Parties spar over education proposals

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Republicans haven't been shy is expressing their dislike for Gov. Bob Holden's education funding plan, which would raise most of its revenue by encouraging gamblers to spend more in riverboat casinos and on the Missouri lottery.

On Thursday, dozens of House and Senate Democrats banded together and said: If you have a better idea, let's hear it. If not, don't criticize the governor.

Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell, the Senate president, led the charge, but denied Democrats were throwing down the gauntlet.

"If there is no other plan, if they do not have a plan, we are asking them to get out of our way so we can pass our plan," Maxwell said. "It is hard for us to negotiate if we don't even know what they are proposing."

At issue is how to come up with the $220 million in additional revenue needed to fully fund the formula for distributing state aid to local school districts. Holden's plan calls for increasing the state's take from gambling plus tweaking sales tax collections from retailers.

Republicans have proposed creating the Classroom Trust Fund, which would take gambling revenue out of the formula and distribute it directly to school districts on a per-pupil basis. This would benefit districts like Cape Girardeau that don't see yearly increases from the formula.

"Our Classroom Trust Fund legislation is the very definition of equity in education," said state Rep. Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph. "It takes money from no one. It will provide additional education funding to all Missouri schools equally and give schools complete flexibility to spend this money on their priorities."

However, the GOP plan would leave an even bigger hole -- another $180 million on top of what the governor proposes -- to plug in the formula, because that is where gambling revenue currently goes. The proposal would require more general revenue be earmarked for education -- revenue the state doesn't have.

"They act like there is a bottomless pit of general revenue you can take," said state Sen. Ken Jacob, D-Columbia. "There isn't."

Republicans countered that the trust fund wouldn't take effect until fiscal year 2004, which would give lawmakers another year to come up with the money. However, that argument leaves the GOP without an education plan that addresses the needs of fiscal year 2003, which begins July 1.

Republicans said general revenue could be found for the formula from existing spending but that Holden has been slow in providing details of his proposed budget, leaving the GOP uncertain as where to look for cuts.

"If the governor would share with us some of the information he has, we could better answer those questions," said House Majority Floor Leader Catherine Hanaway, R-Warson Woods.

Formula change

While the parties bicker over finding money for education, there is some bipartisan agreement over a bill that would reduce the amount needed to fully fund the formula this year.

A House committee has endorsed a bill that would tweak the formula, requiring lawmakers to come up $175 million to achieve full funding instead of $220 million.

The formula is tied to a district's guaranteed tax base, which usually increases following biennial, statewide property tax reassessments. That results in a major increase in the money needed for full funding every two years, which smaller increases in between.

The bill would spread those increases over two years, providing for more even annual growth.

"It is good public policy from a cash-flow standpoint," said state Rep. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau. "As long as we remain committed to fully funding the foundation formula, with this change to the guaranteed tax base education will not be negatively impacted."

Crowell is a co-sponsor of the bill.

A free lunch

When Dr. Ken Dobbins appeared before a House appropriations committee last week to plead for lesser budget cuts for Southeast Missouri State University, committee members enjoyed a catered lunch paid for by the university.

Holden has proposed 10 percent reductions to the operating budgets of all public, four-year colleges.

The free food, which groups lobbying House panels meeting at lunchtime commonly provide, likely didn't sway many committee members. The panel's chairman told Dobbins deeper cuts than those suggested by the governor could be possible.

Whoa, Nelly

Rap musician and University City native Nelly visited the Capitol last week to be honored with proclamations from Holden and the House of Representatives praising his efforts to improve education in the St. Louis area.

Some lawmakers questioned whether the state should honor Nelly, whose real name is Cornell Hayes, as a role model when some of the lyrics of his solo recordings and those of his band, St. Lunatics, are sexually explicit.

However, the real concern for Shields was the cost of the approximately 30 state troopers and Capitol police on hand to provide security for the visit. Famous visitors are common at the Capitol, but few observers could recall such a massive security presence aside from a visit by President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore in 2000.

Shields has asked the Department of Public Safety for an accounting of what the security cost taxpayers. As of Friday, Shields hadn't received a reply.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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