Voucher legislation on tap for Missouri General Assembly

Today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch features an examination of some of the legislation likely to be addressed by the 2007 Missouri General Assembly, including educational vouchers, which of course is addressed by the newspaper by its less threatening euphemism- school choice:

Supporters of school choice will once again file a lightning-rod bill that would use state tax credits to create a scholarship fund that could send as many as 10,000 urban children to private school. For years, the measure has gone nowhere. But mounting dissatisfaction with St. Louis Public Schools could lead to a showdown.

A handful of House members will team up to push the bill, including Reps. Rodney Hubbard, D-St. Louis, Ted Hoskins, D-Berkeley, Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, and Carl Bearden, R-St. Charles. Gov. Matt Blunt also supports the concept. Opposition will be fierce from teachers unions and Democrats, who say the failings of the St. Louis schools are being exploited as an excuse for a voucher-like program.

To pass the House, the bill will have to win over rural Republicans, who stand to gain little from an urban scholarship program and who worry about draining state coffers. To gain votes, supporters may have to reduce the tax credit paid to those who donate to the scholarship. Winning over the Senate could be more difficult.

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I don't know about this perceived reluctance of rural Republicans to support this legislation. House co-sponsors of the legislation included: Marilyn Ruestman, R-Joplin, Bryan Stevenson, R-Webb City, Steve Hunter, R-Joplin, and Ed Emery, R-Lamar.