SERIES EXPLORES PROS AND CONS OF HIGHER-EDUCATION FUNDING

Money matters.

It matters to educators, students, lawmakers, businesses and taxpayers, and it's at the heart of a funding dilemma in higher education in Missouri.

The Southeast Missourian today begins a weeklong series that explores the funding dilemma.

Cheered on by educators both at the college and university level and in elementary and secondary schools Missouri's lawmakers have proposed the largest tax increase in state history.

The Senate has passed a bill calling for a $456 million tax hike while the Missouri House has focused its efforts on a nearly $800 million proposal.

A compromise measure is likely to emerge from the Missouri General Assembly.

Any such tax measure will have to be submitted to a statewide vote. Legislation calls for submitting a tax proposal to voters in November.

Educators say a massive tax hike linked to reform efforts is vital for Missouri's schools and society's increasing educational needs.

But Gov. John Ashcroft says the reforms don't go far enough and are primarily in name only. Ashcroft and business groups contend the tax proposals are too costly for both the state's businesses and individual taxpayers.

There's also a question as to what share of any new tax revenue should go to higher education and what share should go to elementary and secondary schools.

The House bill would include equal funding for higher education and elementary and secondary schools. The Senate measure is weighted toward higher education.

College administrators say tight state finances have forced their state-supported institutions to trim budgets, eliminate programs and raise student fees.

Tuition per student at Missouri's public colleges and universities has more than doubled over the past 10 years. Universities, they say, are also increasingly looking to private contributions to help pay for campus programs and projects.

Educators maintain that they have made some reforms at the college and university level, particularly in terms of an increased focus on assessment of how well students are learning, but they say more dollars are needed to finance any future reform efforts.

A key issue in the funding dilemma is the question of what role the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education should play in the allocation of state money to colleges and universities.

State education officials say the coordinating board has little real power. It's charged with setting appropriations guidelines regarding funding for higher education, but the actual state funding decisions rest with the Missouri General Assembly.

The Senate bill would strengthen the coordinating board's role and give it the power to eliminate duplicated college programs and degrees, educators say.

Ashcroft contends that the bill would help control the proliferation of programs but would do little to eliminate existing duplicated and unnecessary programs at Missouri's colleges and universities.

Under the Senate bill, much of the new tax revenue would be allocated to schools by the coordinating board on a competitive basis.

The House version of the bill would establish a 10-member committee of House and Senate lawmakers. The committee would study and advise the General Assembly on higher education issues and monitor and implement the provisions of the tax measure.

Citizens from the governor to educators have voiced their views on the education-tax issue. But ultimately the decision is expected to rest with Missouri's voters, who will have to decide if such a tax hike is worth it.