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IN OTHER NEWS THIS WEEK, MISSOURI WANTS TO DO ALL IT CAN
TO COMPETE WITH KANSAS. YOU'VE NO DOUBT HEARD ABOUT THAT BUSINESS BORDER BATTLE WHERE
MISSOURI FEELS KANSAS IS LURING COMPANIES TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STATE LINE.
WELL, TO TRY AND STAY COMPETITIVE, THE MISSOURI LEGISLATURE THIS WEEK PASSES THE
FIRST INCOME TAX REDUCTIONS IN 90 YEARS. BIG REDUCTIONS IN CORPORATE
INCOME TAX RATES AS WELL AS A DROP IN THE TOP INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX RATES, PLUS A NEW 50%
DEDUCTION WOULD BE PHASED IN FOR BUSINESS INCOME REPORTED ON INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX RETURNS.
THE TAX CUT WOULD REDUCE STATE REVENUE BY AN ESTIMATED $700 MILLION A YEARS.
IS THIS ALL ABOUT PLAYING CATCH-UP WITH KANSAS? TO A LARGE DEGREE, ALTHOUGH
THE MISSOURI PACKAGE, WHICH HAS PASSED BOTH HOUSES, IS A LITTLE LESS DRACONIAN THAN THE KANSAS
PACKAGE. IT HAS TRIGGERS. IT WON'T KICK IN UNLESS CERTAIN
TARGETS ARE MET. IT DOES NOT, HOWEVER, INCLUDE A SALES TAX, WHICH THE KANSAS
PEOPLE ARE NOW ARGUING ABOUT. BUT IT'S CLEARLY DRIVEN BY THIS IDEA THAT YOU HAVE TO CUT
CORPORATE LEVIES IN ORDER TO DRAW BUSINESSES AND THEREFORE EMPLOYMENT TO YOUR STATE.
THAT WAS REX'S ARGUMENT ALL ALONG. IF WE CAN GET THEM TO DO IT IN
KANSAS, WE CAN CONVINCE MISSOURI TO DO IT. YOU DO GET A SENSE OF THERE MAY
BE A RACE TO SEE WHO CAN CUT TAKSES MORE -- TAXES MORE QUICKLY.
WILL THE GOVERNOR OF MISSOURI, JAY NIXON, SIGN THIS? I DOUBT IT.
HE'S HAD VERY STRONG CRITICISMS OF THIS MEASURE. IT CHANGED A LITTLE BIT WHEN
THEY TOOK THE SALES TAX PART OF IT OUT. ORIGINALLY IT INCREASED SALES
TAXES TO COVER THE SHORTAGE. HE SAID, I'M NOT GOING TO SIGN A BILL THAT RAISES TAXES, TYPICAL
JAY NIXON. NOW THAT THAT'S OUT, HIS EXCUSE HAS BEEN REDUCED.
BUT IF YOU HAVE EVERY STATE DOING THIS, DOESN'T THIS TAKE AWAY THE IMPACT OF WHAT SAM
BROWNBACK IS TRYING TO DO IN KANSAS IF MISSOURI IS GOING TO BE DOING THE SAME THING THERE.
TO AN EXTENT, I THINK IT CERTAINLY DOES. BUT I'M WITH DAVE ON THIS.
IT ALMOST SEEMS LIKE A GAME OF CATCH-UP. BUT HISTORICALLY IT'S BEEN SHOWN
GOVERNMENTS DON'T TAKE LOSING MONEY VERY WELL. WHEN THE TAX GOES DOWN,
SOMETHING ELSE HAS TO GO UP. AND IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO WATCH AND SEE WHAT IS GOING UP
TO MAKE UP FOR THE 700 MILLION-DOLLAR SHORTFALL. WE SHOULD BE CLEAR.
IT ISN'T HAPPENING EVERYWHERE ELSE. THEY TRIED THIS IN NEBRASKA, IT
DIDN'T WORK. OKLAHOMA THOUGHT ABOUT IT. ARKANSAS, LOUISIANA, OTHER
STATES ARE CONSIDERING THIS SORT OF DRASTIC REDUCTION IN TAXES. IT REALLY HASN'T TAKEN A HOLD
EXCEPT IN KANSAS, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, IN MISSOURI, LARGELY BECAUSE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN
KANSAS CITY. ONE OF THE WAYS IN MISSOURI THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO PAY FOR
THIS LOSS OF REVENUE WILL BE SHRINKING SERVICES BUT ALSO BY TAKING TAX CREDITS FROM THE POOR
AND DISABLED. YOU HAVE THE PORTION OFF THE TABLE NOW.
