Kalispell Teachers Call for Changes to School Funding Ahead of School Funding Interim Commission Meetings and Road Show

The night before the beginning of the new school year, a group of educators and staff from Kalispell Public Schools gathered at Bias Brewing for a town hall hosted by the Montana Federation of Public Employees (MFPE), a union that represents certified and classified staff in the state’s public schools.

Teachers and staff members raised concerns about the money they spent each year purchasing supplies for their classrooms, saying it regularly totals more than $100 out of their own pockets per school year. Growing classroom sizes make it difficult to give students the individualized attention they need. That challenge, they said, is compounded by not having enough paraeducators to help with students who need extra supports. Those staff members can be difficult to attract due to pay, which begins at $17.19 per hour in Kalispell Public Schools.

“We’re just trying to survive is what’s happening,” one teacher said.

Despite these difficulties, teachers described the school district as a “relief valve” for students and their families. They argued Kalispell’s schools provide necessary services for students, from medical care to school lunches, as families struggle to make ends meet amid surging costs.

The question underscoring the event: what would help?

The resounding answer: adequate funding from the state, which they said the district doesn’t receive.

School district funding shortages have become a common storyline across Montana in recent years.

Kalispell Public Schools faced a hefty funding cliff of $3 million before passing a levy this spring, its first in 18 years. Several other AA districts — Helena, Missoula, Bozeman, Butte and Billings — took asks for more funding to their voters during the last two years. Those asks aimed to combat potential deficits or offer services like safety and technology. They yielded mixed results around the state.

The Kalispell teachers gathered at Bias Brewing called for changing the state’s school funding calculus by making better adjustments for inflation and fully funding schools. As it stands, the state funds schools up to the Base Amount for School Equity (BASE). It’s the minimum general fund budget school districts in Montana must adopt. The BASE budget represents around 80% of a district’s maximum budget. Teachers suggested schools should be funded up to their maximum budgets instead.

Teachers aren’t the only group calling for changes to Montana’s school funding formula. At least one legislator — Rep. Brad Barker, R-Red Lodge — proposed a referendum for a statewide sales tax, meant specifically to fund education, in the 2025 session. His bill died in committee. But, Montana Free Press reported that the Montana Quality Education Coalition planned to endorse a statewide sales tax to fund education. The organization called off the release of a statement of support until their board of directors could meet to discuss it.

This year marks a rare opportunity: The state could incorporate calls for changes to school funding into its decennial study.

The decennial study, conducted every 10 years by the School Funding Interim Commission, makes recommendations to the state’s legislature about school funding. While the commission doesn’t have authority to pass legislation, its work on the study will inform legislative action on education in the 2027 session and potentially beyond.

MFPE held town halls like the one in Kalispell across the state over the course of July and August. Kim Popham, MFPE’s public policy and research director, said educators’ concerns at all the events struck similar notes.

The meetings aimed to gather teachers’ feedback to present to the School Funding Interim Commission. Collecting the anecdotes will bolster MFPE’s efforts to sway the commission’s recommendations and activities, Popham said.

Since the commission formed, it has met three times.

At one of those meetings, it voted not to include groups representing educators in a working group whose research would inform the study. The move drew mixed reactions, including disappointment from MFPE. President Amanda Curtis told the Beacon teachers were “really looking forward to having their voice heard in a really significant way on the interim commission,” and being grouped in with the rest of the public “just didn’t feel great.”

Still, Curtis and MFPE promised to continue providing public comment to the commission — an option available to all Montanans. 

The commission’s next meetings will happen on Sept. 15 and 16, at 8 a.m. on both days. There are both virtual and in-person options to tune in. To submit public participation, visit this link.

The National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) will also examine the state’s education systems. That will happen before the commission dives into suggestions for changing the formula.

As part of the NCEE’s process, the organization will host a “road show” from Sept. 17-24.

Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, the School Funding Interim Commission chair, said the public is invited to attend the road show.

 “These are not formal commission meetings but rather are meant to gather information for the commission’s consideration,” Bedey wrote. “The focus will be on how we might change education policy in Montana to improve student outcomes. Considering what we wish to achieve in our public schools is a precondition to deciding how we might best fund that effort.”

The road show is making a stop in Kalispell on Sept. 17. There will be an afternoon session from 4 to 5:30 p.m., and an evening one from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Both will be in room 139 of Flathead Valley Community College’s Arts & Technology building.

The road show will also make stops in Havre and Billings on Sept. 18 and Sept. 22, respectively. For those who can’t make it to the event in person, there will be a Zoom option on Sept. 24 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., which can be accessed at this link.

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