SCHOOL LEADERS WORRY ABOUT LOSS OF FUNDING

CHAFFEE -- Like most school superintendents in Missouri, Wayne Pressley, superintendent of the Chaffee public schools, is awaiting word on how legislative changes in education funding might affect his school district.

Court-ordered changes in the state's method of distributing money to public schools have taken a forefront in legislative discussions. But specific information, especially concerning funding, is hard to come by.

"I've been corresponding weekly with Marilyn Williams, our representative," Pressley said. "We've been in touch weekly with our state senator, Peter

Kinder, as well."

Although legislators have been willing to share information, details change often, Pressley said. And not everything educators hear makes them happy.

The formula revision bill proposed to the Senate Education Committee Wednesday includes a "new visions" section setting higher standards for students beginning next year effective through 1997. It also requires school boards to come up with methods to determine if students are achieving the standards.

At the Chaffee school board meeting Tuesday, the board decided to express concerns about the act in writing.

Pressley said: "We have some concerns about some parts of that proposed legislation. We are concerned that if it is enacted as they are discussing it now, it's going to erode and take away some local control."

But the superintendent said concerns go deeper than that. "I guess one of the things personally I have difficulty with is that the judge ruled concerning the funding of schools. He did not call for more reforms," Pressley said.

"I'm glad that attention has been called to the inappropriateness of the funding situation. We have been operating under an unconstitutional system," he said. "They need to fix what we weren't doing right first.

"Now it seems the legislature is taking this opportunity to perhaps push forward some agendas that may not be in the best interest of schools."

Discussion of the formula revision is scheduled to resume following the legislature's spring break, and educators like Pressley will be watching to see what develops.

"We're cautiously waiting to see what's going to come out, but it's too early for us to see if we will be a winner or a loser," he said.