Can I "roll" money from my deferred state compenstation plan to a Roth IRA without paying tax?

I work for an elementary school for my local town and have a plan set up that takes a portion of my check and places it inside this fund BEFORE taxes. The fund is simply a money market account making 1% and because I work for the town, I do not pay into Social Security and instead into this deferred plan. Can I roll this into my Roth IRA without simply taking the money out, getting taxed and then placing the money into my IRA? I think because it goes into this fund without being taxed, IF I want to take it out, I will have to pay taxes. I look forward to answers...

Rollover guy...Thanks for the response. It isn't a 403B and I do not have any choice with the funds. I am not a full-time employee with the town and do not get to enroll. My wife has a 403B which I manage like you suggested, but this is basically a dead account and after next year, I need to move it.

It sounds as though you participate in a 403(b) savings plan. If so, you should diversify your plan to mutual funds other than money market, which will give you a much better return than 1%.
You can "rollover" your plan to a traditional IRA without paying taxes or penalties. You can then "convert" the sum from the traditional IRA to your ROTH IRA; you will pay only taxes on the amount "converted" to the ROTH, then grows tax free. You have the option to wait and convert to your ROTH in year 2010 and pay the taxes over the following two years, otherwise, taxes will be due the year you convert to your ROTH.

I hope this answers your question. Please let me know if you need further information.