KC school districts to file lawsuit Friday over education funds

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A group of Kansas City area school districts plans to file a lawsuit Friday challenging the state's authority to withhold money appropriated for Missouri's public schools.

The group, which includes the Lee's Summit and Liberty school districts, plans to challenge Gov. Bob Holden's decision to withhold nearly $200 million of the $4.55 billion appropriated for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Holden contends the cut was necessary because revenues are projected to fall short of what the Legislature budgeted.

"There's a lot more to say but we'll save that for Friday," Jim Dunn, a spokesman for Liberty Public Schools, said in an interview Wednesday.

The lawsuit to be filed in Cole County Circuit Court will name Holden, the state Board of Education and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as defendants. Supporters plan news conferences Friday in Jefferson City and Lee's Summit to outline their case.

Budget disputes

Holden, a Democrat, has blamed majority Republican legislators for forcing him to make the withholdings after he said lawmakers failed to adequately fund education. Republicans contend the budget is more balanced than Holden claims.

Holden twice vetoed spending bills for education this year but ultimately signed them after two special legislative sessions. His spokeswoman, Mary Still, said the lawsuit was "predictable" because of the tough times faced by school districts. But Still defended the governor's legal authority to make the withholdings.

"Legal research has been done on this very question and we believe we are on firm constitutional ground," Still said. The power to withhold money from public schools "is a power he would prefer not to use," Still added.

Jim Morris, a spokesman for DESE and the Board of Education, declined comment until the lawsuit can be reviewed.

State Rep. Carl Bearden, chairman of the House Budget Committee, said at first glance that the lawsuit appeared valid.

"I think it's a good lawsuit because it's a constitutional question that has to be asked and has to be answered," said Bearden, R-St. Charles.

Longtime state Sen. Wayne Goode, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, acknowledged there is some question about whether school funding can be cut by governors.

"I think it can, and I think that's been the opinion of most attorneys who have looked at it," said Goode, D-St. Louis. "But I'm not surprised that it was challenged and it's not clear cut, so I guess we could be wrong."

Earlier this month, 147 of Missouri's 524 school districts agreed to file a lawsuit over the adequacy and equity of the state's school funding system. That lawsuit is expected to be filed by the end of the year on behalf of the Committee on Education Equality.

In 1990, education groups claimed that the school aid distribution method was unfair. A Cole County judge agreed and, in 1993, the Legislature enacted the current formula.

Also on Wednesday, Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder and House Speaker Catherine Hanaway -- both Republicans -- announced the formation of the 14-person committee to study the equity and adequacy of public funding for education, as well as teachers' salaries and funding for school buildings.

Currently, basic state aid to schools is distributed through a formula that considers such things as local tax levies, property values and student attendance.

The intent is to equalize total funding among districts by providing less state aid to the wealthiest districts. But educators and citizens have complained for years that great disparity still exists between the richest and poorest schools.

Because of falling state revenues, the formula has not been fully funded for three years.

No date has been set for the first meeting of the committee, which will led by Sen. Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph.

------

On the Net:

Missouri Legislature: http://www.moga.state.mo.us