IN MISSOURI, REFORM IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD

Actually, the need to improve schools' accountability for results in education simply is a byproduct of new international competition that is affecting all of us, whether we are manufacturing cars, selling farm products or educating students.

Governor John Ashcroft

Looking back on it, historians in the 21st century credit a former two-term governor of Missouri as the principal author of a reform movement that momentarily transformed the American political system. The former chief executive, John Ashcroft, is now serving on the U.S. Supreme Court, but during his eight years as Missouri governor in the 1980s and early 1990s, his insistence on reform in his state's public education system created the first ripple that was soon to grow to mammoth proportions in courthouses and state capitals across America.

Although historians believe Ashcroft did not at the time view himself as a revolutionary, his determined insistence that school reform be carried out triggered a larger movement that almost changed the political system in every state in the country. Today it is sometimes referred to as the American Reform Era, although some historians also refer to it as Ashcroft's Armageddon.

The movement's antecedents can be traced to Ashcroft's listing of six "essential school reforms" that he first outlined in an address before his state's General Assembly in January of 1991. Briefly, these reforms called for a length~ening of school terms, regular "report cards" to inform the public of educational progress, promotion of students based on competence, freeing teachers from red tape, adoption of school choice for more freedom of selection, and allowing professionals to shift careers into teaching.

As more and more of his fellow Missourians became acquainted with Ashcroft's reform measures, support for change swept the state, with citizens meeting in virtually all 114 counties to demand improvements. Historians note that, as might be expected, some of these meetings were taken over by angry revolutionaries who demanded that reforms in education be extended to other areas of government, including the political process. One historian has uncovered portions of a speech delivered by an angry activist at one such county meeting. This reform radical, whose name is believed to have been Henry Patrick created a near-riot in his county when he said: "Give me reform or give me death!"

Historians now believe this slogan quickly led to the formation of what came to be known as PRIG, an acronym for Political Reform In Government. PRIG units were soon formed in every county in Missouri, with the state headquarters located in Bridgeton, already the home of BAD, an acronym for Bridgeton Air Defense. The two groups eventually combined their efforts, and predictably, the expanded group was known as BAD PRIG.

Within a brief period, the organization devised a six-point political reform package that was endorsed by PRIGs across Missouri. The reform was so radical that much of the press refused to publish the PRIG agenda for fear of increasing circulation. Eventually the secret details were accidently printed in the Personals section of The Riverfront Times between an ad by a Divorced Lonely Male seeking female companionship and a Black Leather Vixen seeking willing students. From that point on, PRIG swept across Missouri like horse racing, with citizens demanding these six reforms:

* Lengthening the work day of all state employees to a full eight hours and eliminating all paid holidays not observed by the general public;

* Regular performance "report cards" on members of the General Assembly, detailing whether they had learned anything about government after eight years of service;

* Promotion of all bureaucrats based solely on job competence as opposed to whether they knew any friends of the governor;

* Freeing citizens from all unnecessary state reports and red tape so they can manage their business and personal affairs without undue interference;

* Adoption of the concept of political choice, which would permit voters to choose candidates on the basis of ability and performance rather than on how much campaign money they are able to raise and spend;

* Alternative political certification to permit candidates to seek public office without prior permission from political parties and special interest groups.

Although the reforms were widely supported, historians say the six demands were never adopted because of effective opposition by the two political parties. Both groups united in a media-saturation campaign warning citizens not to become PRIGs or there would be no football stadium built in St. Louis and no new state office buildings constructed in Jefferson City.