SOME $57 MILLION FOR PEOPLE WHO MAKE LESS THAN $30,000 A YEAR. SO THE GOVERNMENT IS CUTTING
SERVICES LIKE THAT FROM THE DISABLED AND THE POOR IN MISSOURI, AND IT WON'T COVER THE
ENTIRE 700 MILLION-DOLLAR HOLE. WE'VE GOT ALL THIS TALK ABOUT NO DISCUSSION ABOUT THE TAX CREDITS
GOING AWAY FOR POOR SENIORS IN MISSOURI. YOU SAID THE GOVERNOR IS NOT
GOING TO SIGN THIS. I THINK IT'S HIGHLY UNLIKELY. THE EFFORT IN BOTH STATES IS TO
SHIFT THE TAX BURDEN AWAY FROM THE WEALTHY AND ONTO THE POOR. AND THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON.
SHOULD TEACHERS BE GRADED ON A YEARLY BASIS AND THOSE FA FAIL BE FIRED?
A BILL TO DO JUST THAT HAS BEEN WORKING ITS WAY THROUGH THE MISSOURI LEGISLATURE AND HAS
BEEN A TOP PRIORITY FOR HOUSE SPEAKER TIM JONES. THERE HAVE EVEN BEEN ADS RUNNING
ON TV IN MISSOURI. IT'S TIED TO ANOTHER MEASURE THAT CALLS FOR THE IMMEDIATE
TAKEOVER OF THE KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI SCHOOL DISTRICT. DESPITE IT BEING SUCH AN
IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP AND THE FACT THAT THE G.O.P. CONTROLS
BOTH CHAMBERS OF THE MISSOURI LEGISLATURE BY LARGE MARGINS, BY THE WAY, THE MEASURE NARROWLY
FAILED THIS WEEK. BUT AS MARY SANCHEZ, WRITING IN A COLUMN THIS WEEK, POINTS OUT,
THIS IS NOT THE LAST WE'VE HEARD OF THE SUBJECT. WE COULD BE VOTING ON THIS AT A
STATEWIDE BALLOT ISSUE SOON COURTESY OF ST. LOUIS BUSINESSMAN AND WEALTHY
POLITICAL BACKER REX SINGUEFIELD. HE WANTS TO PUT THIS ON THE
BALLOT FOR ALL OF US TO DECIDE. BUT THAT'S ALSO PART OF THIS PUSH TO PUSH THE POLITICIANS.
THEY WANT TO PLEASE REX FOR MANY, FOR CONTRIBUTION, ALL SORTS OF THINGS.
THIS WILL BE CAUGHT UP IN THE COURTS FOR A LITTLE WHILE. THAT'S PART OF THE *** FOR TAT
LITTLE GAME WITH THESE PETITIONS. THEY'LL PERHAPS GATHER
SIGNATURES. THOSE MIGHT HAVE TO BE THROWN OUT DEPENDING ON THE TIMING.
THIS ISSUE, THOUGH, NATIONALLY, IS MASSIVE AND, IT'S GOOD. THERE DOES NEED TO BE MORE
ACCOUNTABILITY ON TEACHERS. LIKE I WROTE IN THE COLUMN, THOUGH, THE DEVIL IS IN THE
DETAILS OF HOW YOU WORK ALL OF THIS OUT. FROM WHAT I SAID, WHAT IS THE
BIG PUSH? IS IT REALLY ABOUT CHILDREN AND INSURING THEIR BETTER EDUCATION
AND THE QUALITY OF THE TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOMS OR IS IT TO GO AGAINST UNIONS?
WHEN THE POLL POLITICIANS GET INVOLVED, I DO THINK A LOT OF IT IS JUST VERY ANTIUNION.
THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL WOULD ALLOW ADMINISTRATORS TO EVALUATE TEACHERS ANNUALLY AND ASSIGN ONE
OF FOUR RATINGS, HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, EFFECTIVE, MINIMALLY EFFECTIVE OR INFECTIVE, AND AT
LEAST A THIRD OF THE EVALUATION WOULD BE BASED ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND GROWTH OF THE
STUDENTS, CONFIDENTIAL TEACHER SURVEYS AND INPUT FROM PARENTS. ALSO WHAT WOULD HAVE TO BE TAKEN
INTO ACCOUNT, PROBATIONARY TEACHERS COULD BE FIRED IF THEY'RE RATED INFECTIVE FOR TWO
CONSECUTIVE YEARS AND TENURE TEACHERS OUSTED AFTER THREE CONSECUTIVE RATINGS OF THE
INFECTIVE. DO PARENTS LIKE THIS IDEA OF THIS KIND OF ACCOUNTABILITY?
THIS PARENTS LIKES THE IDEA OF GRADING TEACHERS, MAKING THEM MORE ACCOUNTABLE.
I STRUGGLE, THOUGH, WITH THIS NOTION THAT WE'RE GOING TO USE STUDENT PERFORMANCE AT A MAJOR
COMPONENT IN THE GRADING OF THE TEACHERS. WHY DO YOU STRUGGLE WITH
THAT? BECAUSE SO MANY DIFFERENT FACTORS GO INTO HOW WELL A
STUDENT DOES IN SCHOOL, AND A LOT OF IT STARTS IN THE HOME. THE TEACHERS -- YOU KNOW, THE
STUDENT COMES IN. THEY'RE A MOLD OF CLAY, BUT WHAT KIND OF MOLD ARE THEY GETTING
WHEN THEY GO HOME? THERE HAVE BEEN STUDIES THAT SHOW THAT STUDENT PERFORMANCE
CAN INCREASE BY 25% BY A PARENT SIMPLY ASKING EVERY NIGHT, HOW WAS YOUR DAY?
A LOT OF STUDENTS IN CERTAIN DISTRICTS IN THIS CITY DON'T GET THAT A LOT WHEN THEY GO HOME.
MY BROTHER IS A TEACHER, AND HE TAUGHT IN A ROUGH HIGH SCHOOL IN WICHITA YEARS AGO, AND HE ONCE
TOLD ME HE WOULD BE LUCKY ON PARENT-TEACHER NIGHT IF 10% OF HIS STUDENTS' PARENTS WOULD COME
IN. WELL, FIND OUT WHAT IT IS IN BLUE VALLEY.
WHAT'S THE PARENT TURNOUT ON A PARENT-TEACHER NIGHT IN A FIFTH GRADE CLASSROOM?
I BET IT WOULD BE MARKEDLY HIGHER THAN SOME OF THE OTHER DISTRICTS IN KANSAS CITY.
SO YOU THINK TO HOLD THE TEACHER ACCOUNTABLE FOR ALL OF THAT IS UNFAIR?
ABSOLUTELY. BUT YOU DO HAVE TEACHERS WHO HAVE BEEN THERE FOREVER, AND
THERE'S NO WAY TO GET RID OF THEM. I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S NO
WAY. THERE ARE WAYS TO GET RID OF TEACHERS WHO ARE TENURED AND
PART OF THIS IS THIS, PROVING A TRACK RECORD OF DIFFICULTIES WITHIN THEIR CLASSROOMS.
ONE OF THE GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE BETTER MODELS OF DOING THESE TEACHER EVALUATIONS IS THAT IT
DOES TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHAT SCOTT IS TALKING ABOUT. YOU CAN MEASURE, AND IT GETS
VERY CONVOLUTED TO REALLY EXPLAIN HERE, BUT YOU CAN MEASURE WHAT A TEACHER GIVES TO
THE CLASSROOM OVER A PERIOD OF TIME TO A CERTAIN EXTENT. THERE ARE A LOT OF CAVEATS HERE,
BUT THERE ARE MEASURES THAT CAN KIND OF ACCOUNT FOR THAT AND SOMEWHAT TAKE THAT OUT OF THE
EQUATION AND REALLY JUST LOOK AT WHAT CERTAIN TEACHERS GET DONE IN THEIR LAST ROOMS AND WHAT
OTHERS DON'T OVER A PERIOD OF TIME. STACEY.
