BOTH SIDES COULD GIVE A LITTLE TO GAIN MU ACCOUNTABILITY

A proposal by a New Bloomfield Democrat to place financial accountability for the vast University of Missouri system directly under the control of the Missouri Legislature isn't attracting many supporters. The plan was suggested by state Rep. Gracia Backer, who also serves as the House majority leader.

Simply put, Backer doesn't care much for the fact that the University of Missouri gets a lump appropriation from legislators -- $353 million for the current fiscal year -- but every decision about how the money will be spent is made by the university's nine-member Board of Curators.

On the one hand, there is a good deal of appropriate concern for how a large institution spends so much money. The huge University of Missouri system is a fiscal octopus.

And there is considerable evidence that it is right to raise questions. Just one example is the School of Journalism's faculty-run daily newspaper, which has been so reckless that the curators had to write off $1.5 million.

But, on the other hand, putting the Legislature in charge of detailed spending decisions is going too far. Other legislators are right when they express concern about how university programs could quickly become bogged down in the swamp of legislative committees, hearings and votes.

There may be a middle ground, however. Backer's notion that the Legislature is entitled to more accountability of how funds are spent could be combined with stronger requirements for justification when university officials arrive in Jefferson City each year with their hands out.

It seems fair to have a little of both: more accountability and more detail from University of Missouri officials regarding their spending plans.

In the end, of course, the Legislature has enormous control over any funds it appropriates. One obvious club is to hold the check until important and relevant questions legislators might have are answered.