School funding plan faces uphill battle

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A consultant's proposal for revising Missouri's school funding system will likely be opposed by lawmakers from districts where state aid would decline, the chairman of a legislative committee predicted.

The plan by Craig Wood, a University of Florida education professor, would reduce state aid to 171 of Missouri's 524 school districts, including Cape Girardeau, by an average of 5 percent. The money would be directed to 347 other districts that, according to Wood, should receive more from the state under a system focused on fairness.

Districts that would lose some aid under Wood's proposal serve 56 percent of Missouri's public school population, according to 2003 enrollment figures from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Wood was retained by the legislature to study and advise on ways to make Missouri's school funding system more fair without additional spending. He presented his conclusions Thursday to the Interim Committee on Education, which is to adopt a report next week.

Sen. Charlie Shields, who leads the interim committee, said fairness in school funding can be achieved by moving money around, but he acknowledged it would be tough to get votes for such a plan.

"You can fix a lot of the equity issues. Can you do it politically is another question," said Shields, R-St. Joseph.

Shields said Wood's proposal as a whole had little chance of passing this year but that some elements -- such as its cost-cutting suggestions -- could be acceptable.

Missouri's current funding formula fixes aid to each district based on several factors, including local property assessments, tax rates and enrollment. The system is intended to provide more state money to poorer districts, but it has been underfunded in recent years, and a wide spending disparity remains.

Wood recommended shifting the formula's focus from property taxes to students' needs -- establishing a basic amount of state aid per pupil, with adjustments for such factors as local cost of living and number of disabled students. The result would be a greater proportion of state aid to mostly southern districts.

Applying Wood's formula would mean a 205 percent aid increase for a district in Iron County, while 27 would see increases ranging from 60 to 98 percent.

State aid would rise by 50 percent to 59 percent to 35 districts; by 40 percent to 49 percent to 72 districts; and by 30 percent to 76 districts.

"I don't see how I can sign off on anything that says the majority of kids are in districts that are going to receive less state aid next year than they do now," said Rep. Bob Johnson, R-Lee's Summit.

Wood said there are two alternatives: consolidating districts or raising taxes.

The consultant's work comes against the backdrop of a lawsuit filed by more than 240 districts last month challenging Missouri's aid formula as unfair and inadequate.

More than 80 percent of the plaintiff districts would see their funding unchanged or increased by Wood's proposal.