LAWMAKERS OPEN MINDED ON TAX HIKE

JEFFERSON CITY - Most area legislators say they will be open minded on a tax increase for education that Gov. Mel Carnahan plans to propose.

But the lawmakers said voters may be in no mood to approve a tax hike and money is not the only solution to problems facing education.

Carnahan, who said in his campaign he would lead the charge for increased funding of education, is expected to unveil some details of his proposal this morning when he delivers his first state of the state address and budget message to a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly.

"I'm open minded about it, but I would have to see the proposal first," said Rep. Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau. "But I don't believe in providing more money without the reforms."

Rep. Dennis Ziegenhorn, D-Sikeston, said: "I'm receptive to looking at it and will be very open minded about it. Definitely the direction up here right now is to find more money for education. We'd all have to take a look at what is proposed, see how much the economy can stand, and how the money will be spent."

Ziegenhorn said one factor that could cloud a tax issue is the amount of state money being spent on federal court-ordered desegregation in St. Louis and Kansas City. Carnahan and Attorney General Jay Nixon have promised to move quickly toward settling the cases, but a major reduction of costs is probably several years away.

"I think people will give you a tax increase if they feel money is being spent wisely," said Ziegenhorn. "But with desegregation they don't feel it is spent wisely."

Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, will hear his first state of the state address as a legislator today. "I'm going to be very interested in what he has to say and am not going to prejudge it," said Kinder.

"He reads the election results as being rendered a mandate (for a tax increase). It is certainly fair for him to do that."

However, Kinder said he is uncertain whether others who were elected this year got the same tax-hike mandate from voters. "At the very minimum, we need a heavy dose of reform before any tax plan has a chance," the senator said.

Rep. Joe Driskill, D-Poplar Bluff, and Rep. James Graham, R-Fredericktown, agreed that for a tax increase to pass voters will need to know how much additional money would be brought into their school districts. As representatives of several rural school districts, the two are concerned that the new foundation formula does not benefit urban districts at the expense of rural districts.

"It is sort of a wait-and-see attitude for me," said Driskill. "I want to see what the legislation looks like, where the money will come from, and how it will be distributed. The foundation formula bill we had last year hurt my (school) districts.

"I'm one who has been very conservative on tax issues in the past," he said. "I have voted for things that make an investment in the future; I voted for the highway gas tax last year."

Graham said that in past years the House has approved tax plans to increase funding for schools, but it has been bogged down in the Senate. The second-term legislator said it is also important that new money leads to better education.

Said Graham: "I think everybody is concerned about our schools. We all want our young people to have the best tools to work with, but we've just got to make sure it is fair for everybody."

If the facts are presented to the people about a tax increase, Graham said they are intelligent enough to make the right decision.

As for his own support, Graham explained: "I'm not as head strong as some. I will listen, look and talk to the people it affects. I'll get input from my local people ... but before I can make a decision I will have to see the plan Gov. Carnahan proposes."

Based on overwhelming rejection by voters of Proposition B in November 1991, Rep. David Schwab, R-Jackson, said: "I would be hesitant to send another tax increase of any size to the people. But I'd certainly want to take a look at it."

Whenever a plan is proposed, Schwab said the first thing legislators will do is look at computer printouts of their school districts to see how much additional money they will receive.

Carnahan has made it clear that he intends to sell the plan to voters by making it easy to see how the plan will benefit their schools.

Rep. Mark Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, also was skeptical about the likelihood of passing a tax hike this year.

"Newly elected legislators, and those returned, are all here with the same mandate that we have more responsible government and more efficient use of the tax dollars," said Richardson. "I think, contrary to what Gov. Carnahan said, mandating that tax increase will have real difficulty."

He said: "All legislators need to carry with them to Jefferson City the mandates they were given and to funnel as much money to education as we can. But I don't think voters of Missouri are ready to vote a tax increase."

Sen. Jerry Howard, D-Dexter, said Carnahan will not only have to work to convince voters to approve more taxes for schools but must get support from legislators to send his plan to voters.

"I think education for Carnahan is going to be a real challenge because he has got to convince all of us that there is a need," said Howard. "Then we have to work with him so that whatever program he comes up with for meeting those needs with additional funding is satisfactory to the voters.

"I think if there is a reasonable plan, and we have time to have discussion on it, it stands a chance. I'm receptive to voting for it."

Howard said he has suggested to the governor that he hold town meetings around the state as a way of preparing voters for his plan. "It is important to discuss how we want to improve education and to see what the people want changed. We can then come up with cost figures and present that to the people," he said.

Howard said his Bootheel district has a high level of adult illiteracy and a large, high-school dropout rate - both of which he wants to see reversed by programs funded with additional education revenue.

Regardless of what is ultimately sent to voters, Kasten stressed the importance of legislators and citizens keeping in mind that more money is not the only solution to problems facing education in Missouri.

"The problems are much bigger than just providing more money," said the sixth-term lawmaker. "To me the answer to some of our education problems is more involvement from parents and from the local levels. Certainly, just throwing money at education will not begin to solve all the problems."