GOP Funding Scheme Stalls in Senate

The GOP plan to drastically re-engineer Montana’s public education system appears to be dead. After receiving initial approval from the Senate yesterday, the bill failed on a 25-25 vote in the body today.

The bill sought to radically change the way our public education system works. Opponents of the bill argued that the bill would unnecessarily complicate our public education system and possibly set teachers and students up for failure.

In addition, many believed the measure would have raised taxes on some Montanans in order to pay for holes in their funding scheme.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jones, was concocted in the dark of night, with no input from Democrats and many Republicans were left in the dark as well. This was highlighted when some Republicans came to Democratic education experts to ask what was in the bill.

While they maintain the education funding debate will continue, the failure of this bill leaves the Republican majority in a tight spot. They now appear to have to concrete plan to fund our schools, as directed by the state constitution and seem unwilling to work with Democrats to come up with a solution that puts the needs of Montana students ahead of the political desires of a few extremist Republicans.