Blunt Blunders on School Boards

Matt Blunt's approval rating is sinking fast. Actually, it might be more legitimate to focus on the larger side of that equation and say that his unpopularity is rising fast, since his disapproval rating, at 61%, far outweighs his approval rating, which is only 31%.

Any way you phrase it, though, the boy governor is desperate to score a few cheap political points. So, he's backing a half-wit constitutional amendment to require local school boards to spend at least 65% of their operating budgets on classroom intruction.

Huh?

Why would any thinking person want to put such a provision in the Constitution? While we can all agree that it's good to spend school district money in the classroom, where does the 65% figure come from? Why don't we make it two/thirds, or 75%? Or 50%? There is no justification offered - it just sounds nice. Coincidentally, the 35% left over for administration is a bigger number than his approval rating.

Blunt's proposal is short-sighted and, in a word, immature. If he wants to support Missouri's schools, he should take up the hard work of investigating the problems and coming up with solutions. Plucking a number out of thin air just doesn't cut it.