By Councilwoman Hazel Erby For The St. Louis American, September 11th, 2015

Last month a petition to raise Missouri’s tobacco tax from 17 cents to 50 cents a package was filed with Secretary of State Jason Kander’s office. In addition to the fact that Missouri has the lowest tobacco tax in the nation, increasing the tax to 50 cents would still make Missouri’s tobacco tax well below the national average of $1.60.

There are two proposals on the table for the use of the tobacco tax.

One is a program to pay full in-state tuition costs for Missouri’s high school graduates who maintain a 3.0 grade-point-average and demonstrate civic responsibility. The other is a proposal to fund early childhood education statewide, possibly raising more than $200 million a year.

Proposal number two is the best choice! Recent test scores, MAP and SAT, indicate that minority students would not be able to compete for the scholarships in proposal number one.

I serve as the councilwoman for the 1st District of St. Louis County because of the foundation I received as a child. That educational foundation provided me the wherewithal to commit to a lifetime of learning and to be successful in life. That same foundation is not a guarantee for all children today.

Because of the absence of a quality education for most minority students living in St. Louis County, St. Louis city and Kansas City, it is imperative that we try something different, that we try something bold, something that says that the children are our future and we have their back and want them to be successful.

Designating funds from the tobacco tax for early childhood would do just that. It’s time for Missouri’s leaders to make early childhood education a priority. It’s time to make our children a priority.

Based on recently released MAP test results, we should call for a State of Emergency in Education. Test results indicate that our children continue to struggle academically and that the achievement gap is significant and it continues to increase. As a result, our children are spending their first year in college taking remedial classes to prepare them for their college course work.

Research has shown that achievement gaps between disadvantaged and advantaged students in language arts and mathematics form early. Research has also shown that access to quality early childhood education closes the achievement gap, as well as promotes physical, mental, social and emotional development.

Education is an investment, and it pays off in the long run. The more money we spend on education now, the less we spend on prisons later. A more educated populace makes more money, uses fewer government services and pays more taxes.

By supporting the tobacco tax increase for early childhood education, we give students a real shot at success. We must provide our children access to quality early childhood programs to increase overall student achievement and ensure that they succeed and move on to become productive citizens.

Our children are our future!

A Democrat, Hazel Erby represents the 1st District of St. Louis County on the County Council.

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