A CONSENSUS ON SCHOOL ISSUES IS ESSENTIAL

Given the kind of campaign he waged, not to mention the general interest and concern felt by millions of Missourians, the record of the state's next governor will unquestionably hinge on how well he succeeds in improving public education over the next four years.

Despite the fact there are numerous pitfalls in assessing an administration on how much it improves school funding and the quality of classroom instruction, Governor-elect Mel Carnahan is nothing if not a practical politician who knows that the public's perception of his role in improving local schools will greatly determine whether he is able to enjoy the perquisites of office for an additional term in office.

Providing a significant boost in state aid to elementary and secondary schools, not to mention relieving the financial problems of taxpayer-funded colleges and universities, will provide the next governor with a number of challenges, and not all of them are fiscal. It is not possible, as incumbent John Ashcroft fully understands and appreciates, to wave a magic wand and transform local schools into Montessori institutions capable of graduating seniors who can top SAT test score averages around the country. Neither does a mere mortal sitting in a spacious office on the second floor of the state Capitol have the power to change regional state universities into another Harvard or Yale.

Public aid to elementary and secondary schools has been on such a static course in recent years that it has become a built-in excuse for a disappointing lack of educational enterprise in many local districts. It has, to some degree, provided poorly operated districts with a raison d'etre, as the French would say, for mediocre academic achievements, providing the new governor with still another challenge that can prove as formidable as finding sufficient money to finance fully the School Foundation Program. We need to remember that inadequate funding, as serious as it really is, provides an excellent excuse for poor classroom instruction and disappointing student achievement test scores.

There are times we have to wonder whether those who are in charge of educating our children are really serious about their goal. We're not referring to thousands of excellent teachers, principals and superintendents who work terribly hard to educate and improve their grade and high school charges. We refer to those who set the overall themes of education improvement as elected public officials, including not only governors but legislators as well. No subject commands any greater attention in the General Assembly than education, except perhaps for members' political ambitions, and yet it is difficult and oftentimes impossible to get a consensus from 34 senators and 163 representatives on what steps should be taken to meet what our own Constitution describes as the state's primary responsibility: public education.

After years in which almost everyone agreed that equity was lacking, our elected lawmakers still cannot devise a method to distribute fairly the state's financial assistance to 543 local school districts. On the face of it, this simply demonstrates that too many in the Genera~l Assembly are not trying hard enough to reach a goal that we all have to believe is possible. Whenever the subject of dividing foundation funds is discussed, the matter is instantly immersed in parochial politics, with urban and outstate interests seemingly in almost direct conflict. Add to this the problems separating districts that are growing and those that have declining enrollments and the goal of equity becomes even more elusive.

Missouri won't get better classroom performance until we solve the foundation distribution problem. Nor can the state expect to solve some of the many problems facing public higher education until colleges can be assured they will receive sufficient funds to maintain and repair their buildings. And without strong leadership on tax-supported campuses around the state, we won't get better-educated college graduates even if additional funds are available.

The point is the whole conglomerate of educational problems in the state centers not around- one subject but a multitude of them, from parochial interests to indifferent teachers, from principals putting in time until they can retire to politicians who adopt positions designed to assure their re-election.

It ought to be obvious, particularly following the defeat of last year's Proposition B, that no single person, no single officeholder or group of them, and not even an entire legislative body can bring about the monumental changes needed to move Missouri from the bottom of the national heap to at least a decent middle ranking. We certainly hope it is obvious to our state's next governor that he cannot accomplish this by himself nor even with the wholehearted assistance of the General Assembly and the state's educational establishment.

What is clearly needed is a well planned and executed statewide educational conference, divided into one group that will attack the problems of local school districts and a second that will recommend needed changes in higher education. We're not speaking of a politically correct conference that will spend a couple of days in Jefferson City and then adjourn in the mistaken conviction that all the dilemmas have been overcome. Rather we're speaking of something resembling a constitutional convention, only this one will focus entirely on the most important task facing Missouri.

Such a conference, held for several days a week over a period of a month, should encompass every economic, social and political section in Missouri, be sufficiently funded to assure top-flight professional staffing, and then be given an agenda broad enough to examine every facet of its subject. Involving as many as 500 Missourians, divided between the two major subjects, the conference should have leadership from both the executive and legislative branches of government.

By including citizens from every section of the state and from every walk of life, the conference could write an important chapter in the history of Missouri. Indeed, it may be the only way such a chapter can be written, considering the obstacles now facing significant improvement in state education.