Letters to the editor May 7
School choice
Choice and competition are two hallmarks of American life and have been a significant envy of our neighbors worldwide prompting many to desire to live here for their opportunity of success.
By implementing choice charter schools, a competitive dynamic is created, which prompts school districts to better performance. Competition promotes quality!
As Montanans, we all want the very best education for our children. Providing individualized learning assistance, these choice schools allow parents to be active participants in their child’s education for success. This is accomplished by parents becoming welcome partners with school administrators and teachers, not adversaries.
Students with learning disabilities have been proven to thrive in choice schools, allowing for increased parent involvement as well as opportunities for tailored education development. Students that have been blessed with talent also thrive in these environments as their merit-based accomplishments are unashamedly celebrated.
In my history of businesses, competition has been tough and it’s made me better!
In the final analysis, we should want all students of all levels to find their maximum potential in schools and life. Our nation was built on free enterprise, and those principles should absolutely apply to Montana education as well. When competition ceases to exist, quality begins to decrease. In the last 20 years, Montana schools have gone from top 5 to bottom 5 in the nation. In addition, I have evidence the woke ideology of transgenderism is being heavily pushed/taught in at least one western Montana school by a transgender transition company.
This is why it is imperative that Montana effectively implement choice schools. Please contact Gov. Gianforte and ask him to support House Bill 562 which is the only choice school bill that provides the necessary provisions to effect positive, quality change.
As always, it is an honor to represent House District 8.
— Rep. Terry Falk, Kalispell
Still the last best place?
What comes to mind when you hear Montana referred to as the “last best place?” Do you think of the pristine, relatively untouched Smith River? Do you think of the vast Golden Triangle where family farms still operate and pass down the value of hard work to their children? Is it your hometown gathering where neighbors come together to celebrate the 4th of July?
Maybe it’s the feeling of your local high school winning the state championship. Or maybe it’s the fact that you can bag an elk in the Missouri River Breaks without having to pay an enormous fee to private landowners.
As Montanans we know that we are lucky to live here and value our way of life. For decades we have prided ourselves with a “live and let live attitude” where we don’t involve ourselves in how many guns you have in your gun safe as long as you do the same when it comes to our personal medical decisions. Montana has been a relatively purple state for years and most would agree that a healthy split of Republican and Democrats is good for Democracy.
But that Montana is slipping away. The current legislative session has proven we are no longer maintaining our role as the Last Best Place, but rather:
“The worst place to pick on queer kids” (SB 99)
“The worst place to tell parents how to parent” (HB 359)
“The worst place to imprison teachers” (HB 234)
“The worst place to politicize the independent judiciary” (SB 302, SB 154)
“The worst place to find an available nursing home” (GOP axed increased funding for HB 649)
“The worst place to strip cities and towns of their funding and election autonomy” (HB 865, HB 774)
“The worst place to find affordable housing” (GOP voted down HB 574, SB 194, HB 233)
“The worst place to suffer from mental health issues” (GOP removed funding from HB 649)
“The worst place to be left in the dark on environmental impacts (HB 971 and SB557)
Montanans are pretty straight-forward people. We support our schools, we like our privacy, and we love our neighbors. The current GOP supermajority doesn’t support any of the latter. Montana is having a major identity crisis.
Will we allow the extreme GOP to make Montana in the image of Arkansas, Tennessee and Florida? Or will we cling to the values that made us truly one of the most remarkable states in the union?
If you’re concerned about the direction Montana is headed, we urge you to vote for “live and let live” values and candidates the next time around.
— Ron Gerson, Tim Harmon and Tammy Harmon, Flathead County