JUDGE CLARK STRKES AGAIN

Speaking of federal judges: U.S. District Judge Russell Clark of Springfield, Mo., whose name will be forever linked to the failed and costly school desegregation effort in Kansas City, has struck again. This time the judge has ruled that the beleaguered urban district doesn't have to repay nearly $100 million it used for salary increases -- funded by Missouri taxpayers.

Here's the catch. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last June that Judge Clark overstepped his authority in 1992 and 1993 by ordering the state to help pay for the salary increases. In spite of that ruling, the judge has decided that forcing the Kansas City district to repay the money, as sought by Attorney General Jay Nixon, would "hamper" the desegregation effort there.

This is just the latest example of why federal meddling in local school districts doesn't work. Meanwhile, Missourians have been hit hard in the pocketbooks just to satisfy the whim of a judge who apparently has little regard for the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions.