Next year's Missouri legislative session - slated to begin Jan. 4 - is shaping up to be a busy year for the education community. Even though lawmakers won't start filing their bills until Dec. 1, enough work is left over from the previous session to offer insight into what will be on lawmakers' minds.
Mike Reid, who lobbies the General Assembly on behalf of the Missouri School Boards' Association, said school funding and student transfers from unaccredited districts are likely to be two of the top issues debated next year.
Reid, who spoke to the Jefferson City Board of Education early this month, noted Gov. Jay Nixon has proposed fully funding the school foundation formula by fiscal year 2017, the end of his final term in office.
Nixon has not yet articulated a detailed path toward reaching that goal, but his staff have noted that rebounding state revenues put it within reach. Net general revenue collections for the first four months of fiscal year 2014 are up 2.5 percent.
Reid said questions about reaching that goal abound, and many state agencies are going to be asking for a share of those increased state revenues.
"To get the increase in the (foundation) formula, we're going to have to work very, very hard. We are going to have to go back and do the grassroots work again to let people know how this impacts the district," he said, adding a lack of state funds creates pressure on other tax sources - such as local property taxes.
Reid also expects some members of the Republican-controlled Legislature to again promote millions in tax cuts. He credited grassroots advocacy from public school leaders as one reason why Nixon was able sustain a veto of that idea in September.
"The biggest problem we have, if we do reduce general revenue: where are we going to get the money to pay the $600 million that has already been committed to fund the formula? Because, as you know, the formula was passed in 2005 and has not been funded. That's a commitment the Legislature made," he reminded.
Otto Fajen wasn't at the Jefferson City meeting but also lobbies the Legislature on behalf of Missouri National Education Association. He's focusing on four topics this upcoming session: issues related to the foundation formula; taxes and revenues; transfers; and accountability measures.
"The last two are intimately related," he noted.
He believes the state needs to do more for high-poverty districts. He noted that when the formula isn't fully funded, aspects of its design - to establish funding fairness between all Missouri students - start to become irrelevant. He noted when the formula was established eight years ago, poverty indicators were averaging 26.6 percent of students, now those averages are just under 50 percent.
Reid added a coalition of groups interested in education issues has been working to find "common ground" on tax-related issues.
Joy Sweeney, JCPS board member, asked how that was going.
Reid replied: "We are coming up with some ideas that we believe would be revenue-neutral."
Reid also expects tax credit reform to be discussed once again.
"Tax credits take a lot of money, $700 million, right off the top of general revenue every year," he said.
He asked rhetorically: "What are we going to do about tax credits? Are we going to try to shrink them? We tried to work on that last year. Are we going to have no tax credits? Are we going to look at each credit to make sure, if it is given, it actually does something valuable?"
Speaking about legislation aimed more directly at education issues, Reid noted House Education Chairman Steve Cookson, R-Poplar Bluff, hopes to pass legislation that would establish the school year between Labor Day and Memorial Day.
"We believe people locally can determine best how to set their own calendars," he said, noting similar proposals have been suggested by supporters of the tourism industry.
He expects lawmakers to talk about "longer school days, longer school years, longer school calendars, required summer school for students who are not proficient, the expansion of virtual schools and virtual charter schools."
Reid is also expecting a bill mandating the evaluation of every public school on a simplified letter-grade rating system.
But, for lawmakers, one of the "biggies" will be deciding how to handle the mass transfers of students from unaccredited to accredited school districts. Students in Kansas City's unaccredited schools have not yet transferred because their case recently has been argued before the Missouri Supreme Court and a decision hasn't been handed down.
He noted when the students do transfer, the unaccredited district has to pay their tuition and transportation costs.
"So these kids are out, but there are still 60 to 70 percent of students still (left behind)," he said. "Some of those districts, the unaccredited districts, are getting ready to be bankrupt. So we have some problems. We don't have the money to do that. So this question is going to have to be answered.
"How do we make sure that the students in the unaccredited districts receive the education that they should have and the students in the accredited districts are not overcrowded?"
Reid tried to explain why out-state residents might care: "Now, you can say, "Why should we worry about it in Jefferson City?' Well, because there will be more unaccredited districts, and we don't know where."
Fajen said state leaders tend to overemphasize accountability measures - like standardized testing - as a lifeline for improving schools. He noted there are simpler methods for discovering which districts are vulnerable to failure, and better ways to address the problem, such as early childhood education and professional development for teachers.
"We can save the state a lot of money, and teachers and kids a lot of nuisance. We don't have to do any of this testing. I can tell you which districts are going to be unaccredited. If you have 88 percent (of students living in poverty), you're out of luck," he said. "It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the districts with ridiculously high poverty are going to face the strongest challenges year after year in student achievement. Poverty is the mortal enemy of educational success. And vice versa."
Reid also expects to answer a lot of questions about teacher evaluations next session. He noted a ballot initiative is circulating that would require teachers to be dismissed or retained, demoted and promoted - paid - based on student performance data.
"If we get a teacher evaluation bill passed before that, it probably won't go to a vote of the people," he predicted. "Teacher evaluations, tenure and multi-year contracts are something that will be discussed and will be discussed very thoroughly."
Reid also noted another initiative petition is circulating that would offer tax credits for Missourians who donate to foundations that help school children in kindergarten through high school, including those providing scholarships for students attending Catholic schools.
At least 50 percent of the tax benefit would go to help public schools, and another 10 percent is to enhance special education for children with disabilities. The remaining 40 percent is dedicated to the nonpublic school scholarships. No more than $90 million in tax credits can be claimed by all taxpayers in a single year, but it could result in $180 million for schools.
The proposal, known as the Children's Education Initiative, was filed with the secretary of state by Barbara Swanson, a former assistant superintendent of Catholic schools in the Jefferson City diocese. If enough voters sign the petition, the proposal will be considered next November.
Laughter broke out when Reid said: "Other than that, it's going to be a piece-of-cake year."