Area educators take wait-and-see stance on president's plan

Members of the Southeast Missouri education community in large part liked what they heard from President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday, but they're waiting to see how the vision turns out.

Topping the president's list is leaving behind the federal No Child Left Behind Act -- at least what he and many educators believe are inflexible academic standards. Under the law, all U.S. students are mandated to be proficient in math and communication arts by 2014. Many school districts in Missouri and elsewhere are struggling to hit annually rising performance targets.

"Realistic kinds of expectations need to be incorporated versus some of the things in NCLB," said Ron Anderson, superintendent of the Jackson School District. "Everybody knew those standards would not be possible to obtain."

Obama wants to expand his administration's Race to the Top initiative, praising the competitive grant program as the "most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation."

"For less than 1 percent of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning," he said.

The program has its critics, too, who say Race to the Top's competitive funding nature is missing schools in need. And with a divided Congress, dramatic education change like Obama is calling for could prove a hard sell -- although educators say an improving economy and the dust settling on health care reform could open up meaningful dialogue on education.

The president is calling on Congress to extend a $10,000 college tax credit and pay for 100,000 more science and technology teachers over the next decade. That's a big investment in U.S. institutions of higher education.

Southeast Missouri State University provost Ronald Rosati said Obama's call for bolstering the nation's biomedical research, clean air technology and information technology all would bode well for Southeast's expansion plan. The university is relying on enrollment growth and efficiency to offset cuts in state and federal funding.

"Frankly, higher education doesn't just help with job creation, it brings a lot of money into the United States," Rosati said. He pointed to the 580 international students at Southeast and the estimated $5.8 million they pump into the local economy. "We are an industry in our own right, we are very competitive, and it's something our governments see a need to support."

With a 2011 federal deficit projected to hit nearly $1.5 trillion, the question is how taxpayers are going to pay for ambitious education programs.

For college administrators like Devin Stephenson, the question is, what's the cost if America doesn't invest in higher education? The president of Three Rivers Community College has presided over a two-year community college that has seen 19 percent enrollment growth over the past couple of years.

As financially dire as things once looked in Missouri, Stephenson is celebrating Gov. Jay Nixon's plans to keep higher education budget cuts to 7 percent.

"That's less than half of what we anticipated," he said, "and a 15 to 20 percent cut would be as much as $1 million for us."

A planned tuition increase and continued enrollment growth should keep Three Rivers in good financial shape, Stephenson said.

Gerald Landewee, superintendent of the Oak Ridge School District, said despite the pledges and rhetoric, there isn't a lot of clear direction on funding for education from the state and federal governments. There are plenty of ideas. Under one state proposal to reduce expenses, small school districts like Oak Ridge could lose considerable funding. Landewee said it's a long time before the legislature wraps up its work in late spring, and much could happen to affect education funding.

Landewee is taking a wait-and-see approach.

"We will continue to have school and we will continue to do great things for our children," he said.

mkittle@semissourian.com

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