Let elected officials decide on school funding

Since the lawsuit on education funding was filed last January, much has changed. We have a new governor-elect and new legislative leaders who have stated they are committed to finding a solution to this public policy challenge.

These newly elected leaders have stated they will work toward a funding solution to keep the courts out of our schools.

Governor-elect Matt Blunt says the funding formula is "broken," and other leaders agree.

The new president pro tem of the state Senate, Michael Gibbons, has said that reworking the foundation formula is a priority in the coming legislative session.

House majority caucus chairman Bob Dixon says of the funding issue, "If we abdicate our responsibility as legislators, we have no room to speak about judges legislating from the bench."

It is time to give our new leaders the opportunity to solve the education funding problem in Missouri. I have, therefore, asked the trial court to put on hold the lawsuit filed by the public school districts so that the policymakers constitutionally empowered to fund education can do their job when they come to Jefferson City in less than eight weeks.

As attorney general, I have the legal responsibility to defend the state when it is sued -- and I will. But I also have the responsibility to advise my client, the people of Missouri, as to the proper and realistic response to a lawsuit.

In the spirit of good faith, I have asked the court to postpone any action on this case while the new governor and the new legislature craft a new formula that assures adequate and equitable funding. In anticipation of a legislative solution, I already have eliminated the expense of out-of-state legal counsel, and I would hope the local school districts would also quit spending scarce public resources on expensive outside counsel.

Missouri has considerable experience in court control over schools. We have seen other judges making decisions that should rest with educators. We have seen millions of dollars that could have gone to education going instead to paying attorneys.

The governor-elect and the new legislative leaders have all stated their desire to avoid a similar situation. All have stated their support for finding a solution inside the Capitol, not inside the courthouse. I could not agree more and pledge to be as helpful to this process as possible.

A court-ordered solution should be the last resort. Let's give the new leadership an opportunity to avoid this costly litigation and use the money saved to help fund education.

Jay Nixon is Missouri's attorney general.