SCHOOL-CHOICE TEST

Efforts to bring school choice to Missouri have met with staunch resistance. But a voucher-system pilot program in three school systems offers an opportunity to test the waters while guaranteeing no loss of state aid to participating schools. This test can prove to doubting educators and politicians that school choice will not undermine the stability of public schools. It will force schools to become more competitive and responsive to public demands of quality. The goal, after all, is quality education whether it is public or private.

House Bill 1037 would give low-income families in the Cape Girardeau, St. Louis and Kansas City school districts tuition assistance for private or parochial schools or other public schools outside their district. Income eligibility would be tied to the federal poverty level. This bill extends the option of choice to parents who can't afford tuition payments. The legislation would set up a three-year demonstration project.

The test gives financial protections to participating districts. The three public school districts wouldn't lose any state aid resulting from enrollment drops that might occur under the program. Participation would also be limited to 4 percent of the students living in the district the first year, 8 percent the second and 12 percent the third. With these limits, the test project could involve 5,000 to 6,000 students in St. Louis, 4,000 to 5,000 in Kansas City and 500 to 600 in Cape Girardeau.

Past school-choice proposals also said only half of the state aid would follow the student to the new school. The remainder would stay with the district that no longer serves the student.

But despite these protections, many educators and politicians are dubious about the test. Why are they so worried? If public education was doing the fine job that many educators think, why would they fret that students would opt for a mass exodus? Obviously, they sense student, parent and public dissatisfaction with the schools.

A new statewide opinion poll demonstrates that perceptions of school quality greatly differ among educators as a group and civic leaders and the general public as a group. Ninety percent of educators felt schools were doing a "pretty good job given the social problems and lack of funding they face." But only 40 percent of civic leaders agreed with that statement, and only 54 percent of the general public concurred.

Those polled were also asked if they thought schools were doing a better job than when they were in school. Nearly 70 percent of educators agreed, compared with only 29 percent of civic leaders and 23 percent of the general public. If most educators feel the schools are already doing a good job, there seems likely to be little motivation for improvement.

Other states are experimenting with school choice as well. Pilot programs are under way in both Milwaukee and Cleveland. A battle for parental freedom was also waged in the District of Columbia, where per-pupil spending of $9,000 is among the highest in the nation -- and where test scores and drop out rates are spiraling downward.

Incredibly, the budget for the entire District of Columbia failed to pass Congress last week, and that failure has been directly tied to a $3,000 educational voucher proposal in the budget. The National Education Association, the largest teachers' union, worked to block the budget because of the vouchers. It seems they would prefer the city shut down rather than give parents an educational option.

School choice may be the 2-by-4 needed to get educator and politician attention. Public education operates a virtual monopoly, with only those who can afford it opting out. This test would prove the viability of school choice in Missouri.