TEACHERS STRESS NEED FOR SCHOOL TAX REFORM

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Educators attending Friday's Southeast Missouri District Annual Teacher's Meeting said they support a tax measure to give Missouri primary and secondary schools additional funding.

The annual day-long teacher's conference drew more than 3,000 educators from Southeast Missouri schools.

A topic on many teachers' minds was a $462 million tax increase proposal to pay for the state's critical education needs. The Missouri Senate Thursday voted 24-10 to approve the measure, the largest tax increase in state history.

Martha Nothdurft, a Scott City teacher, said Missouri school districts particularly small Southeast Missouri districts need the additional funding even to maintain current curriculum.

"Many of the smaller districts in this part of the state are struggling to get supplies and materials for their classrooms," Nothdurft said. "These people have been scrimping and saving to get by and now you have to tell them they need to make do with less."

Nothdurft said she thought the package pushed by Senate President Pro Tem James Mathewson, D-Sedalia, stresses more funding for higher education. But she said primary and secondary schools shouldn't be overlooked.

"I've nothing against higher education, but you also have to have the basics to go to college," Nothdurft said. "There has to be a greater emphasis on elementary and high school needs."

Pat Andrews, a business teacher at Scott City High School, said she thought funding for early elementary education is critical. Andrews said additional funding isn't a "cure-all" for public education ills in Missouri, but that if education is to keep from slipping, more money is needed.

"A lot of the problems with education are attitudinal problems with the students," she said. "There are some students who are not motivated enough to push themselves.

"We need equipment and materials necessary to make things more realistic, especially in business education, so we can send a kid into the work force and he knows how the equipment works."

Andrews said that if no additional funding is provided, the state's small, poorer schools would be relegated to basic textbook purchases and would have to forego more expensive equipment and materials purchases.

"More money is not a cure-all to all the problems with education, but it's needed," she added.

"I know we won't get everything I want," said Nothdurft, "but I want what I need."

Barbara Lohr, an educator at Cape Girardeau's Vocational-Technical School, said tax reform has long been needed in Missouri.

"My general feeling is that we in Missouri really do need tax reform, especially for education," Lohr said. "I think we are behind other states in our support for education.

"Generally, the progress of a state is dependent on its education system. I feel businesses won't locate in Missouri until more is done to improve education."

Lohr said the increased number of school referendums voters have had to face in the past several years has made it increasingly difficult to garner support for further tax measures.

But she said some state-wide referendums that earmarked money for education have resulted in school funding cuts.

"The voters, I think indicated they're for education," Lohr said. "But once the money went to education, the Legislature decreased education funding in the budget.

"Maybe we've trusted our legislators for too long to do the right thing and they haven't. But I feel those matters still need to be left to our elected officials to work out."

Judy Buck, a teacher at Sikeston High School and Area Vocational-Technical School, said she doubted adequate education funding will make it through the legislature and past Gov. John Ashcroft.

Ashcroft has said he's against the package because it doesn't contain education reforms.

Ashcroft has said that public-school reforms should include a longer academic year, "report cards" on school performance, "promotion and graduation based on competence," freedom for teachers to restructure class environments and letting parents and students choose their schools.

But Buck said Ashcroft is asking for teachers and school districts to perform better with less money.

"The legislature appears to be in support of more money for education," she said. "But I think with our current governor, we don't get the support we need.

"He's said we need to do more with what we've got. But educational expenses go up just like any thing."