TEACHER ACCOUNTABILITY IS CERTAINLY AN ISSUE, BUT OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN THIS
COUNTRY HAS SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS. AND WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE REAL ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE
ADDRESSED. WE'RE SIMPLY LATCHING ON TO ONE THING, TEACHERS AND UNIONS AND
SAYING THAT MAY CAUSE THE FIX. UNTIL WE DECIDE THIS WHOLE EDUCATION SYSTEM NEEDS TO START
FROM THE GROUNDUP AGAIN, NONE OF THIS GETS FIXED. BUT REX SINGUEFIELD, THE ST.
LOUIS MAN, HAS MADE THIS PRIORITY AND HAS BEEN PRETTY PERSUASIVE ON GETTING HIS ISSUES
ON THE BALLOT. HE HAS A FEW DOLLARS TO HELP PUT IT OUT THERE, WHICH IS THE
SOURCE OF HIS POWER. BUT TEACHER PERFORMANCE, AND MORE BROADLY SAID, SCHOOL
PERFORMANCE IS EXTRAORDINARILY IMPORTANT, NICK, IN BOTH STATES, BECAUSE LAWMAKERS SPEND HUNDREDS
OF BILL BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON EDUCATION AND IT DRIVES THEM CRAZY PERFORMANCE DOESN'T ALWAYS
MATCH THAT SPENDING. QUICKLY, I WANT TO GET TO THIS STORY, SOME SHOCKINGLY
LARGE PROPERTY APPRAISAL NOTICES STARTED DROPPING INTO AREA MAILBOXES THIS WEEK.
JACKSON COUNTY, SOME OF THE HOME APPRAISALS WERE FIVE TIMES AS HIGH AS LAST YEAR'S.
THE KANSAS CITY STAR REPORTED ONE RECENT DEPARTMENT WHO SAW HER THREE BEDROOM HOME IN THE
ROLLS 48,000 LAST YEAR BUT APPRAISE ADD 229,000 THIS YEAR. ROUGHLY $70,000 JACKSON COUNTY
RESIDENTS ARE GETTING THE NEW APPRAISALS DELIVERED THROUGH THEIR MAILBOXES THIS WEEK.
IS THERE IS PROBLEM OR IS JACKSON COUNTY SIMPLY THE NEW MOST DESIRABLE COMMUNITY TO LIVE
IN IN THE METRO NOW? I GOT ONE. FIVE TIMES?
NOT FIVE TIMES AS MUCH. IS THERE A PROBLEM? THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH
HOMEOWNERS. I TALKED TO SEVERAL WHO WERE OUTRAGED ABOUT THEM GOING UP.
BUT WHAT YOU ALWAYS HEAR IS I COULDN'T SELL MY HOUSE FOR THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY.
THAT'S OFTEN A GOOD ARGUMENT. THERE IS A PROCESS FOR GOING THROUGH AN APPRAISAL
DISAGREEMENT. BY AND LARGE, YOU DO NOT SENSE THAT THERE IS A GREAT MASSIVE
PUBLIC OUTCRY IN JOHNSON COUNTY ABOUT THE APPRAISALS IN THE COMMUNITY.
JACKSON COUNTY? IN JACKSON COUNTY. THERE ARE CERTAIN AREAS.
CERTAIN AREAS WHO ARE QUITE UPSET. YOU CAN APPEAL, AND PEOPLE
ARE. IT'S A HEADACHE, BUT IT CAN BE DONE.
THAT IS OUR WEEK IN REVIEW. THANKS TO DAVE HELLING AND FROM KANSAS CITY TV STACEY CAMERON,
STAR COLUMNIST MARY SANCHEZ, AND SCOTT PARKS TALKING ABOUT THE NEWS WITH YOU WEEKDAYS FROM 2 TO
6 AS 50% OF DANA AND PARKS. BEFORE WE LEAVE, I INVITE YOU TO JOIN ME NEXT THURSDAY NIGHT AS
WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT AN UNDERESTIMATED KILLER, SKIN CANCER.
DID YOU KNOW KANSAS AND MISSOURI RANK AMONG THE 10 STATES FOR THE HIGHEST DEATH RATES FOR MEL
GNOME A -- MELANOMA. JOIN ME THURSDAY AT SEVEN FOR MORE THAN SKIN DEEP.
I'M NICK HAINES. FROM ALL OF US HERE AT KCPT, THANK YOU FOR SPENDING PART OF
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