Gov. Greg Gianforte Tuesday signed a bill intended to help the state’s public schools recover money lost to inflation.
Gianforte framed the $52 million funding boost to public schools as “historic.” He signed the policy in a classroom at Prickly Pear Elementary in East Helena.
“This is the money that pays for your teacher, and the principal, and the lights and everything else. So, we’re really pleased that this bill got through,” Gianforte said.
The Legislature every two years adjusts the amount of money the state sends to schools based on inflation. This year’s boost is more than usual, but still falls short of what schools lost to inflation in recent years.
Democratic Rep. Willis Curdy of Missoula says the Legislature should have put far more money in the bill. He voted for it but said he was frustrated with the result.
“You know, in all honesty, this doesn’t cut it."
The $52 million will flow into public schools over the next two years. But, the Montana School Boards Association has argued lawmakers would need to appropriate about $92 million just to break even with inflation.
Republicans say other policies like a proposal to give schools more funding to pay new teachers more will help close the rest of that gap.
