St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 1

13 JAN lm3 ft iui Hi Page 5A VOL 115, NO. 16 Copyright 1993 SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 1993 (5) 3-STAR hil FootomDsi Steads oni ST.LO POST OSPMC mraryre1 1,111 CLOSE "TTTTTPTf?" UP 3.24 3271.12 10c Every Missouri child has the right to equal opportunity for a good education. The state Legislature is responsible for seeing that every child has that opportunity. Money makes a difference in the quality of education. The state's present system of funding schools is one of the most inequitable in the nation.

By Virginia Hick Of the Post-Dispatch Staff Missouri's system of funding public schools is "irrational" and "does not pass constitutional muster," Cole County Circuit Judge Byron Kinder ruled Friday. In what could be a landmark decision for the state's schoolchildren, Kinder declared education a fundamental right and ordered the Legislature to find a new way to pay for it one that will mean equal opportunity for all children. State officials say they may appeal Kinder's ruling, if only to assure that the state Supreme Court agrees. Kinder cited "vast disparities" in the amount of money backing each pupil from a low of $2,653 In tiny Republic, near Springfield, to a high of $9,750 in Kansas City. "Those disparities are not because of differing student needs, but instead are associated with local property wealth or are simply irrational," Kinder wrote.

Besides spreading its money around unfairly, Kinder said, the state has been spending too little to ensure a good education for all. Robert Bartman, state commissioner of education, said Kinder "hit the issue straight on. We've been saying for the last four years that the system was broken. This is a decision in favor of the kids." Gov. Mel Carnahan said Friday that See SCHOOLS, Page 4 A new formula to distribute aid so that needy school districts have as much to spend on each pupil as wealthy districts.

A change in the distribution of sales and cigarette taxes and Lottery income, now paid on a per-pupil basis. Tax increases or new taxes to increase money for all schools. New funds, not tied to local wealth, for building, buying and maintaining buildings and equipment. New school district boundaries, drawn to equalize wealth. -u Judge Byron Kinder 3T 1 Barricade Set To Block Haitians ft ft Afflicted Genius? An expert speculates that Mozart suffered from Tourette syndrome.

Doctor Diagnoses Mozart An endocrinologist says some of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's mannerisms and ribald work indicate that the famous composer had Tourette syndrome, an inherited neurological disorder. f-. id Compiled From News Services WASHINGTON The United States launched on Friday a maritime barricade around Haiti to block any mass exodus of refugees. The operation, involving 23 U.S. Coast Guard and U.S.

Navy vessels and 12 aircraft and helicopters, is the largest mission of its kind ever mounted off the U.S. coast, Coast Guard officials said. The action was announced amid fears that 100,000 or more Haitians could attempt the perilous 600-mile journey to Florida after Bill Clinton becomes president Wednesday. Clinton and exiled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aris-tide have urged Haitians to stay at home. Haitian voters elected Aristide in 1990.

A military coup ousted him 16 months ago. Adm. J. William Kime, commandant of the Coast Guard, said he hoped the barricade would deter many Haitians who had been making plans to flee to the United States. Speaking to reporters in Miami, Kime portrayed the mission as primarily a humanitarian one.

He stated repeatedly that the United States was not imposing a naval blockade. "This is not a blockade," he said. "The concern we have is for the potential massive loss of life." Most of the refugee vessels are overcrowded, poorly built wooden sailboats or rickety freighters. Kime cited the recent reported sinking of a refugee-laden freighter off Cuba in which 400 migrants may have died. Representatives of President George Bush and Clinton said the two administrations worked closely in developing the interdiction operation.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said ward: "The policy is the same. The Coast Guard has been operating under the existing policy of picking up people See HAITI, Page 8 Pagnozzi Signs For $10.5 Million Catcher Tom Pagnozzi, who went from a seldom-used back-, up in 1 990 to the All-Star team last season, signs a four-year, $10.5 million deal with the Cardinals. 1C I in in 1 1 mi 1 7iiiitiri itii ii-' YhrrrnMii vrireii liriTinriiifiitaliii Sam LeonePost-Dispatch King Tribute Shevon Wiley, 3, sleeping on the shoulder of Eric Lavon Parker, 4, at a service honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

at Christ Lutheran Church Friday. Story on Page 6D. Toy Plant Opens In Pagedale A new toy manufacturing and distribution plant, Marchon opened Friday in Pagedale. Marchon plans to employ 200 people within two years. 8C New Clash Brews Over U.N.

Flights Bush's Diaries On Iran-Contra Made Public A 1 Bush Italian Police Trap Mafia Leader Police capture the top leader of the Italian Mafia, Salvatore Riina. He had been sought for 23 years. Compiled From News Services UNITED NATIONS Iraq was on a new collision course with the United States Friday over its inadequate assurances for a resumption of U.N. flights to Iraq. In a series of swift developments, President George Bush gave Iraq until 3 p.m St.

