressing for budget cuts if positions in state departments were unfilled for lengthy periods of time.

“I thought we’d have a willing partner to do this,� Cierpiot said.

Brown called it “retribution.�

“It comes off as… perhaps a bit of pettiness,� Brown said. “I certainly hope this is something that can be rectified.�

Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, called the move “punitive� and “absolutely ridiculous.�

“That’s why this system is frickin’ broken,� Brattin said.

The Senate still has work to do on two bills covering hundreds of brick-and-mortar construction projects worth more than $3.6 billion.

The legislation is Hous