Education cuts will undermine Missouri's future

Since leaving office my belief that education is essential in the competition for jobs and economic opportunity has only been strengthened.

There are three criteria when decisions are made about the deployment of capital that would create jobs. Of first importance is the tax rate. Investment flows from high-tax jurisdictions to low-tax venues. Second is the overall business climate. By that I mean the legal environment and regulatory structure. Entrepreneurs want to do business where there is a level and fair playing field. The third is quality of education and the quality of the work force. Sometimes this can be the deciding factor. In fact, sometimes it can trump one of the other two and even, in rare instances, make up for shortcomings in both.

It does not matter if we are talking about a great kindergarten classroom or a world-class postgraduate program. People want to live, and businesses want to locate, in places with high-quality schools.

One of the questions I like to ask a business leader is, "Why did you choose your location?" The answer is often informative. There may be a specific tax reason or an infrastructure or natural resource need that a specific location meets. However, often the answer relates directly to the work force.

For example, a company may hire a certain number of specially trained technicians every year. Thus, they will locate in a town or region that produces the technicians or one that produces the graduates ready for the necessary training.

Businesses will locate in states with low tax rates, fair regulations and high school and college graduates who are ready on day one. They are less likely to locate in communities that lack any of the three.

That is why when I was governor we consistently increased education funding every year, providing a 17 percent increase for elementary and secondary education and a 19 percent increase for higher education. We created the Missouri Virtual School Program. We increased funding for early childhood education. We fully funded the new foundation formula, established Missouri's first tuition controls and nearly quadrupled needs-based scholarship funding through Access Missouri. We controlled costs and reduced spending throughout the rest of the budget to ensure that education was the highest budget priority. All told, we increased our total investment in education by $1.2 billion. These increases have helped Missouri students at all levels be better prepared for the modern work force.

Clearly, more funding is not all that is needed. We need reforms that empower parents and focus on critical subjects for the future, but adequate funding is absolutely vital. Nobody should pretend that you can cut education funding without negative, long-term consequences. Missourians will be less prepared for the jobs of tomorrow and Missouri will be less prosperous if our state fails to consistently increase education funding to keep up with the rest of the world.

According to a 2009 study by the National Center for Education Statistics, American students are already lagging behind when compared to their global peers. This troubling study measured the performance of 15-year-old students in reading, math and science and found that U.S. students scored lower in math literacy than students in 23 of the 29 countries that participated, and lower than students in 16 nations in the science portion. Countries such as China and India annually graduate tens of thousands more students in math and science. In fact, the United States is ranked 48th globally in terms of the number of graduating math and science students.

There are more statistics than there is space to print, but they all indicate that, unless we make substantial progress, foreign students will be better prepared for the future. This is important, and alarming, because we all know there is, and will continue to be, intense competition for jobs. We have to do more than ensure that our young people can keep up. We need to help them zoom ahead. And that cannot be accomplished if you fail to set budget priorities.

When state government cuts funding for school transportation, character education and virtual education programs it hurts our students and diminishes our future. When it cuts core funding for our colleges and universities it injures economic development and fails to invest in our future leaders. When it cuts community colleges it damages our work force preparedness.

In the very midst of the most competitive global economy in American history, cutting education funding is one of the worst things are state could do. Unfortunately, it is often politically easier to cut education than to make difficult decisions within the rest of the budget. Cutting education may seem like a good idea to some right now, but the long-term consequences will outweigh the shortsighted gain on the state's balance sheet. States have to decide if they will be welfare states or education states. Those that choose the latter and invest in the future will emerge with better jobs and more prosperous families.

Missourians who care about our students and are concerned about our future should advocate for more and not less funding. This is not about politics. It is about Missouri's future. Those who want to cut education are jeopardizing our future.

Matt Blunt is a former governor of Missouri.