COMMISSIONER CHEERS REFORM

Increased state funding for Missouri's public schools means more than dollars for salaries; it means money for reforms in the classroom, the state commissioner of education said Tuesday.

Commissioner Robert Bartman praised the new foundation formula by which school districts will receive state aid. He said the new formula should result in changes that will result in improved education for Missouri's children.

"We've been given the tools to build a whole generation of successful young people," he said.

Bartman was keynote speaker at a daylong gathering of the approximately 620 teachers and staff of the Cape Girardeau public schools. Teachers and administrators spent the afternoon attending professional development sessions.

The event, held at the Show Me Center, kicked off the start of the new school year for the teachers and staff. Classes begin Thursday.

Bartman said Senate Bill 380, which has been signed into law by Gov. Mel Carnahan, will mean about $400 million more for schools by the end of the fourth year. Much of the increased aid will come from tax increases.

This fiscal year Missouri schools will see $80 million in additional state funding. School districts should start seeing the increased funding in state aid payments they receive in October, Bartman told reporters at a post-speech press conference.

But in his speech he cautioned Cape Girardeau teachers that it would be a "tragic mistake" if the increased state aid results in only increased teachers salaries and not enhanced student performance.

"We can't afford to Moon Walk through the decade of the '90s," said Bartman, referring to the dance steps that give the appearance of moving forward while actually moving backward.

Bartman said the majority of new money will go for teacher salaries. But he explained that includes hiring of additional teachers to help implement reforms, including reduced class sizes and programs for at-risk children.

More money for personnel will allow districts to offer expanded summer school programs, he said.

"There are a lot of ways you can spend your personnel dollars," he said.

Bartman said he's not concerned about the possibility that the education funding formula and its state-tax hikes may be challenged in the courts. He said the bill was passed by the legislature, signed into law by the governor "and our challenge is to implement it."

Bartman said that with educational reforms there will be an increased emphasis on assessment of schools and how well students are learning.

Schools, he said, must move away from the "machine score, multiple choice kind of test."

He applauded Missouri's colleges and universities for raising admission requirements, insisting that higher standards increase expectations for all students.

Bartman also praised the Cape Girardeau School District for its goal of building a middle school.