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Montana
Recent Events | Costing
Out
Historical Background In 1985, a coalition
of school districts and parents filed a lawsuit claiming
the State of Montana deprived students of equal educational
opportunity under the state education article. In 1989,
the Supreme Court of Montana declared, in Helena
Elementary School District No. 1 v. State, 769
P.2d 684 (1989), that the state's education finance
system was unconstitutional.
The Montana Constitution's strong education clause
provides that "It is the goal of the people to
establish a system of education which will develop the
full educational potential of each person. Equality
of educational opportunity is guaranteed to each person
of the state." It also provides that “the
state recognizes the distinct and unique cultural heritage
of the American Indians and is committed in its educational
goals to the preservation of their cultural integrity.”
The supreme court in Helena said, "We
specifically affirm . . . that the spending disparities
among the State's school districts translate into a
denial of equality of educational opportunity."
The Montana legislature responded in 1989 by adopting
a foundation program with higher payments from the state
to local districts and, in 1993, overhauled the formula,
this time benefiting smaller districts.
Costing
Out
In August
2002, five major Montana education organizations announced
the results of a study to determine the cost of
funding an adequate education in Montana. The study
called for a 17% increase in total statewide pre-K-12
spending.
Columbia Falls v. State
In September 2002, a group of plaintiffs, backed by
the Montana Quality Education Coalition (MQEC), filed
suit in Columbia
Falls Public Schools v. State, seeking adequate
and cost-based school funding. Plaintiff school districts
and individuals, who are representative of districts
across the state, alleged that declining state funding
for K-12 schools has caused schools to: cut programs
and staff; face a crisis in their ability to attract
and retain teachers; and fail to comply with the state's
minimum accreditation, performance, and content standards.
After a trial in early 2004, the state district court
held
that:
 the
current funding system fails to provide adequate funding
for Montana 's public schools;
the
State has shown "no commitment in its educational
goals to preservation of American Indian cultural
identity;" and
the
State does not pay its "share of the cost of
the basic elementary and secondary school system."
On appeal, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed the trial
court ruling and released its decision in time for the
legislature's 2005 session.
After wrestling with the school funding issue in its
regular session and studying it further, the legislature,
in a special December 2005 session called by the governor,
increased funding 9 to 10 percent.
Recent Events
In the 2007 legislative session, a 7.3% funding increase
was approved, as was a one-time infusion of $42.5 million
for specific programs, according to the Great Falls
Tribune. Both of those funding increases applied
to the 2007-08 school year. However, the legislature,
which meets every other year, approved only a 1.9% increase
in funding for the 2008-09 school year, along with only
$2.5 million in one-time funding. In late 2007, the
MQEC called upon the governor to call a special legislative
session, to no avail.
On February 5, 2008, MQEC filed suit in Helena District
Court, seeking supplemental monetary relief to help
districts avoid funding shortfalls in 2009. Tom Cotton,
chair of the MQEC, explained why the group was returning
to court: "I think the main problem is that the
state hasn't determined the cost of providing a basic
system of free, quality education. Even though they
have their own definition of what a quality education
entails, they have not sat down and figured out how
much that will cost. I think that's the main crux of
the problem; that we don't have a long-term sustainable
funding solution in place."
Contributing to the budget crisis has been the ongoing
reduction in the number of students attending rural
schools. Because state aid is based on enrollment, rural
districts have had to make drastic cutbacks as their
populations have dwindled.
In May 2008 the Montana District Court denied a motion
by the defendant to dismiss plaintiffs’ motion
for supplemental relief in Columbia Falls Elementary
Sch. Dist v. State. Plaintiffs claim that although
the State has contributed more money to the system,
it has not addressed the structural deficiencies in
the funding formula.
Useful Resources
The Montana
Quality Education Coalition website includes summaries
of the Columbia Falls trial, newspaper articles and
related links.
Last updated, May, 2008 |
