Nixon blasts 65 Percent Solution at superintendents' meeting
subscribeGary Exelby
Daily Statesman
It wasn't billed as a campaign visit. But the Southeast Missouri School superintendents apparently liked what they heard when Jay Nixon shared his thoughts on education issues at their Wednesday morning meeting at Hickory Log.
Nixon, a declared Democratic candidate for the office of governor, appeared at the meeting by invitation in his capacity as attorney general. Nixon told the superintendents many challenges faced them, including making a persuasive case for increased education spending.
"One of those challenges is convincing an aging public that additional investment for education is a worthwhile investment," he said.
Adding it was important that conversation on education aim at consensus rather than division, Nixon wasted no time in declaring his opposition to a recent proposal introduced by the current holder of that office, Republican Matt Blunt. "That is one reason why this latest proposal, the 65 percent solution, is so disappointing to me," he said, "and, I believe, to most thinking people."
The proposal calls for 65 percent of total spending in a district to be used on classroom instruction, as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). According to data available at the website of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), districts in Stoddard County would have to do little to nothing to achieve the 65 percent spending target. The districts range from a low of 58.33 (Bell City) to a high of 66.25 (Dexter).
The average of the six districts is 62.33 percent.
Nixon said the proposal "does not appear to be a serious plan that will garner any productive conversation or consensus about real issues facing our schools," and called it "a proposal to do just the opposite."
He added the plan was "designed to split the education community" and "insult your job performance." Nixon also said the proposal, which is still just a proposal, would "make it more difficult for you to garner the support from the local community that you need to move forward."
The line generated spontaneous applause.