House passes bill to divide gambling money among schools

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- House Republicans delivered on their top campaign promise from last fall by passing the Classroom Trust Fund bill on Thursday.

However, enthusiasm in the Senate, which next takes up the measure, is muted.

The bill would take proceeds from legalized gambling -- currently about $205 million -- out of the complex formula for distributing state aid to local school districts and instead divide the money evenly on a per-pupil basis.

Districts like the Cape Girardeau school system that see no growth in their state allocation under the formula would stand to benefit.

Because of the state's budget problems, however, the gambling revenue trust fund would not be triggered until fiscal year 2005 and then only if the formula is fully funded.

House Speaker Pro Tem Rod Jetton, the bill's sponsor, said that provision should mollify those worried about the bill shifting money from poorer districts, which tend to benefit most from the formula, to wealthier ones.

"In no way is this any attempt on my part to undermine the formula, lessen it or go around it," said Jetton, R-Marble Hill.

However, opponents say the bill at worst would damage funding equity and lead to a lawsuit like the one that forced the current formula to be drafted in 1993. At best they say the measure is meaningless.

To achieve full funding of the 2003-2004 school year, the state would have to come up with an additional $415 million, a possibility considered remote. The amount needed for full funding grows by hundreds of millions each year.

State Rep. Rick Johnson, R-High Ridge, said the bill should be called the "Classroom Bust Fund" as lawmakers could rewrite the formula to require substantially less money to claim full funding and trigger the redistribution of gambling revenue.

"There is no guarantee in this bill that the formula will mean what it means today," Johnson said. "If what equals full funding is reduced, this bill removes money from rural school districts."

The measure moved to the Senate on an announced vote of 97-58. No Republican voted against it and only 11 Democrats supported it.

But the strong GOP support in the House means little in the Senate, where Republicans are also in control.

Some key Republican senators like John T. Russell, R-Lebanon and appropriations chairman, have called it a fiscally bad idea.

However, state Sen. Bill Foster, R-Poplar Bluff, predicted it would pass, though not because most senators believe it a good idea. The Senate Education Committee, which Foster chairs, is the legislation's next stop.

"People will probably vote for it knowing the formula will not be fully funded and it won't apply," Foster said. "It's more for show than reality. Therefore, yeah, I think it is going to pass. I just don't think it is worth too much."

Even if it clears both chambers, the Classroom Trust Fund's chance of becoming law is a longshot. Gov. Bob Holden, a Democrat, indicated in his State of the State address last month that he would veto the bill.

The bill is HB 288.

mpowers@semissourian.com

(573) 635-4608

HOW THEY VOTED

How Southeast Missouri's delegation to the House of Representatives voted on HB 288, which would create the Classroom Trust Fund.

Otto Bean, R-Holcomb Yes

Lanie Black, R-Charleston Absent

Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau Yes

Mike Dethrow, R-Alton Yes

Kevin Engler, R-Farmington Yes

Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill Yes

Gayle Kingery, R-Poplar Bluff Yes

J.C. Kuessner, D-Eminence Yes

Scott Lipke, R-Jackson Yes

Rob Mayer, R-Dexter Yes

Denny Merideth, D-Caruthersville No

Peter Myers, R-Sikeston Yes

Wes Wagner, D-DeSoto No

Dan Ward, D-Bonne Terre Absent