DESEGREGATION NEGOTIATIONS GOT RESULTS

Last month I was pleased to announce a preliminary agreement that will allow the state to cut its court-ordered Kansas City desegregation spending for fiscal 1996 by $80 million. This agreement, which expands upon an initial interim agreement reached in February, is the first time in the history of Missouri's desegregation saga that the state has been able to achieve a reduction in desegregation spending. Furthermore, this same preliminary agreement completely ends state desegregation spending for Kansas City within four years.

This landmark agreement was reached through a process of intense negotiations between all the parties to the Kansas City case including state officials, school board members and the plaintiffs. These negotiations were initiated by my office in 1994 with the support of the Kansas City business community. This was the first time that out-of-court negotiations were used to try to achieve a resolution to the desegregation issue. Prior to the initiation of these negotiations, the only strategy used by the state was to fight virtually every plantiffs' motion -- big or small -- in court.

Certainly, a vigorous legal defense was warranted and necessary. But the state' strategy of endless litigation and no out-of-court discussions was an overwhelming disaster. For 18 long years the state spent millions of dollars in legal fees in an ineffective attempt to win the Kansas City desegregation case in the courtroom. Instead of handing the state a victory, the courts have forced the state to make over $1 billion in desegregation payments to Kansas City since 1985. Now, as a result of these negotiations, the court-ordered desegregation payments can finally end, and this chapter in the state's history can finally come to a close.

While the state's history of litigating to no end while completely excluding negotiations has not served Missouri taxpayers well, it is important to note that the state did recently achieve one important court victory. In June the U.S. Supreme Court responded favorably to arguments made by Attorney General Jay Nixon and struck down some elements of the lower court's desegregation plan. But, most importantly, the Supreme Court decision sent a clear message to all parties that Missouri will not be in the desegregation business forever, and policy makers better start planning for the day when court-ordered desegregation payments are over. That court decision helped encourage and facilitate the successful negotiations that led to the preliminary agreement.

However, the Supreme Court decision did not end the case. In fact, attorneys on both sides agree that, if the negotiations are not successful, litigation and court-ordered desegregation payments could continue for many years to come. Incredibly, there are people who, for their own personal political reasons, would like to see the negotiations fail and the whole matter return to the courtroom. This would be a tragedy for Missouri's taxpayers and for Missouri's school children. And it would mean that the agreement to cut $80 million in desegregation spending in fiscal 1996 and to completely end desegregation payments by 1999 would be lost.

The negotiators are continuing their work. they are trying to reach agreement on the remaining issues. Some of these issues are fiscal, and some are educational. We must not forget that, in the final analysis, this is not just about money. It is also about education. Planning for the end of desegregation must take into account the needs of the children.

If we are successful -- as I believe we will be -- the preliminary agreement will become permanent, and control over Kansas City's schools will ultimately be returned to the parents, teachers, school officials and school board members of Kansas City. For the first time in almost a generation, education policy for Kansas City's children is being made by educators and policy makers in the negotiations sessions instead of by judges and lawyers. With a permanent agreement, this wil become a permanent condition.

Mel Carnahan is the governor of Missouri.