The Montana Quality Education Coalition is taking the state to court - again. The coalition is expected to file a lawsuit against the state of Montana sometime this week. It will be the coalition's second such suit, aimed at forcing the state to meet the obligations that were laid out by the court after the first round .
School officials say the suit is necessary because school districts across Montana are predicting budget shortfalls this fiscal year. They say they might have to lay off their newest teachers and cut some programs because the 1.9 percent increase provided by the state for the coming year isn't enough to make ends meet. They're going to the courts to ask for “relief” until the 2009 Legislature can come up with a consistent budget to pay for quality education in Montana.
But he also offered a warning that the state expects to tighten its belt for the next few years. If the schools need more money than they're getting, he said, they must be prepared to explain what they've done with the money they already got. He's correct to point out that a detailed accounting of how much money is being spent on energy costs, classroom costs and administrative costs, among others, will only help the schools' case.
As Schweitzer is well aware, more than a few people in Montana regard the school system as an insatiable money hole. And they aren't impressed by perennial threats to cut programs and personnel, and another lawsuit against the state isn't going to help matters.
School officials need to start unraveling the complicated web of costs and factors that impact their budgets, and lay them out for everyone to see.
We know they were severely underfunded in previous years, and the increases they've enjoyed recently were needed just to help them catch up. Now we need to know exactly what their costs are. It wouldn't hurt for school officials to do as Schweitzer suggests and start comparing their budgets.
And the schools shouldn't wait for the state to lead them in that effort. The state has its own work to do; it should be hammering out a funding formula to take to the next legislative session. Both the state and the schools should work together on both projects.
Everyone's needs would be better served if both the state and the schools took care of their part of the budgeting process. After all, you can't pencil out a balanced budget if you don't have a clear idea of what your revenues or your costs are. If the schools took care of the cost side, and the state took care of the revenue side, they would both benefit. But they have to stop waiting for the other side to get started.
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