Educators, legislators should work together on school choice bills
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For the last month, the House Education Committee, which I am a member of, has been discussing school choice bills. I did support three of those bills and opposed two of them. I supported a tax credit bill that would allow an income tax credit for up to $550 per child for the expense of sending a child to a private school. This bill should have been heard in the House Taxation Committee, as it was tax-related. The various school associations opposed this bill, saying that it would take funds away from public schools. These credits will be paid for out of the general fund and not from school funds. You could argue that indirectly, it may reduce school funding, but you could say that about any tax credit or general fund appropriation. I also supported a charter school bill and a special education savings account bill. Both of these bills could be very beneficial to some students and would not have a major impact on school funding. The two bills I did oppose would both have had had a very major impact on direct school funding and would have made it very hard for some of our existing schools to manage their budgets.
What has frustrated me the most is that every school choice bill is always opposed by all of the educational organizations (OPI, MEA-MFT, School Administrators Association, Rural School Association, School Board Association, etc.). These organizations do not seem to want to come to the table and discuss or draft a bill that all parties can work with and that could benefit our children. When school choice is mentioned, it is like we are walking off the edge of a flat world or exploring the moon for the first time. Many states have already tried charter schools or other school choice programs, and many have achieved successful outcomes. Montana has some of the best public schools in the country. If we did allow charter schools, we would likely only see a few statewide.
This school choice discussion has been going on for many years, with the school associations always saying “no.” At some point in time, Montana may have both a legislature and a governor who will support school choice, and then the school associations may not have any input at the table. I would hate to see that happen. What we need to do is work together and pass school choice laws that will work. We could even try a pilot charter school. The school associations will say that we already have charter school options along with alternative schools. Yes we do, but we need to make changes to those rules and laws so they meet the needs of all of our students, and we need the help of the school associations to do that. It is time we get this done right and come together for a solution to allow more flexibility in education and options that will benefit Montana students, our communities and our economy.
As always, you don’t have to come all the way to the capitol to participate.
If you have any input about specific bills, please don’t hesitate to contact me by email at greghertz11@gmail.com or call or text me at (406) 253-9505. You can also leave messages for individual legislators or committees by calling (406) 444-4800. For more information on Montana’s 63rd legislative session, visit the legislature’s website at www.leg.mt.gov.
