The children not only needed the benefits of classroom instruction, they needed to be healthy. They needed to live in safe communities. They needed the opportunity to attend college at a price within the means of their families.
In the same way, the Legislature discusses funding for public education n in the larger context of other needs, including children’s health care and nutrition, prevention of child abuse and neglect, a corrections system that ensures safe communities, and a higher education system that provides additional educational opportunities.
Funding for grades kindergarten through 12 has been a central focus of our deliberations ever since. But not only because of court decisions declaring the state had failed to properly fund our public school system. The Legislature has focused on school funding because we believe in public education. Children really are Montana’s most precious resource.
While a long line of other needs waited, in the 2005 regular and special legislative sessions, we provided K-12 public schools over
$87 million in new dollars n more new money than all previous legislatures combined had appropriated for K-12 since 1989.
In 2007, we were again able to increase our investment in Montana’s future.
We invested $60.4 million in ongoing revenue, including full-day kindergarten. We provided schools
$81.5 million one-time-only to help cover various necessary and unavoidable expenses. And we invested $77 million in one-time-only and ongoing revenue to help shore up the Montana Teachers Retirement System.
Even after making these investments, there was enough money to fund additional programs such as expanded health care coverage for more children of the working poor, mental health, and the Montana University System effectively funding a two-year freeze in college tuitions.
Finally, we set aside
$85 million as a cushion against an unexpected downturn in the economy.
Like the families of my students who live within their means, the Legislature also balanced the public’s checkbook.
We Montanans who have the honor of serving on school boards and in the Legislature are trustees of the public interest. When it comes to K-12 education, we have shared responsibilities and work hard to ensure schools have the resources needed to educate our children. We are both accountable to the electorate to ensure tax dollars are prudently spent.
The major difference between legislators and school trustees is perspective: The Legislature must address and balance a broader set of demands for funding. The Montana Constitution charges the Legislature with providing a basic system of free quality public education. But the Legislature also is mandated by the same constitution to adopt a balanced budget. As it has always been, when the Legislature completes its work, some schools do not receive as much money as they would like. But, the same can be said of dozens of other competing interests.
Balancing a wide array of needs and demands will be even more challenging in 2009. We will nonetheless have a plan to continue the work of funding K-12 education.
Just as we have in the 2005 and 2007 regular and special legislative sessions, those of us committed to adequately funding our public education system will roll up our sleeves and find the common ground so essential to allocating as many state tax dollars to our K-12 system as possible.
Carol Williams is majority leader of the Montana Senate.
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