House Majority Leader Michael Lange, R-Billings, gives the measure a ''100 percent probability'' of failure in that chamber. And he's not sure the House and Senate can work out their differences over how much more to spend on schools the next two years - a stalemate that could land the state back in court.
''If we can't get permanent property tax relief and education funding agreed to and signed into law, then I guess (the education groups) can have their lawsuit,'' Lange said.
The increase, inserted into an innocuous House bill earlier in the week, includes a $42 million inflationary hike for schools, $36 million for voluntary all-day kindergarten, more money for Indian Education for All and higher per-educator payments for each district.
Several issues are now dividing the parties.
Democrats are adamant about state funding for all-day kindergarten, a program backed by state education officials but opposed by many Republicans. They also don't want money for schools tied to the GOP's tax relief proposal - a condition House conservatives placed on an earlier school finance measure sent to the Senate.
''Right now our priority is making sure Montana schools have the means by which to deliver a quality education. ... (The Senate bill) does that,'' said Rep. Dan Villa, D-Anaconda.
Lange said his party won't support an ''all-day mandate,'' despite Democrats' contention the longer kindergarten program wouldn't be required. Instead, many Republicans want to replace it entirely with the words ''early childhood development programs'' to give schools more flexibility.
''Let the local trustees decide what to do,'' Lange said.
He and other GOP leaders also believe the state's small, rural schools need more money - an issue that sparked heated debate on the Senate floor.
Education groups are mixed on the bill. While they support the idea of state funding for all-day kindergarten, they also believe many schools - particularly smaller ones - need more money for basic needs first. They also want the state's share of school funding increased.
Pete Carparelli, executive director of the Montana Quality Education Coalition, said many school districts are cutting programs and teacher salaries to make ends meet, and added the Senate bill ''left a number of our concerns unaddressed.''
He and other education officials said a return to court over school funding is likely if the bill isn't substantially changed before lawmakers adjourn April 27.
''I don't see any way out of it unless we get some improvement,'' Carparelli said.
Dave Puyear, director of the Montana Rural Education Association, called the bill's $150 million price tag ''misleading'' because of the money it includes for all-day kindergarten and a new fund to pay for school maintenance and construction.
He doesn't think the $36 million for all-day kindergarten will be enough for many districts to cover costs of the expanded program, if they even choose to offer it. And the $40 million in mineral royalties to be set aside for construction and upkeep won't be available to schools until 2009.
''In reality, we're really down to about $70 million (over the next two years),'' Puyear said.
Montana was sued over its school funding system in 2002 by a coalition of education interests that included Puyear's group. Two years later, a District Court judge declared the system unconstitutional, a ruling upheld by the Montana Supreme Court a few months later.
The Legislature spent most of its 2005 session approving more money for schools, reworking the state's funding formula and defining the components of a quality education. A state judge will consider whether to hold a hearing on the 2007 Legislature's progress on the issue after lawmakers adjourn.
The bill is House Bill 417.
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