GROUP: PERCENTAGE OF TAXES ON EDUCATION LOW

Missouri can be viewed as frugal -- even miserly -- based on a recent report on 1995-96 tax money designated for education.

The Missouri State Teachers Association recently ranked Missouri 50th in a national survey of state and local taxes as a percentage of personal income. The ranking was part of a full report on the salaries schedules and benefits of Missouri public-school teachers.

Missourians designate only 9.1 percent of their state and local tax dollars to education, a difference of 2.2 percent to North Carolina, ranked 25th, and nearly 14 percent to top-ranked Alaska's 22.8 percent tax designation, the report said.

"Some people say that's a problem -- lots of people say that's a virtue," said James L. Morris, director of public information for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. "We get a pretty good bang for our buck in education."

Morris said the ranking was not new for Missouri, which historically has opposed increases in income taxes. He said there was a tax increase in 1993, when the Outstanding Schools Act set up minimum salary mandates for teachers, but that increase applied mainly to business taxes rather than those paid by individuals.

"It really depends on how you want to categorize it," Morris said. "That's not a new statistic. After we see the full implementation of the Outstanding Schools Act, we may see this ranking change."

The ranking is especially significant in Cape Girardeau, where local educators hope to see local taxes increase when a school-improvement bond issue is presented to voters April 1.

"Missourians have always prided themselves on doing more with less, and I can certainly agree with that sentiment," said Cape Girardeau schools Superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent.

Tallent said voters should be proud of what school districts have accomplished with the funding available to them. However, he said he hopes local voters understand how much additional revenue would help in the overall development of the district.

"Many of our problems, especially here in Cape Girardeau, cannot be solved without additional revenues," Tallent said. "We are getting our money's worth, but they're going to have to feel the need in order to go out and improve some of the areas where we have needs."