Almost 12 hours after the Missouri General Assembly�s veto session came to a close, Gov. Jay Nixon announced � as promised � the release of money for education that he withheld earlier this year.

Nixon withheld $143.6 million from K-12 and higher education, saying that if lawmakers didn�t override his vetoes of 10 tax cut bills he would release the money. The total amount includes $100.2 million for the K-12 foundation formula and $43.4 million in performance funding for the state�s public colleges and universities.

In a news release, Nixon said he estimates the 10 pieces of tax legislation would have reduced state and local revenue by more than $776 million annually.

�Presented with a clear choice between supporting local schools and siding with special interests, the General Assembly yesterday stood with us and made the right decision to invest in the best economic development tool there is: public education,� Nixon said in a statement Thursday.

The performance funding for universities is additional money schools can earn based on how they do on a set of criteria set up by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education. Those criteria include student success and progress, degree production, quality of learning and financial responsibility of institutions.

�We are pleased that Governor Nixon has released the performance funding which will empower our four campuses to achieve their strategic priorities,� University of Missouri System spokesman John Fougere said in an email.

The UM System is slated to receive a 5.2 percent increase in funding � amounting to about $21 million � because the system met and exceeded the criteria.

�We didn�t do anything really public or loudly but just tried to make the case for what the investment in higher education should be,� said Paul Wagner, executive director of the Council on Public Higher Education, which represents the 13 four-year colleges and universities in Missouri.

According to Nixon�s news release, the governor is reviewing the budget to determine whether there is sufficient revenue to release other restricted funds.

Nixon also announced two visits to Missouri schools � North Kansas City and Springfield � on Friday to highlight the funding release.

Area superintendents of K-12 districts said they were still assessing how Nixon�s announcement would affect their schools.

Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Peter Stiepleman said district officials were poring over the information from the governor�s office.

�We�re reviewing the information line by line,� Stiepleman said. �It will take a few days to have a complete understanding of how this affects CPS, the Nature School and our community partners like First Chance for Children.�

Nature School is a joint effort between Columbia Public Schools and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Jonathan Sessions, a school board member, said the project was on hold until the veto session.

�The anticipation is if the funds are available we can get moving and still keep the same timeline or maybe be slightly delayed,� Sessions said before the veto session.

First Chance for Children is a Columbia not-for-profit with a goal of building an education system that helps every child arrive in kindergarten ready to succeed.

The Columbia Public Schools 2014-15 budget includes $44.5 million in state funding from the foundation formula. When the withholdings were announced, then-Superintendent Chris Belcher said the board approved the budget with the increased state funding in good faith. He predicted the standoff would end as it did.

John Robertson, superintendent in the Hallsville School District, said the money is always welcome. He said state funding is about 60 percent of the district�s budget revenue. Hallsville�s tax base is mostly residential, he said.

�We�re highly dependent on state aid,� Robertson said.

He said he felt like the schools were a political pawn this session. �We were kind of held hostage,� Robertson said.

Chris Felmlee, superintendent in the Southern Boone School District, said he�s happy with the result.

�I can breathe again,� he said.

He said the money being withheld amounted to $153,360 for his district.

�It�s good to know we�ve got more foundation formula funding this year than last year,� Felmlee said. �I understand it�s going to be somewhere around 98 percent funding rather than 93 percent. It should be good for kids.�

This story was first published online on Thursday, September 11, 2014 at 3:25 p.m.