REFORM MEASURE CALLED GOOD FOR BUSINESS

The Missouri General Assembly and Gov. Mel Carnahan are to be saluted for passing an education funding bill that is economically responsible and requires education reform. Over time, it will prove a boon to children and employers throughout the state. It was for these reasons that the Greater Kansas City Chamber and the Civic Council actively pursued passage of the bill, recognizing it would require a tax increase.

Education is a business issue. When a business considers a location, one of the first things it looks at is the educational system. Businesses need a quality work force and are concerned with a community's work ethic, educational achievement and skill levels. They're also concerned with the quality of schools for employees' children.

Missouri has underfunded education for years. Slashes in state spending have put some 60 school districts on the brink of bankruptcy, and too often local voters have shirked their duty to match state funding with anything more than minimal local school levies.

When Cole County Circuit Judge Byron Kinder declared the state's school funding formula unconstitutional, the issue of equitable funding suddenly became a crisis one that reflects a nationwide trend. Ten other states have had their state aid formulas struck down in court.

Simply put, if the state didn't make good on its constitutional guarantee of equal educational opportunity, the courts would and Missouri already knows how expensive that can be. The legislature had to act.

Perhaps the best news for business is that the bill mandates accountability.

By 1997, schools will be required to guarantee that graduates will have a certain level of knowledge and skills. With statewide input, academic performance standards will be phased in over four years. In time, this will reduce costs for businesses that previously have been forced to provide remedial training and education for employees.

The new system is designed with a carrot-and-stick approach and includes an oversight group to ensure that goals of the bill are being carried out.

The carrots include offering school districts immediate financial incentives for instituting full day kindergarten, academic summer school, flexible school years, Parents as Teachers programs and professional development for teachers.

Emphasis is to be placed on instruction based on the needs of the individual child. Children will be measured against themselves to see if they are learning,~ both on what they know and what they are able to do with it.

If children consistently fail to meet state standards, schools can be declared academically deficient. If the deficiency is not corrected within two years, remedies include possible recall of the school board, one-year maximum for new or renewal contracts for principals and superintendents, suspension of tenure for teachers, and consolidation with another school or district.

All this will cost more money. While no one is excited about new taxes, the package is at least fair and progressive, relying primarily on individual and corporate incomes and avoiding sales tax increases. Missouri could have cut the cost a bit by adopting formulas that send urban money to rural areas, Johnson County is experiencing this drain now.

Instead, state legislators wisely chose to provide equal access through a new levy-driven funding formula that mandates a minimum $2.75 levy and provides incentives to keep local levies up. No Kansas City area school districts will be adversely affected.

In fact, Blue Springs, Lee's Summit, Fort Osage and Liberty will get substantial funding increases. And since all area school levies are already above the $2.75 minimum, no local district will have to raise property taxes, either.

Governor Carnahan, as well as Senate President Pro Tem Jim Mathewson and Speaker of the House Bob Griffin, demonstrated outstanding leadership in the General Assembly during a difficult process. The chairs of the House and Senate education committees, Rep. Annette Morgan and Sen. Harold Caskey, deserve particular credit for their diligence in dealing with this most complex issue.

Our thanks to them for having the courage to do what had to be done and for keeping the courts out of Missouri's tax and education policies.

Drue Jennings is chairman of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Richard C. Green Jr. is chairman of the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City.