HELENA — For more than a year, a state commission has been looking into a big question: whether Montana is providing adequate funding for public education. Now, they’re putting the finishing touches on their final report.
“I think that what we have come up with once again is a good starting point – better than a starting point, it's provided the foundation for a more thorough analysis,” Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, told MTN.
Bedey is the chair of the School Funding Interim Commission. It has been tasked with performing a study into the state’s public school funding system – a study leaders are required by law to do every ten years. This most recent version of the “decennial study” comes as many education advocates are warning the current funding formula in Montana isn’t enough for school districts to account for the rising costs of education.
The Montana Constitution requires the state to provide “quality public elementary and secondary schools” and deliver a share of the funding for basic educational requirements. Exactly what basic funding for quality education looks like has been a yearslong debate.
Bedey told MTN the commission didn’t start out this time by looking at the funding formula itself, but by focusing on the goals and objectives for Montana public schools.
“The idea there is before you talk about funding something, you should understand what it is you're funding and where it is you wish to go with that,” he said.
The commission began its final meeting on Wednesday, by going over their proposed recommendations, including possible legislation. They also heard extensive public comment. Members will vote on the elements of their report on Thursday, with the final product due to be published by Sept. 1.
Education funding in Montana is infamously complex. School districts’ budgets are split into general funds and a variety of other funds used for specific purposes; the money that goes into those funds comes from a variety of sources – particularly property tax levies, some of which are voted on by residents and some of which are not. Districts are required to keep their budgets within allowable minimums and maximums, based largely on their enrollment.
Bedey said, with more time and resources, the commission could have dived more deeply into recommendations about specific changes to the funding formula. He said he hoped to see the funding study done more often than just every ten years.
