REFORM ABOUT-FACE

In big wars, there are sometimes key victories in small battles. This was the case earlier this week when the Missouri Farm Bureau's resolutions committee did an about-face and decided to oppose academic standards outlined in the state's Outstanding Schools Act.

What happened? Very simply, Farm Bureau members got to hear from someone other than a representative of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The department has been drumming the Outstanding Schools Act's academic guidelines in ways that purposely have avoided any input from opponents. In previous sessions with the Farm Bureau, the standards were represented by the state's education commissioner, Dr. Bob Bartman -- and only Dr. Bartman.

But at the Farm Bureau's state convention at the Lake of the Ozarks, Sen. Peter Kinder was invited to speak to the resolutions committee along with Bartman. Kinder, who also is the associate publisher of this newspaper and a member of its editorial board, has worked long and hard to inform Missourians about the pitfalls of the Outstanding Schools Act. In particular, Kinder has repeatedly questioned Bartman's tactics and aims in pounding home proposed standards that undermine local school districts and give virtually total control to the state bureaucracy.

Bartman wasn't happy that Kinder was invited to speak to the Farm Bureau. It was, in fact, the first time the education commissioner has had to face any opposition while espousing his totalitarian viewpoint. A clear example of this has been the scheduling of so-called hearings on education around the state that were held during workday hours. This, in effect, limited attendance from concerned taxpayers and interested parents of students in public schools.

Kinder's presentation to the Farm Bureau was to the point and well-documented, relying on information produced by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education -- Bartman's own department. As members of the Farm Bureau's resolutions committee looked on, Bartman made no effort to refute Kinder's presentation. Instead, he attacked Kinder personally and raised unsubstantiated doubts about the senator's motives and facts. Even when challenged, Bartman remained hostile and combative. Hardly the kind of presentation to sway farmers who aren't easily moved by bureaucratic bravado and political grandstanding.

While the Farm Bureau committee had been prepared to support the Outstanding Schools Act, based on the one-sided information from Bartman, it reversed itself and took a strong stand against the academic performance standards. "We will not support any standards or assessment system to be used for punitive actions against local school district, such as withholding of state school funds, consolidation of schools, or the removal of local school boards," the resolution, as adopted, firmly states.

This is only a crack in the steamroller campaign that has been conducted by Bartman and Gov. Mel Carnahan in pushing through academic standards. But it is an important crack. The Farm Bureau represents some 84,000 farm families across the state. Through its membership, the Farm Bureau has proven over and over that it is a powerful force to be reckoned with on statewide issues.

Missourians who are concerned about public education can take some comfort that such a major organization has listened to both sides and has taken so forceful a stand on academic performance standards. They also are in debt to the long and sometimes lonely campaign Sen. Kinder has conducted in an effort to inform Missouri's taxpayers about what is really going on in the effort to "reform" education.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Although he is a member of the Southeast Missourian's editorial board, Peter Kinder did not participate in the writing of this editorial.