Schools sue over funding

SIKESTON -- Members of the Committee for Educational Equality will file a lawsuit against the state next month as they continue their effort to clarify equity and adequate funding for all Missouri public schools.

Meanwhile, committee members know their fight is far from over. CEE officials predict the entire lawsuit process could take two to three years to complete.

"It's just in the beginning process," noted Don Moore, superintendent of Kelly Schools, which joined the effort at the end of the summer. "It's going to be a long, drawn-out process. We want to make sure we do as much as we can as quick as we can."

When the Sikeston R-6 School District decided to join the Committee for Educational Equality in May, membership was approaching 100. Six months later, membership -- as of Nov. 7 -- is at 231 (226 school districts and five professional organizations) representing 304,426 Missouri public school children.

One of the main reasons Sikeston joined the committee is simply due to economics, Superintendent Steve Borgsmiller said. Things cost more today than they did 10 years ago, he explained.

"As the current foundation formula became less funded, it simply translated into less dollars for children in the Sikeston district," Borgsmiller said.

East Prairie R-2 Superintendent Scott Downing was recently named to the CEE Board of Directors to represent the Southeast District. He said right now things are going pretty good with the committee's efforts.

"I think the major thing they're looking at is the funding being both adequate to the level of resources a school district has, plus making sure it's equitable," Downing said.

While a majority of area schools have joined the committee, some schools have opted not to join for various reasons, Downing noted.

CEE's overall mission is to secure what it describes as equity and adequate level of educational resources for individual development of Missouri public school prekindergarten through 12th grade students, Downing commented.

For example, McDonald County had $4,561 in operating expenses per pupil in fiscal year 2002 while Clayton had $13,748 per pupil. That's neither equitable nor adequate, Downing added.

It's not just about East Prairie Schools either, it's about everyone who is struggling to get revenues, Downing said.

Other area school districts who have joined in the committee's efforts are Advance R-4, Bloomfield R-14, Caruthersville 18, Chaffee R-2, Charleston R-1, Dexter R-XI, Gideon 37, Oran R-3, Portageville, Puxico R-8, Scott City R-1 and Scott County Central.

"We felt that it (joining the lawsuit) could force people, maybe legislators, to take educational issues seriously," Moore said. "It's not so much to win the court battle, although it would be nice."

CEE's intent of the litigation is to move the issue through the 19th Circuit Court in Cole County all the way to the Missouri Supreme Court.

The committee hired constitutional attorney, Alex Bartlett, who was also the attorney for a similar case in the early 1990s. He is currently gathering information for the lawsuit.

Just this week members learned the estimated cost of pursuing CEE objectives all the way through the Supreme Court has increased from $500,000 to $1 million.

Borgsmiller said he never pays attention to the estimate because they have no idea what the lawsuit is going to cost in the end. Much of it depends on whether the litigation reaches the Supreme Court, he said.

"And if you worry about not having to expend some funds in order to get something that's worthwhile accomplished, then you probably won't get it accomplished," Borgsmiller noted.

However, when put in perspective, Borgsmiller pointed out, $1 million divided by the 304,426 students represented breaks down to about $3.25 per student times a district's enrollment over a three-year period.

"Would I pay $3.25 per student? You bet," Borgsmiller said.

But cost isn't the issue in any of this, the overall benefits to the children are, Borgsmiller insisted.

The lawsuit is a very good investment to the children of the state, and it's the right thing to do, Borgsmiller said. Schools are in it for the kids and not for any other reason, he added.

Moore agreed.

"A lot of schools are underfunded, and it's the students who are affected most by this," Moore said. "We're not out to get money for unnecessary reasons, we're out to get the funding for the students."