AREA LEGISLATOR WILL HELP DRAFT NEW FORMULA

A circuit court ruling last week that Missouri's school foundation formula is unconstitutional will increase the incentive members of a joint legislative Education Finance Task Force have to come up with an acceptable new formula.

State Rep. Marilyn Williams, D-Dudley, is one of seven House members serving on the 14-member committee and the only legislator from Southeast Missouri.

"I think the general attitude of the committee is to be serious and work hard to find something that is workable," said Williams, who attended an organizational meeting of the task force Thursday morning.

Ironically, Williams was meeting with about a dozen school administrators in her Dexter office, seeking input for her role on the task force, when Cole County Circuit Judge Byron Kinder's ruling was announced.

"They were pleased with the ruling but they are concerned because, to get a new formula passed and implemented, we are looking at about two years down the road and they need immediate help," said Williams.

Williams said she is optimistic the task force will be able to come up with a workable formula that will win approval of the General Assembly. Legislators have failed to reach a compromise on a new formula the last three years because of complexities in trying to balance conflicts between urban and rural school districts.

"I'm a very optimistic person. I think we will come up with a plan. We have some very strong personalities on the task force, yet they realize from past experience how difficult this is and that they will have to be reasonable," said Williams.

Gov. Mel Carnahan, House Speaker Bob Griffin and Senate President Pro Tem James Mathewson have all listed drafting a new formula as a top priority for this session - even before Kinder's ruling.

Williams said she hopes the task force will be able to resolve many of the differences and bring lawmakers to a common ground.

"I think one of our problems is that we have so many different opinions. Before, we had 163 different people in the House with their opinions about what ought to be done, and each of them had a dozen or so school administrators calling with their opinions," explained Williams.

"If everybody finds out what the schools in their area feel is fair, we should all be able to find a common ground. Even the guys I had in my office Friday don't agree on everything, but they realize that they have to compromise."

The second-term representative said she learned a lot from the meeting with school administrators.

Overshadowing any new school foundation formula plan is the method that will be used to generate additional revenue to properly fund the formula. Legislative leaders generally agree that it will take about $100 million for the school foundation formula to pay for a hold-harmless provision to keep some school districts from receiving less state money with a new plan.

"No formula is any good unless you've got money to put into it," said Williams, adding that a variety of ways to fund the formula are being discussed.

The task force was meeting this week.

"Hopefully they will communicate through the task force what their ideas are so when it is brought up on the floor there won't be a lot of changes made," said Williams.

With funding provided by the Danforth Foundation and the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, the task force will be working with nationally recognized funding experts to help reach a formula consensus early.

Dr. Allen Odden, director of the Center for Research and Education Finance at the University of Southern California, will assist in preparing a new formula. Odden has provided assistance to Missouri on education issues in the past.

In addition, Dr. Larry Toenjes will provide computer assistance that will furnish the task force with rapid formula simulations. Previously, any requests to determine how changes in the formula would affect various school districts took a number of days to complete.

Resources will also be provided by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Williams said that going into the 1993 legislative session everyone was in agreement the formula needed to be dealt with, even before the court ruling was made.

"There is pressure, (from the court ruling) but I think incentive is a better word. It is clear that Judge Kinder has given us the maximum amount of time to pass a bill and the maximum amount of time for Gov. Carnahan to sign it into law," said Williams.

Kinder declined to enforce his ruling until 90 days after the legislature's May 14 adjournment.

The task force is planning to complete its work by the first of March so there will be plenty of time for legislators to act on the plan early in the session.

Williams, who represents the 156th District that includes most of Stoddard County and Chaffee, Oran and Morley in Scott County, is serving this session as vice chairman of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

Sen. Harold Caskey, D-Butler, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and Rep. Annette Morgan, D-Kansas City, chairman of the House education panel, will co-chair the task force.

Besides Williams and Morgan, other representatives on the group are: Joe Maxwell, D-Mexico; Dick Franklin, D-Kansas City; Earle Staponski, R-Pierce City; Pat Kelley, R-Lee's Summit; and Emmy McClelland, R-Webster Groves.

Other senators on the task force are: Norman Merrell, D-Monticello; William Clay, Jr., D-St. Louis; Mike Lybyer, D-Huggins; Wayne Goode, D-Normandy; Franc Flotron, R-St. Louis; and Emory Melton, R-Cassville.

Flotron and Kelley are the top Republican leaders in the Senate and House, respectively.