Funding Education

Over the past decade or two, the state has increasingly shifted the burden of funding education onto others.

For example, between 1995 and 2005, real, inflation-adjusted state funding per student in Missoula County’s elementary and high schools bounced up and down from year to year and over the long haul was essentially static. Any growth in spending – to offer new programs or pay adequate teacher salaries or meet other goals – had to be financed by increased local property taxes.

State funding for the University System was similarly stagnant and the result was that tuition mushroomed as a share of university revenue. Individual tuition rates climbed rapidly - more rapidly, in fact, than family incomes - and increasing numbers of students found college hard to afford. University officials say that financial stress on students is the single most important factor leading to academic failure.

Fortunately, Governor Schweitzer and Democrats in the 2005 and 2007 Legislatures were able to make some real progress in providing state support for education. Money was set aside for the University System and for the first time in a long time, in-state tuition was frozen. Real state funding per student in the elementary and high schools rose significantly.

We know that the budget is going to be tight in 2009, but it should be a top priority to consolidate and extend these gains in education funding. After all, educating Montana’s kids and young adults is one of the state’s most important responsibilities, and the engine for promoting healthy communities and a vibrant economy.