REGION WELCOMES STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION HERE

When the Missouri Board of Education holds its two-day meeting in Cape Girardeau this week, it will mark the first time the state board has convened in this city. And we hope it will not be the last.

The board meets monthly, primarily in Jefferson City. But, to its credit, the board, which has a limited budget, tries to meet at least once a year in a non-state capital setting.

Fittingly, the board is meeting at a time when the education issue is the number one item facing Missouri.

Everything from quality to funding of education has become a topic of much debate among all segments of the population from taxpayers to legislators to teachers.

Educators bemoan what they feel is inadequate state funding, a viewpoint supported by many of the state's lawmakers who are considering a $462 million tax hike for education.

Meanwhile, taxpayers and businessmen, as well as some of the state's political leaders in particular, Gov. John Ashcroft look with some concern at the possibility of higher taxes and wonder whether those taxes will translate into better education for their children and their children's children.

Against such a backdrop, the State Board of Education will be meeting in Cape Girardeau this week, and talking about educational funding.

The meeting affords us a chance to see one of our own in action Bekki Cook, a Cape Girardeau attorney and mother who currently serves as president of the Washington School PTA.

The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Thursday and Friday. But while in town, board members will also get a first-hand look at Southeast Missouri State University's excellent teacher education program.

When Cook was appointed to the board last September, she said that she was not aligned to any educational interest groups. She said that when funding is tight, it is particularly important to make the best use of every dollar. That is a lesson well taken, and one we hope the entire board embraces.

Cook and her colleagues on the board certainly have their hands full dealing with the complex issue of education.

But continued discussion on the issue can only benefit the Cape Girardeau community and the entire state.

For that reason alone, the upcoming meeting of the State Board of Education here is welcome news.