REACTIONS TO SCHOOL FUNDING PLAN VARY

Several area school superintendents say they have mixed feelings about the reforms contained in an education funding bill approved by the Missouri House Monday. They said they will wait until a conference committee completes its work to make final judgments.

"We just won't know much until this comes out of conference and see what is in the final bill," said Cape Girardeau Superintendent of Schools Neyland Clark. "I'm concerned about it, but on the other hand, why be concerned until you see what comes out of the conference committee?"

Oak Ridge Superintendent Roger Tatum said, "I think we can live with the reforms that have been talked about, if funding is there to help implement the reforms."

He said: "All in all we have been getting reforms for several years now, but there have not been dollars attached to pay for them. The reforms in this bill are good in that they have dollars attached to help pay for them."

But Clark said many of the reforms that have been proposed are very costly. He said he doubts whether funding will be sufficient.

The current bill would increase state funding for Cape Girardeau schools by $1.2 million a year and increase per-pupil funding by $312. But compared to the neighboring Jackson School District, Cape Girardeau would be receiving about 25 percent of what Jackson is getting, which makes it difficult to compete.

Clark said two things concern him about the increased funding. On one hand, schools need more money and it can be spent wisely, but the reforms will dictate how much of the money is spent.

"We have to ask, is it enough money?" said Clark. "Once we plug in the components of reform, there may not be as much money as we thought.

"Most of the reform components smack at accountability. I don't think any educator in the state would be concerned with accountability if they could control the variables that go into the formula to make a good student. It is hard to undo at school in six hours what is done in 18 hours at home."

The bill calls for the formation of a state super board of education called a Commission on Performance, which could impose penalties on school districts and teachers where performance is not satisfactory.

But Clark is concerned schools do not have control of all the variables and that when the commission comes into a school district: "You put a penalty on the staff or district that are the very people who are the answer to the problem. You have got to give them a chance to go in and fight the adverse variables affecting their school and district.

"But on the other hand, you need to have some way for an external evaluator," said Clark.

Clark stressed the role of the commission should be to step in if school boards, administrators or teachers are not acting professionally and negatively affecting classroom performance.

Bob Buchanan, superintendent of the Sikeston public schools, said it is unfair for the education department to have an authority overseeing their work when no other state agencies have such an overseer.

Another concern is the minimum salaries for teachers, which would, for example, increase the minimum salary for a teacher with a master's degree and 10 years experience to $32,000.

"I don't think most districts can afford that," said Buchanan. "I'm not opposed to that salary, but there is just no way money would be there to do it."

For that level of salary to be pro-rated throughout the school system, it would cost Sikeston an additional $2.2 million in salaries, Buchanan said.

Clark said he has not compiled such a figure, but "There is no way for us to have a logical index to do that because there is no way to have enough money to fund it."

Sikeston teachers with a master's degree and 10 years experience now receive $24,500; in Oak Ridge they receive $20,508.

"I just don't think anyone has really crunched those numbers yet to see what the full impact could be," said Buchanan. "I think the end result would be a statewide minimum salary of $18,000 and a maximum salary of $32,000.

Another big area of concern is the concept of outcomes-based education, which has been modified in the bill to the point where it will only be studied in Missouri. The concept has been tried in other states, and area superintendents are wary of it.

If it is tried in Missouri, they believe a model should be developed strictly for Missouri and not use a plan from other states.

Said Tatum: "I am not afraid of it if standards are set by local districts and the state of Missouri. We shouldn't pattern it after anywhere else; just look at the concept of outcome-based education and develop our own plan."

Site-based management is another proposal drawing mixed reviews. The final bill will likely contain language to study the concept or make it optional for school districts.

Buchanan is keeping a close watch on the funding formula, which is currently tied to eligible pupils. One idea being talked about is basing the funding on average daily attendance, which for Sikeston is 95 percent - way above the statewide average.

But that means Sikeston would be paid on the basis of 3,975 students rather than 4,250. The impact on other school districts could be much more significant, with lower daily attendance.

"The state could reduce its financial obligations significantly throughout the state with this approach, and I don't think that point is being discussed by school boards and administrators," said Buchanan.