Lack of state funding leaves many Montana schools in disrepair
Montana ranks near the bottom nationally for the state’s share of funding for school construction and repair — and education leaders say that has caused differences in the quality of education statewide that might run afoul of the law.
What's certain is that the lack of state funding has left some schools in disrepair for years, leading sewage to back up in hallways, snowpack to threaten roof collapses and students to crowd too-small classrooms that don’t meet accreditation standards. Advocates say that when the state doesn’t pay its fair share, districts have turned to local residents, who increasingly are unwilling or unable to pay more taxes.
In the wake of an education lawsuit a decade ago, the Legislature created two programs to help pay for facilities, but funding for both has not kept pace with growing needs, and the state predicts income for the programs will fall further. Additionally, the 2015 Legislature failed to fund one of them, killing grants to help 53 school districts.
“They’ve certainly made efforts to address building deficiencies but it’s not a very viable solution,” said Dianne Burke, executive director of the Montana Quality Education Coalition, noting a 2008 state inventory that tallied $360 million in needed repairs. “When you’re allocating $10 million a year, that’s not really making too much progress. It would take you 36 years to catch up, not even thinking about inflation.”
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