Lawmakers considering short-term help for Montana school districts

MISSOULA — The financial challenges facing Montana’s 397 school districts — including how the state determines funding for each — are numerous and often complex.

As many districts face budget cuts and teacher shortages, lawmakers are crafting potential short-term fixes to consider during the 2025 legislative session, said Rep. David Bedey, the Republican chair of the education interim budget committee. But “the real action” on the state’s funding formula will be during the upcoming decennial study of school funding, he said. 

“Looking at the long-term, the funding formula, this will not be resolved in the next legislative session,” he said. “One ray of hope, several of us are working on legislation for the next session adjusting for inflation.” 

Bedey spoke during a session at Free Press Fest held by Montana Free Press at the University of Montana on Friday. The panel, “Does Montana’s Education Funding Formula Need an Overhaul?,” included Bedey; Becky Croghan, educator at Saddle Peak Elementary in Belgrade; Arlene Walker-Andrews, Missoula County Public Schools board member; and Rob Watson, executive director of School Administrators of Montana. The moderator was MTFP reporter Alex Sakariassen. 

The state’s school funding formula specifies a base amount districts must spend each year, calculated using a complex formula that takes into account enrollment and other factors. Districts are also given a maximum budget amount, with the gap typically made up by local levies. 

Bedey said pressure was building on the funding formula before the COVID-19 pandemic. The influx of federal money gave the Legislature a false sense of security about the funding of schools, he said. 

“COVID scrambled district finances,” Bedey said. 

The state’s school funding formula typically caps rate increases at 3% per year to account for inflation. But with inflation hitting 8% in 2022 and 4.1% in 2023, the gap between district costs and revenue grew.

Bedey said he is working on legislation that would allocate $50 million to $75 million to help districts catch up and increase starting teacher pay. He and other lawmakers are fleshing out a proposed housing stipend program for educators, a complicated task given differences in housing problems across the state, Bedey said. The representative plans to share the draft legislation during the interim education budget committee meeting on Sept. 17. 

“If we want to have as immediate an effect as we can, we need to have legislation ready to go as soon as we can,” he said. 

Croghan, the Belgrade educator, said she appreciates legislators working on this in the interim and the push to get something done before the 10-year study, which takes place after the 2025 legislative session. 

“But just getting to the inflationary gap won’t fix the crisis,” she said. 

Addressing the rest of the teacher salary schedule along with starting pay is also important, Croghan said. In Belgrade, many new teachers leave because of the high cost of living or for better-paying jobs in other districts, she said. 

The 10-year study is important but if too much weight is put on fixing the system then, changes won’t trickle down to school districts until 2027, and it will be too late, Croghan said.  

Watson, the executive director of School Administrators of Montana, said while the funding formula is not perfect, it provides equalization across the state. But a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for schools, he said.  

“I respect the work the Legislature is doing, but at the end of the day, we need a large infusion of money into the system,” he said. 

Bedey said there is ample reason to think there’s not enough money in the system, but spending more money means someone has to pay.

“On the state level or locally, our citizens are going to have to accept this as well,” he said. 

Katie Fairbanks is a reporter for the Montana Free Press, a nonprofit newsroom, and can be contacted at kfairbanks@montanafreepress.org.