JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The tornadoes and floods that pummeled much of the South and Midwest also have dealt a serious blow to struggling state budgets. The storms could force new cuts to education and other services to offset hundreds of millions of dollars in disaster aid.
Most state budgets were already reeling from the economy when a huge outbreak of tornadoes marched across the South in late April, followed in May by more twisters and flooding that extended into the Midwest.
The first of those cuts have already hit home in Missouri, where students will be saddled with greater college costs, and grants for domestic violence shelters have been trimmed.
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