Simms: Combining education departments a losing proposition for state's children

Last week, the Missouri State Senate passed SJR 44 and SJR 45. These two measures would place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to combine the boards and departments of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Department of Higher Education (DHE). The proposal, in its current form, is a bad idea for Missouri’s children and should be opposed in the Missouri House of Representatives.

These resolutions were put together and rushed through the Missouri Senate with little study of this massive overhaul of the two state agencies. Instead of this “ready, fire, aim” approach, the state should seriously review how combining two large bureaucracies into one mega-bureaucracy would affect education for individual children in our state. These critical questions just scratch the surface of what must be answered before discussion of combining these two departments can move forward:

• How will a merger of DESE with DHE help better provide information to parents about the performance of their public schools?

• How will a merger of DESE and DHE help parents make better decisions regarding college choices, attendance and student financial aid?

• How will a merger of DESE and DHE, which operate in very different worlds, help them perform their separate and distinct missions?

• How will a merger of DESE with DHE redefine adequate funding of our schools and will that lead to a new funding lawsuit against the state?

• And most important, how does this merger increase educational achievement for all children, in all grade levels in our state?  

Proponents of combining these departments and boards have said that the move will increase efficiency and lead to a seamless system of education in our state. Given all of the unanswered questions and lack of details on how the new department would operate, I do not see this as the case. Proponents also have touted the merger as a cost-saving measure for our financially strapped state, but the fiscal note on the resolutions said that “the potential fiscal impact is unknown.”

It is clear that these resolutions are a knee- jerk reaction to the state’s budget crunch. This issue has had little study and review, leaving many questions as to the effect on Missouri's children unanswered. To implement such a drastic change to our state’s education structure without answering essential questions would be bad for the children of our state. Please call your state representative and ask him or her to oppose merging the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with the Department of Higher Education.