SCHOOLS ARE SYMBOLS OF COMMUNITY'S PRIDE

Across Missouri, voters went to the polls Tuesday to make key spending decisions for schools. In general, the voters showed their support for bond issues, but tax increases were a much harder choice in most instances.

In the suburban districts of Kansas City, for example, five of the six bond issues on the ballot were approved. The largest -- $36 million in the Liberty School District -- won a whopping 83 percent of the votes. In the Harrisonville district, voters favored a $2 million bond issue as well as a 63-cent tax increase.

But in the St. Louis area, just half of the six school bond issues passed, and only one of the five proposed tax increases was approved.

While results in Cape Girardeau County and Perry County districts didn't exactly mirror either of the suburban areas, there does seem to be one fairly common thread among school-district voters: They don't like tax increases.

In Cape Girardeau, 75 percent of the voters supported the district's $18 million bond issue. A total tax increase of 69 cents, which is funding both the $14 million bond issue passed in 1997 and the bond issue passed this week, was approved in 1997. In general, the strong showing for the second phase of a two-part construction and renovation program can be attributed to a high sense of trust in school board members and the administration. In particular, the board and staff made commitments in 1997 and kept them. The projects planned in the first phase of the program were done.

In the Perryville School District, a well-organized community effort to gain support for three proposals -- two to increase taxes plus a bond issue -- appeared to be convincing voters. But the voters who actually went to the polls said no to all three. For weeks, the community had been involved in developing the package of proposals. Needs were discussed. Solutions were proposed. The Perry County Republic Monitor did an admirable job of keeping the issues before the public and providing thorough explanations. In the end, however, supporters were outnumbered by opponents at the polls.

Perhaps the biggest tide change occurred in the Jackson School District. As a community, Jackson takes great pride in its schools, which are considered to be one of the best selling points for new residents, businesses and industries. It won't do the district or the community any good to debate what went wrong with Tuesday's defeat of both its bond issue and a tax increase.

But the future of Jackson's schools is of utmost importance just as it is in Perryville and Cape Girardeau, or the St. Louis and Kansas City suburban areas. Communities are, in large part, defined by the schools they have.

Public school systems are visible symbols of a community's pride and commitment to a fundamental component of civic well-being. Just as residents of and visitors to any town like to see good streets, well-maintained parks, well-maintained residential areas and progressive businesses, they also expect public schools to stand ready to meet the challenges of a modern education.

Districts like Cape Girardeau and all those where bond issues and tax levies were approved this week have an obligation to live up to those expectations. These districts must maintain a high level of trust so that future needs will receive the same positive support.

In districts like Perryville and Jackson, the same goals must be met. It will take hard work and a spirit of cooperation and compromise to gain whatever level of support is needed to maintain existing schools and provide for future growth. Both Perryville and Jackson are fast-growing towns, much envied by communities all over Missouri. With the right kind of push to address school needs, both will find ways to keep the shine on the reputations they both so richly deserve.