Louis time Friday to permit the resumption of U.N. flights; Iraq agreed but said it could not guarantee the safety of the flights. Then the United Nations said Iraq's response was unsatisfactory, but indicated Iraq had time over the weekend to give an unconditional response to avert a new crisis. It said it did so because the first U.N. flight could not leave until Sunday.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater made clear that time was Compiled From News Services WASHINGTON President George Bush made public on Friday excerpts of his taped diaries on the Iran-Contra affair in which he said he feared he would be politically "damaged" by the Iran-Contra affair. "On the news at this time is the question of the hostages. I'm one of the few people that know fully the details, and there is a lot of flak and misinformation out there. It is not a subject we can talk about," Bush dictated in an entry two days after the scandal first came to light. It was unclear from that entry on Nov.

5, 1986, whether Bush knew then that the Reagan White House was trading the arms for hostages. Bush has maintained that he did not learn about the exchanges until mid-December 1986. The White House also disclosed Friday that it had found Bush's long-sought diaries in a safe in late September but waited until after Election Day to disclose their existence to Iran-Contra investigators. Griffin B. Bell, Bush's attorney, wrote in a 14-page report that the decision to delay disclosure of the diaries was made "unilaterally" by C.

Boyden Gray, the White House counsel. But Bell insisted that it was "un-See TAPES, Page 8 Four Broken Promises (EDITORIAL) Clean As A Hound's TOOth? (EDITORIAL) 2B I Business 8-1 3C Classified Editorial 2B Everyday 1-10D Letter 3B Movie Timetable 8D NattonWofM 6A Newt Analysis IB Obituaries 9A Religion 60 StLotHs 3A Sports 1-7C Television 7D running out for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to agree without condition to allow in U.N. flights. The U.N. flights are to bring more inspectors to check on Iraq's weapons arsenal.

"The president's demand for compliance with the resolutions remains in effect," Fitzwater said. CBS News reported that Defense Secretary Dick Cheney had given Bush plans for a new bombing raid on Iraq only hours before the president gave his new warning. Bush said Iraq had refused to grant flight clearance to a team of U.N. inspectors and that Baghdad had until Friday afternoon to comply with cease-fire terms of the Persian Gulf War or face possible consequences. Asked if the West was ready to See IRAQ, Page 8 East St.

Louis Council OKs Big Pay Hike By Margaret Gillerman Of the Post-Dispatch Staff The East St. Louis Aldermanic 'Council has voted to more than triple its members' salaries beginning in May. Under a measure approved 5-2 by the council this week, annual salaries would jump to $15,000 from $4,200 starting May 5. Defenders of the raise say it is deserved because of the amount of time alderman give to the city. But others are not so sure.

Mayor Gordon Bush voted against the raise. And John Tegley, executive director of the East SL Louis Financial Advisory Authority, said Friday: "Given the range of issues the city has to deal with and the hard economic questions, I don't think it's very high on the list of priorities. "It's symptomatic of the city's problems." Tegley's state-appointed panel keeps tabs on the city's finances and has the power to block expenditures. It was set up to try to pull East SL Louis out of a huge fiscal mess. This week, the city's deficit was estimated at nearly $79 million.

"If the city council increases its salaries and generates no additional revenue, they'll have to give additional layoff notices to have a balanced budget," Tegley said. "If they dont have See RAISES, PageS Raja Zoo's baby elephant Baby Elephant Gets Name Fit For A King By Patricia Corrigan Of the Post-Dispatch Staff All hail the king! Raja is the name of the baby elephant at the St. Louis Zoo, and "Raja" means "king" in Hindi. Charlie Hoessle, executive director of the St. Louis Zoo, chose the name this week after consulting with the keepers in the Elephant House and several Zoo curators.

More than 43,700 people mailed in suggestions. Two area residents submitted "Raja." They are Dr. Sudha Saha and S. Narayan Bodapati. Saha, an obstetrician-gyne--' cologist, was raised in Bangla-' desh and attended medical school in Calcutta, India.

She came to this country 28 years -ago and moved to SL Louis two years later. She lives in Town and Country with her family. Saha chose Raja because it reminded her of elephants in her native country. "A lot of elephants back home are named Raja, and thought since this baby is an Indian elephant, it might be a good idea for him to have an Indian name," Saha said. "My children are Americans, but I gave them Indian names.

It's just a way of keeping in touch. with your roots." Bodapati, a native of Madras, India, has lived in SL Louis for See RAJA, Page 1 fc? Cloudy FORECAST: Today: Mostly cloudy and slightly warmer; high 38. Wind wilr be light and variable. Partly cloudy tonight; low 28. Sunday: Partly cloudy with a high of 35.

Other weather, 2A 9 ru.Ri POST-DISPATCH WEATHERBIRD 1 Ymzvr' AP Farewell Run President-elect Bill Clinton raising his arms up Friday as he begins a jog Friday in Little Rock, Ark. It was his last day there before leaving for Washington. Story on Page 7A. 1 09181100'.