'I'm hoping we're not going to be back in court'

Montana Attorney General Mike McGrath is bracing for a possible new round of litigation over the state's funding of schools.

That possibility depends on what type of school funding package comes out of the state legislature in the next few weeks.

"I'm hoping we're not going to be back in court," McGrath told 14 members of Flathead County's bar association Monday.

The potential litigation would be a new round of the court battle that led to a 2005 special legislative session to address school funding.

In 2002, the Columbia Falls School District and other education groups filed a lawsuit against the state that claimed Montana's funding formulas led to the state's education quality falling below what is guaranteed in Montana's constitution. Although not a litigant, the Montana Quality Education Coalition - which represents about 50 school districts - helped pay for the litigation.

In 2004, a state district judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, which triggered the 2005 special legislative session to tackle that issue.

McGrath said the education coalition told him that there is a good chance it might file a follow-up lawsuit if it believes this year's school funding is inadequate.

Pete Carparelli, executive director of the Montana Quality Education Coalition, said the organization entered this legislative session hoping to work out what it believes is adequate funding for schools. The coalition is willing to accept a phased-in approach over a few years to reach what it believes is appropriate funding, Carparelli said.

However, Carparelli said bills backed by the coalition have died, with no indications that the dead funding measures will be revived.

"There is no package that appears adequate. … We're not optimistic," Carparelli said.

If nothing changes from today's status quo, more funding-related litigation is likely, he said.

McGrath said potential causes for litigation could be:

. Whether all-day kindergartens are installed in the state. Many education experts agree that all-day kindergartens help at-risk children, he said.

. How the picture for teachers' pay and retentions plays out.

. Butte's school system claming it will lose $1 million this year under the current state funding formulas.

Also on Monday, McGrath spoke about several other subjects to local lawyers, including:

. Methamphetamine continuing to be a major problem in Montana, although less manufacturing labs are being found.

In 2006, law officers found 15 meth labs in Montana. So far in 2007, they have found one, McGrath said. A major factor is stricter laws enacted in 2005 on materials used to create meth, he said.

However, out-of-state "super labs" - especially in Mexico and to a lesser extent in California - have picked up the slack in providing for Montana's meth trade, McGrath said.

Meth-related cases account for roughly 50 percent of the people in Montana's prisons. And 52 percent of the children in the state's foster homes are there because of parents with meth problems, McGrath said.

On the plus side, there has been a huge drop in crime scene evidence - blood, semen and other biological fluids as well as confiscated chemicals - that show indications of meth, he said.

. The likelihood of the state and dam owners going to court next year over how much those companies should owe Montana for building their dams in the state's rivers.

Montana legally owns the state's riverbeds and the banks up to the high-water marks. When the dams were built, they occupied space in the state-owned riverbeds and pushed the high-water marks higher. So far, dam owners have not paid the state for using or affecting that public property.

That raises issues of paying the state for use of the riverbeds, and whether the before or after high-water marks should be used in calculating payments. Some school districts and other groups originally filed a lawsuit on this matter. But complex legal reasons led to the state becoming the sole plaintiff.

Locally, this issue could affect PacifiCorp's dam on the Swan River at Bigfork.

If the state prevails in this litigation, it could provide millions of dollars annually for the state's school funds, McGrath said. The two sides are negotiating a possible agreement, but McGrath expects the matter to go to trial.