SOUTHEAST UNIVERSITY REGENTS ENDORSE PROPOSITION B

Proposition B, the tax-and-reform education measure, stands a good chance of passing in November, a top official at Southeast Missouri State University said Thursday.

The official, Art Wallhausen, assistant to the president at Southeast, told the university's Board of Regents Thursday that passage of the measure "is doable."

At Thursday's meeting, the regents unanimously endorsed the tax-hike-for-education measure, which would raise about $385 million for elementary, secondary and higher education and job training.

Wallhausen said about one-third of Missouri's voters or about 900,000 people generally vote in off-year elections. Based on that, he said it's estimated that 500,000 "yes" votes would be needed for Proposition B to pass in the Nov. 5 election.

In the "education establishment alone" there are conceivably enough votes to pass it, he said.

In a statewide poll in April, 65 percent of respondents said they would vote for a tax hike for education, Wallhausen pointed out. The poll was conducted for Missourians for Higher Education, a group of officials representing public and private colleges and universities in the state.

Wallhausen said a number of organizations in the state have endorsed Proposition B.

He added that proponents of the tax-and-reform measure plan to mount an intensive, six-week campaign, beginning in mid-September.

Southeast President Kala Stroup urged the regents to lobby for passage of the measure in speeches to civic groups.

Carl Ben Bidewell of Poplar Bluff, president of the Board of Regents, said the regents are well aware of the need for increased funding at Southeast.

But he said it's important to keep speeches to civic groups simple and to the point. "I wouldn't want to burden them down in a lot of details."

Wallhausen told the regents that Proposition B could mean an additional $9.19 million annually for Southeast. He said that estimate is based on the fact the university currently receives 5.5 percent of the total higher education budget in the state.

But following the meeting, he said that realistically Southeast could expect to receive an additional $5 to $7 million annually from the new taxes.

Of the additional funding, most of it about $5.78 million would be earmarked for "mission reform."

Wallhausen said some of the mission reform funding could be used for raises for faculty members "just on the basis of trying to maintain the quality that we have."

Proposition B would raise additional funding for education through a sales tax, individual income tax, cigarette tax and corporate income tax.

If the measure is approved by voters, the new taxes would take effect Jan. 1. It's estimated about $139 million would be raised in the first six months, which would be the last half of the 1992 fiscal year.

Of that revenue, about $60 million could be allocated to state universities and colleges for building improvements and equipment.

Wallhausen said Missouri's public colleges and universities would not receive their full share of additional funding until the 1993 fiscal year, which begins next July 1.

Wallhausen discussed the impact the new taxes will have on taxpayers.

He said:

The three-eighths-cent sales tax would cost a $30,000-income taxpayer about $5 a month.

Increased individual income tax would affect only individuals making above $45,000 and families with incomes above $90,000.

The measure would reduce taxes for middle-income taxpayers with children by doubling dependent deduction.

The cigarette tax would cost the average smoker an added 5 cents a day or $18.25 a year.

The temporary corporate income tax hike of 1.5 percent, now in effect, would be made permanent. That would put the rate at 6.5 percent on income over $100,000.

Passage of Proposition B would pay big dividends for Southeast and the region, Wallhausen said. "The payoff is an increase in state funding and all the things we can do for our region."

Those, he said, include added financial aid and scholarships for students, new and improved academic programs, new laboratory and computer equipment, added maintenance, repair and construction funding, and more money to provide competitive salaries for university personnel.

In addition, he said, there would be a direct economic benefit to the area from the higher level of university spending.

In endorsing Proposition B, the regents approved a two-page statement.

In the statement, the regents said: "We see Southeast Missouri State University as a beacon for progress and economic development in this region of our state, but realizing this potential will require a significant infusion of new dollars.

"We are conscious of the need for accountability in public education, and we are enthusiastic about the reforms contained in Proposition B reforms which base allocation of new resources on proven performance and enhanced service."