Incoming Governor Matt Blunt has vowed to make education a top priority, and he’s brought government and education officials together in a summit to discuss Missouri’s public schools. The Governor-elect kicked off the summit telling attendees the school funding formula is broken and must be repaired. Senate Democratic Leader Maida Coleman of St. Louis agrees with him that action must be taken. Next … how to fix this broken system. A proposal heard over and over at this gathering was one to do away with, or at least lessen the importance of, property taxes as a means of funding our schools. Freshman State Representative Ed Robb of Columbia, who has written extensively on the subject, says property taxes are not the source of wealth they once were. Robb and others addressing the summit suggest a switch – at least in part – from property taxes to income taxes. Robb says this would be a much fairer way of raising school dollars.
