NOT ALL EDUCATORS IMPRESSED WITH NEW DESEG LAW

Area educators aren't impressed by portions of education legislation signed into law by Gov. Mel Carnahan Wednesday.

Carnahan signed Senate Bill 781, a law designed to end state financing of court-ordered school desegregation in St. Louis and Kansas City. The law also makes possible the first charter schools in the state and orders numerous changes to the St. Louis City School District.

Enactment of the law hinges on successful settlement of the St. Louis desegregation case by March 15, as well as passage of an 85-cent operating tax levy increase by St. Louis voters next spring.

Negotiations on the St. Louis desegregation case are continuing, but all parties said the legislation's passage would be duly noted in court. The Kansas City case has been settled, and Missouri is to make its final $99 million payment in that case next year.

Carnahan heralds the law as a boon for all Missouri schools. "The bill is a balanced piece of legislation that treats all school districts fairly," he said. "It recognizes the needs of both rural and urban school districts and holds schools accountable to students and parents."

The law would distribute about $45 million in desegregation savings to all 525 school districts across the state when the desegregation orders end.

Urban lawmakers contend city schools were being penalized because they lose some of the money already being received under the court order. But Southeast Missouri educators and rural lawmakers have complained that the legislation benefits the urban districts at the expense of their districts.

They said the greatest evidence of the benefit to urban districts can be found in the transition of the funding formula, which is used to determine the amount of state aid school districts receive, into a levy-driven system.

Previously, school districts received state aid per pupil based on the percentage of students eligible for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Under the new law, the per-pupil amount of aid is revised into two separate categories and hinges state aid on the amount of local operating levies.

Portageville schools superintendent Lloyd Little said the change obviously diminishes the amount of state funding available to rural school districts, many of which have the state minimum operating levy of $2.75.

"As I see it, most school districts in outstate Missouri are running between $2.75 to $3.15 in their operating levies," he said. "This new law will mean more funding run through for school districts with a higher levy, which is basically your urban districts."

Little said he understands the need to provide adequate funding to urban districts after desegregation ends, but poverty and adequate funding are issues in every school district. "I know that basically it takes money to educate these children, and the children that are coming to my district are carrying the same kind of baggage as the children in St. Louis," he said.

"Schools are trying to take care of needs and wants, and when we try to put a price tag on the amount of education, I think we're losing the true picture of why we're here," he said. "Dollar for dollar, my money is just as important as theirs is to them."

State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, said many outstate lawmakers approved the new law because they felt it was the best alternative they would receive. In addition, the assignment of Judge Stephen Limbaugh to the St. Louis settlement case was a positive sign because he is a "level-headed, reasonable" person with roots in the Bootheel, he said.

"We all know we are in one way or another going to be paying for urban schools," Kinder said. "However, there was some increased funding for districts like Cape that are hurt by the hold-harmless provision, and St. Louis also has to pass a pretty high tax increase or else this bill won't be in effect."

Dr. Dan Tallent, Cape Girardeau School District superintendent, said he was happy to see the legislation signed into law because of the potential increase in state funding to his school district. Although the law appears to make the state funding formula more levy driven, Tallent said he believes it is simply challenging outstate school districts to improve their local funding.

"I think that it's easy for us to be caught in the idea and to say, well, it's OK for the other people to pay this amount of tax, and then say go ahead and give us the state money so we can maintain this lower tax," he said, referring to passage of a recent constitutional amendment which allows Kansas City schools to issue a tax levy of $4.75. "Now the state is calling for more local input and will reward those districts who do that.

"If we want to trigger more state aid we're going to have to do it by being willing to also increase our local contribution."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.