GOP to Tie School Funds to Property Tax Cut

By Dennison, Mike

HELENA – House Republicans are preparing to increase the amount of state money for schools in Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s education package – and Majority Leader Michael Lange said Friday that he’ll carry the bill on the House floor.

Lange said Republicans will tie the school-funding boost to an across-the-board reduction in property taxes. He insisted that enough money exists in the state treasury for both initiatives.

“We can absolutely afford property tax reductions, and we can afford to put this much money in (public schools),” he said Friday. “It balances, and (Democrats) know it.”

Schweitzer’s education package, which is in Senate Bill 152, includes a two -year, $95 million boost in state money for schools and full-day kindergarten. It awaits action in the Republican- controlled. House Edu cation Committee.

Lange, a committee member, said he hopes to amend a new funding scheme into SB152 on Monday and move it to the House floor.

Increasing state funds

The Republican plan, devised by Lange and Rep. Bill Glaser, R- Huntley, calls for increasing state funds to public schools by $165 million, or about 12 percent, over the next two years.

It also would change the name of full-day kindergarten to “early childhood development programs” and require school districts to make half-day kindergarten available if they choose to offer full-day kindergarten.

Lange and Glaser said Friday that the amendments are still “a work in progress” and that the final numbers could change by Monday.

Sen. Don Ryan, D-Great Falls and the sponsor of SB152, said Friday that he’s pleased that Republicans plan to move the bill, and he’s looking forward to discussing school-funding options with Republican leaders.

Ryan said he would like to put more money into schools as well, but only if it’s available for the longer term.

A separate bill sponsored by Lange would cut property taxes, and it’s awaiting action in the Senate Education Committee, which is chaired by Ryan.

Ryan said if either or both of the bills move through the process and get to House-Senate conference committees, the Democrat- controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House can start trying to hammer out an agreement addressing both issues.

Lance Melton, executive director of the Montana School Boards Association, said the money “appears to be much more in line with what I think schools need in the coming two years to maintain existing programs without budget cuts or tax increases.”

Distributing funds

However, Melton said the proposal appears to have a largely new method of distributing money to schools, and schools need time to evaluate its effects.

Eric Feaver, president of MEA-MFT, the union representing nearly 13,000 public school teachers and employees in Montana, also didn’t like the distribution method. He said it appears to favor smaller schools and could require local districts to increase some property taxes.

He also said it’s a mistake to abolish specific full-day kindergarten funding for untested, unnamed “early childhood development,” programs.

“I don’t think that Republicans have any great claim to say that they’ve come to the rescue of schools,” Feaver said. “I think we’re a ways from getting a good picture of what’s really going on here.”

Lange on Friday outlined the basic elements of the SB152 amendments he plans to offer Monday and the Republican school- funding/property tax proposal:

* Much of the funding increase is on a per-school basis, with larger increases for elementary schools. Schweitzer’s increases rely more on a per-educator basis, which is favored by teachers and many others.

* The words “full-day kindergarten” would be stricken from SB152 and replaced by “early childhood development programs.” Some Republicans on the House Education Committee are adamantly opposed to full-day kindergarten.

The amended version would give money to schools that want to have full-day kindergarten, but they still would have to offer half-day kindergarten to parents who request it.

* SB152 would be tied to Lange’s bill cutting property taxes, saying each must advance together. Lange’s tax bill, HB678, offers across-the-board cuts to all property owners and at least $400 this year for homeowners, through a combination of tax reductions and income-tax credits.

Copyright Billings Gazette Mar 24, 2007

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