DESEGREGATION: IT'S TIME TO SEEK ORDERLY ENDING

Twenty years and $743 million (soon, a billion dollars) later, Missouri has achieved little from court-ordered desegregation of its urban schools.

Money has poured into St. Louis and Kansas City schools in a flood. And what has nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars bought Missourians? Have our urban schools been transformed into beacons of educational excellence? Hardly.

That's not to say changes haven't occurred. There are no-longer any all-white schools in St. Louis and the number of all-black schools has been reduced. Buildings are improved, but educational excellence is still lacking. And there are some that say the entire desegregation process has fueled racial tensions in St. Louis.

While the benefits of court-ordered desegregation are suspect, the consequences are crystal clear. Its insatiable demand for money has driven our state to the edge of financial instability. Urban districts have benefited financially to the detriment of rural schools, as 6 percent of the state budget has been devoted to the two desegregation cases. Cuts in the state budget have spilled over into other areas affecting higher education, mental health, social services, public health and virtually all other state departments.

Now, Missouri Attorney General William L. Webster has filed a motion asking a federal judge to declare that the goal of desegregating the St. Louis public schools has been reached. It's about time Missouri became more aggressive in its fight to slow the drain of these desegregation costs. It could be argued that this must become the top item on our attorney general's agenda. Endless chunks of court-ordered desegregation payments could threaten our state's fiscal core. It's time we enter the ring with more pugnacity even if Webster has to bring the issue to national prominence. State rights should be returned to the states.

Granted, Webster and other state officials have been continually rebuffed judicially as to the constitutionality of these court-ordered costs. But Missouri may now hang its hat on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in an Oklahoma desegregation case earlier this year. In that case, the high court emphasized that desegregation decrees are not intended to operate forever.

The St. Louis desegregation process began in 1972, following a class action suit filed by five black parents and their children. Missouri has met its commitment. Webster has proposed a phasing out of state spending. If successful, this move should save the state about $540 million over the next decade.

But even if Missouri prevails in the St. Louis case, there's no cause to celebrate. The state still must grapple with similar circumstances in Kansas City. That case was filed in 1977. These are two separate cases under the jurisdiction of two different federal judges.

Missouri is appealing a federal court order to make unplanned Kansas City school desegregation payments of $71 million.

Cuts in funding of state agencies to pay for desegregation have drawn lawsuits by the state's two largest teacher organizations: the Missouri State Teachers Association and the Missouri National Educational Association. These groups say the proposed state cuts will endanger school districts especially a handful teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Their point is well taken.

It's time for Missouri to come out fighting against unreasonable court-ordered payments. Desegregation is not right, but neither is an income transfer that bankrupts Missouri's budget for the sake of two school districts. It's time to bring the process to an orderly end.