ISSUES GET BALLOT TEST TUESDAY; STATEWIDE EDUCATION MEASURE TAKES AIM AT A PASSING GRADE

Voters will decide Tuesday whether to give a passing grade to Proposition B, a $385 million tax-and-reform package for education.

The measure has the backing of many of the local and state educators, and business and political leaders.

Locally, Southeast Missouri State University officials have been leading the charge for Proposition B, pointing out that the measure could provide an additional $9 million a year in state funding for the institution.

Southeast students will be among those going to the polls Tuesday. Spurred on by Proposition B, 1,806 students and 119 university employees registered to vote in an on-campus registration drive that ended Oct. 16.

Proponents say the measure would fund needed reforms in education, while opponents contend that the taxes would hurt the poor and middle class, and question whether the money will lead to real improvements in education.

Proposition B would provide increased funding for elementary and secondary schools in addition to higher education, with the funding linked to a series of reforms.

If approved by voters, the measure would provide $190 million a year in added funding for public schools and an equal amount for the state's public colleges and universities. Another $5 million a year would be earmarked for job development and training.

The money would only be earmarked for 10 years, after which time it would go into the state's general revenue fund unless otherwise reallocated by the Missouri General Assembly.

At the public school level, Proposition B revenue would provide funding for such things as the Parents As Teachers program, alternative teacher certification, smaller class sizes in primary grades, and a longer school year.

In higher education, it would provide added revenue for building maintenance and equipment, fund new programs that would fit in with sharply defined missions for colleges and universities, provide additional student scholarships and expand community college services.

Supporters say it would also give the state's Coordinating Board for Higher Education authority to eliminate duplicate, unnecessary or inefficient programs in Missouri's colleges and universities.

The added funding would come from corporate, sales, cigarette and tobacco taxes, and a limit on state deductions for federal income taxes.

Much of the funding, an estimated $167 million a year, would come from a three-eighths-cent sales tax.

Opponents say such a tax is regressive and would hurt the poor and those on fixed incomes. They also object to business tax credits that are part of the job training portion of Proposition B.

Some opponents contend there are too many strings attached to the allocation of Proposition B funds.

Still others, like the Missouri League of Women Voters, have argued that Proposition B doesn't provide enough money for education.

Opponents say it's misleading to refer to Proposition B as a "$385 million tax increase." That figure reflects the estimated revenue for the first full fiscal year.

They say it's actually a $5.1 billion tax package over the 10-year period.

But supporters say the ballot measure won't put a huge burden on taxpayers. It's estimated that a two-earner Missouri family with two dependents and income of $32,500 a year the median Missouri family income would pay $5 more a year in sales and income taxes, a 42-cent-a-month increase.

Also, Southeast Missouri State University President Kala Stroup last week explained to Chamber of Commerce members and guests at the chamber's First Friday Coffee the proposition contains a "hold harmless" clause.

The clause prohibits the General Assembly from using new revenue from Proposition B in place of current general revenue for education. In other words, the general education appropriation after Proposition B must be at least as great as in Fiscal Year 1991.

Opponents also have said the proposal is "just like the lottery" and likely will result in tax revenues allocated to general revenue areas. But Stroup said the lottery was never touted as an education package with funds earmarked solely for education.

She said all but a small part of Proposition B funds, on the other hand, would go specifically toward education.

The only part of the tax measure not earmarked for education is $5 million that would be used to create new jobs and training of workers. Opponents have called this a "giveaway to business."

But Stroup said Friday the $5 million will reward only those firms that create jobs for Missouri workers.