PROPOSITION B RULING OFFERS GOOD COMPROMISE

A ruling by a Cape Girardeau County Circuit judge this week affords a sound compromise on a statewide problem. At issue was the wording of the Proposition B ballot language.

Proposition B would provide an additional $190 million for public schools and an equal amount for colleges and universities, with $5 million for job training and development. Missourians will vote on the issue in November.

Two clergymen and a former schoolteacher objected to the 70-word description, claiming it failed to tell voters they were being asked to approve a large tax increase. Two lawsuits were filed. But Proposition B supporters worried that emphasizing the words "tax increase" in the first few words would spell certain doom. The original wording stressed the reforms, not mentioning the tax hike until near the end of the 70-word ballot description.

For five-and-a-half hours Monday, both sides debated the issue in Judge A.J. Seier's Cape Girardeau courtroom, trying to reach a compromise. They could not.

But only one day after presiding over the lengthy hearing, Seier issued his ruling. The judge modified Proposition B to make clear that the educational reforms would be financed "with additional tax revenues." The change was added to the second sentence.

The ruling seems to have pacified both sides. Seier exercised his years on the bench to arrive at a successful compromise. A quick ruling was needed because a mid-July deadline loomed for getting the November ballot to the printers. He demonstrated to the rest of the state that justice can be sound as well as swift.

The change in wording is appropriate. Proposition B is too important to be lost in a debate over a few words. It will bring about important educational reforms, but those improvements will require a considerable investment by Missourians.

If education leaders wage the type of campaign they are planning, most Missourians should be quite familiar with the pros and cons of Proposition B by November. We must all learn more about this massive reform-and-tax proposal, which could forever change Missouri's educational systems.

We should not try to disguise the fact that the reforms will require a tax increase. The reforms are worthy. We believe the campaign should be waged and won or lost on its own merits.