Panel hears bill to shut courts out of state education funding

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Controversial legislation to strip Missouri courts of jurisdiction to hear lawsuits related to education funding garnered surprisingly little attention before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday.

State Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee's Summit, wants to put a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot that would make education funding decisions the exclusive province of the governor and legislature. If approved by lawmakers and ratified by voters, it would prevent courts from reviewing allegedly unconstitutional actions by the executive and legislative branches of government.

Although the sweeping alteration to Missouri's system of checks and balances among the three branches caused quite a stir when Bartle and other senators first floated the idea in February, no one testified either for or against the measure.

The proposed amendment is specifically intended to derail a lawsuit slowly moving through the courts that involves nearly 300 public schools districts that claim Missouri's existing system for funding public schools is unconstitutional because it provides inadequate money that is unfairly distributed.

"Appropriations decisions should be made by the legislature, not the courts. That has been the design of our system since day one," said Bartle, the Senate judiciary chairman.

The lawsuit was filed in Cole County Circuit Court last year. It will likely be more than a year before it goes to trial, after which an appeal to the Supreme Court is almost certain, further delaying a final resolution.

As the trier of fact, the trial judge would be responsible for crafting a remedy should he rule the funding system unconstitutional.

"It is not fair to foist upon a judge elected in Cole County the responsibility for determining funding for the entire state," Bartle said.

Supported by Blunt

The amendment would go on the ballot in November 2006 or at an earlier election called by Gov. Matt Blunt, who supports the measure.

State Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, said the proposal would leave taxpayers and school districts with no ability to seek redress in state court for unconstitutional actions. Graham is also concerned it would embolden the politically powerful, knowing a court couldn't step in, to enact an education funding formula that tilted in favor of certain districts while violating the constitutional rights of others.

Graham noted Missouri school districts generally are split into three regional factions -- urban, suburban and rural. Any two can form a coalition to shut out the other, he said, and those alliances often shift over time.

"It creates the opportunity for the formula to be continually redesigned on a political basis without an opportunity to go to court," Graham said.

If ratified, the amendment would be in conflict with at least three existing constitutional provisions -- those creating separation of powers between the branches, giving the Supreme Court the authority to determine the validity of state laws and guaranteeing the rights of residents access to the courts. However, Supreme Court precedent states that when constitutional provisions are in conflict, the one most recently adopted prevails as the most latest expression of the electorate's will.

The judiciary committee took no immediate action on the measure, SJR 18.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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