Education advocates fought uphill battle

(This guest opinion appeared in most of Montana's major newspapers)

By CAROL WILLIAMS and HOLLY RASER - June 20, 2007

As educators and legislators, we would like to offer our personal perspectives on the school funding efforts of the 2007 Legislature.

Our friends and fellow allies for public schools, Alan Nicholson and John Board, have claimed that the 2007 Legislature made no attempt to fund a quality education as defined by the state. Further, they claimed that neither the Montana Education Association-Montana Federation of Teachers nor teacher/legislators had the fortitude to fight for spending more on public schools.

They are wrong on both counts.

Montana legislators hold a wide variety of opinions about public schools. Some of us believe public schools are an essential government service. Others vehemently disagree-and unfortunately, those who disagree had control of the House of Representatives.

House Republican leaders did everything in their power to kill all attempts to improve school funding. This included appointing the lone representative of the Constitution Party, a man who admits he does not believe in public education, as chairman of the House Education Committee.

We who care about education fought hard for every penny we got for schools.

One only had to spend five minutes in the House Education Committee to see what an uphill battle it was.

Kindergarten success

We kept the definition of a quality education at the forefront of every discussion, and in spite of the determined opposition, we got some very good things done:

• For the first time ever, we provided funding ($28 million in ongoing funds) for schools to implement full-time kindergarten as well as $10 million for startup costs. We believe funding full-time kindergarten will prove to be one of the smartest investments Montana has ever made in the quality education of our children.

• We helped schools attract and retain quality teachers by creating a loan assistance program for teachers in hard-to-staff areas. We also provided a $26 million increase in quality educator funding that doesn't directly rely on the number of students in a school. This helps all school districts, especially those with declining enrollments.

• Recognizing that schools have been forced to defer building maintenance to keep educational programs going, we provided $30 million for infrastructure needs. We also put away $40 million to be available for schools when a facilities study is complete.

• We provided $42 million in inflationary increases for schools to cover ever-rising operational and special-education costs.

• We provided an additional $4 million to help schools meet their constitutional obligation to provide Indian Education for All.

• We appropriated $2 million to provide programs for gifted and talented students.

Did schools get enough? Did the 2007 Legislature solve the school funding crisis? Of course not. After more than a decade of neglect, it will take several sessions to make up lost ground. Even the Supreme Court recognized in its decision that phasing in a solution is appropriate.

We are offended by accusations that all legislators lack the will to make a strong funding commitment to public schools. Many of us have dedicated our legislative careers to just that task.

Change starts with voters

If will is lacking, one should look at the ballots cast in 2006 when Montanans elected a razor-thin majority of representatives who tried their best to destroy public education, promoting deep, permanent tax cuts instead of school funding. Thankfully, the voters also elected a slim majority of Democratic senators who kept the fight for better school funding alive.

We teacher/legislators and MEA-MFT have worked diligently to elect legislators who support Montana's public schools not just with words but with actions. We hope that in 2008, those who have been outspoken critics will join us in our stand for education by finding people who are similarly committed, persuading them to run for office, then working like the dickens to defeat candidates who do not share our support of children and public schools.

Sen. Carol Williams, a former teacher, serves as majority leader in the Montana Senate, where she is a member of the Finance and Claims Committee. Rep. Holly Raser, a teacher, serves as vice-chairwoman of the House Education Committee. Both are Missoula Democrats.