Gov. Brian Schweitzer and his fellow Democrats are rejecting calls for a special session of the Legislature to increase state funding for schools, to help stave off budget shortfalls in many school districts this fall.
That's a call they've chosen to make. But Democrats have chosen to do something else that's both self-serving and misleading: blame Montana Republicans for their own inaction.
This political scrum has been on full display recently in Bozeman, where the school district is facing a $775,000 budget shortfall next year. That's 2.5 percent of its budget. School board chairman Carson Taylor, who's among those calling for a special session, last month teed off on Schweitzer for “deceiving” the public by overstating the nature of state school-funding increases approved in 2005 and 2007.
Ongoing state funds for schools increased by
26.5 percent from 2005-08, but most of that money came in the first three years, and some is earmarked for special programs. This year - the final year - the increase is minimal, and schools say they're in danger of losing gains they made after years of tight budgets.
Democratic lawmakers have responded by saying even if they did agree to call a special session of the Legislature, majority Republicans in the state House would simply block any attempt to increase state money for schools this year.
“I don't see how it would have a different outcome (than the current budget), or the outcome that schools want, which is more money,” says Rep. Franke Wilmer, D-Bozeman, a member of the House Education Committee.
Sen. Bob Hawks, another Bozeman Democrat and a member of the Senate Education Committee, says it's “hopeless” to go into a special session without some sort of agreement among Democrats, Republicans and the governor on what funding increase might be approved.
Republican leaders in the House, where the GOP has a 50-49 majority, don't appear willing to make any such agreement, he says.
Yet House Speaker Scott Sales of Bozeman, the top Republican leader, can shoot these arguments full of holes.
Democrats control the Montana Senate, 26-24, and need to turn the votes of only two or three moderate House Republicans to get anything they want from the Legislature, he says. That's how they passed the current state school budget in 2007, and they could do it again, Sales says.
Even if Republican leaders succeeded in tying up a school-funding bill in committee, Democrats probably could find the 11 House Republicans needed to bring the bill to the floor and pass it, he adds.
“It's just a lame excuse,” he says. “If (Democrats) want it, they can get it. They won't vote for a special session because they're afraid of the governor. It's just disingenuous for them to say, ‘We're helpless, we poor Democrats, we can't come through for (the schools).' ”
As for needing a pre-session agreement, Sales notes that neither Schweitzer nor Democratic leaders conferred with him last May, when the governor called a special session to complete the state budget. They already had found the Republican votes they needed to ram through the budget bills in a short, several-day session.
“They didn't call me before,” Sales says. “I found out the day they held a press conference (announcing the session).”
Put simply, Democrats won't force another special session on school funding because they don't want to. They see it as politically risky in an election year. They don't want to go against a governor who has said he won't raise taxes - which may be needed to invest more state money in schools. They don't want to be tagged as “big spenders.”
Hey, I've got news for you, Democrats: Even if you don't support more money for schools, Republicans are going to hammer you as “big spenders.”
So, where does that leave the public schools? They've gone back to court, in a long-shot attempt to force a special session that could approve more funding.
Even if that move succeeds, they still would be relying on legislative Democrats, Republicans and the governor to do something. None has indicated much interest in doing so.
They also have to listen to lectures from Democrats on how schools need to better account for the spending of state money, and how schools shouldn't be criticizing their friends, the Democrats.
Schools have to be wondering: With friends like these ...
Missoulian State Bureau reporter Mike Dennison can be reached at 443-4920, 1-800-525-4920, or mike.dennison@lee.net
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)