November 28, 2017

Rod Jetton, Peter Kinder, and Jason Crowell were among the first -- if not THE first -- rural Republican legislators to stand up to rural Missouri educators who regurgitate talking points provided to them by the public school establishment in Jefferson City...

Rod Jetton, Peter Kinder, and Jason Crowell were among the first -- if not THE first -- rural Republican legislators to stand up to rural Missouri educators who regurgitate talking points provided to them by the public school establishment in Jefferson City.

Years ago, former Speaker Jetton, stated there is a dire need for education reform in our state. He went on to explain the necessity to stand up to and ultimately wrestle control away from the public education bureaucracy that has been shortchanging the students in our state.

It would be nice to see the students' interests better covered in this debate; because the students in our schools don't pay dues to organizations who influence lawmakers and back the public school establishment that has ever-so-skillfully managed the steady decline of public education.However, I must give the educrats sincere credit in their political efforts.They have managed to stop nearly all attempts of school reform,unfortunately to the detriment of the students in our public schools. It seems as though the main purpose of the educrats is to protect status quo, while steadfastly arguing that the answer to improved student achievement is more money!

In a report published by the United States Census Bureau, the Education Finance Branch reported that per pupil spending more than doubled over the past 20 years. In 1992 the average per pupil expenditure was $5,001, and it grew to $10,705 in 2013 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015). However, in the state of Missouri and many other states, the assessment scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments have been relatively flat over this same time period.

In fact, in Missouri, over 60 percent of the students in both reading and math failed to score at the proficient level or above on the NAEP assessments, and nearly 40 percent of the students who took the MAP assessments failed to score at the proficient level or above (Missouri Department of Education, 2017). So, it is evident that even though funding in public schools has doubled over the past 20 years, improvement in student achievement has failed to keep pace. Moreover, approximately one third of the students who enter college must take remedial courses, according to the Coordinating Board for Higher Education.

Receive Today's News FREESign up today!

In a recent Gallup Poll, Americans continue to express near record-low confidence in our public schools (Gallup Poll, 2016).

Governor Greitens' education agenda isn't new and it isn't his own creation. The reforms he desires have been standard Republican policy doctrine for a long time.Former Speakers like Hanaway, Jetton, Tilley, Jones, and Richardson have all backed the same agenda; the difference is that they didn't have the tools that Governor Greitens has to remake the bureaucracy.

The students in our state are looking to Governor Greitens and to the new State Board of Education members, like Eddy Justice and Claudia Greim, to try something different in order to help better prepare our students for jobs in the Information Age of the 21st century. It remains to be seen whether what we are seeing now is just another failed swing for the fences or the beginnings of a new public education system in our state that puts students first.

Joe Knodell

Poplar Bluff, Mo.

(Knodell is a retired school superintendent with 30 years of experience in public education.)

Advertisement
Advertisement
Receive Today's News FREESign up today!