Education bill needs adjustment
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In 1995, the State of Montana had 164,979 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Now we have 141,697. That is a loss of 24,282, but we are up 1,500 students since 2010.
We spend close to $11,000 per student in an unbelievably complex formula. There are few people in the State of Montana who truly understand education funding, and Sen. Llew Jones (R-Conrad) is one of them. He sponsored Senate Bill 175, a 47-page piece of legislation coupled with a 14-page fiscal note, to fund schools, use oil and gas money, reduce property taxes and increase student achievement.
I believe education is extremely important to our state. Our children are our future, and the better we prepare them to enter the workforce the more likely they will be to succeed and help our state prosper and grow. SB 175 was called a consensus agreement because everyone in the education community could agree on the bill. There was some money for everyone — large schools, small schools, teachers and administrators.
Even though I respect Sen. Jones for his work on funding Montana’s education system, I had to oppose his bill. I was not comfortable with the long-term impacts on our state. It spends entirely too much money in a time when Montana needs to be extra careful with how we handle the state checkbook. It spends $80 million over the next fiscal year alone.
It ties education funding to natural resource development, which on paper seems like a great idea, but fails to realize the volatility of the natural resource market. If oil drops below $60 a barrel, Bakken oil extraction is no longer profitable, leaving the state with a serious education funding gap. Even in the last few years, oil has fluctuated from $120 to $30 per barrel.
The property tax relief in the bill is nothing more than a pure gimmick that does not bring real, lasting tax breaks to families across Montana. A Polson residence was used as an example. Property worth about $300,000 would see about a $34 reduction in taxes.
How we spend our money is important. Like the entire State of Montana, many of our public employees and our teachers are baby boomers and will be retiring soon. The unfunded liability in our pension system is a huge problem. Will there be enough money to pay for teachers’ retirement? Can we pay for Medicaid expansion, employee raises, project bonding and the governor’s property tax rebate? Not to mention what happens if the fed sequestration cuts our funds.
Does the governor support SB 175? There is a rumor that just like in 2005 when the governor counted on Republicans to kill K-ship (I was in that meeting), the executive branch may not want this bill.
My legislative priority this session is to focus on creating a fiscally sound budget that does not spend more than we bring in, leaves a little extra in the pot and protects our state’s finances so future generations are not saddled with debt.
There is a lot more to the issue, student spending comparisons with other states, achievement scores, jobs for our citizens … please keep the comments coming. Leave me a message at (406) 444-4800; call my cell at (406) 253-8766; or send an email to jannataylor@montana.com. Never forget that I work for you.
