MPEA Represents 10 School Districts

Special Session Increases Revenues Available to Schools

MPEA represents 467 classified employees in 10 school districts; they range in size from districts in Billings, Great Falls, Bozeman and Helena to those at Target Range and Lone Rock.

The December Special Session increased revenue to all Montana school districts. Some of the resources were appropriated as one-time-only expenditures and others as part of each district’s on-going budget.

Some of the one-time-only allocations have the potential for creating on-going savings. As an example, there is $23 million to be allocated in fiscal year 2007 for weatherization and deferred maintenance. The grants total $1000 for each district, plus $153 per ANB (Average Number Belonging). The significant increase in the cost of power prompted the Governor to propose energy cost relief in the current fiscal year of $1 million; legislators increased this to $2 million. These payments amount to $13.43 per ANB and may have already been received. Additionally, there is to be a school facility condition inventory by the Department of Administration which included $392,952 in FY 2007 and $2.1 million in FY 2008.

There is to be a one-time-only allocation of $7 million in general fund to get the “Indian Education for All” program under way. The Office of Public Instruction will distribute the monies on a per ANB basis---about $47 per student.

The last of the one-time-only appropriations was $100 million of general fund money for the Teachers Retirement System in fiscal 2006. During the Special Session legislators were told that the $100 million payment to TRS would reduce the need for increased employer contributions, and that as a result the out-of-pocket savings over 30 years would be about $300 million. The expenditure does not solve the fiscal problem in TRS, but it helps.

Increases in on-going funding are important to those with whom MPEA members must bargain. Montana’s public school general fund budgets were increased by $71 million in fiscal year 2006-07, compared to FY05.

For FY07 and forward there are four new components to school funding formulas. Importantly, they are all fully funded with state funds and require no local levy increases to meet the allocation amounts. Each is to be deposited in school general fund budgets and can be expended for any general fund purpose.

The biggest piece of change is for what was entitled the “Quality Educator Payment.” This payment amounts to $24.4 million and provides a total payment of $2000 times the number of licensed FTE.

There is to be an “At-Risk Payment” of some $5 million statewide. This payment will be divided amongst school districts in accordance with the existing Title I allocation formula which is based on the number of families living in poverty that reside in a district as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Legislators set aside $3.3 million for the Indian Education for All Payment; this is in addition to the $7 million of one-time-only referenced earlier. Districts will receive the greater of $100 or $20.40 per student from this on-going source.

Also, the state will provide a payment of $200 for every American Indian student enrolled in a district. This money is to be used to help close the reported “achievement gap” and will total about $3 million.

Data prepared by the Legislative Fiscal Division of Legislative Services shows that most elementary districts had an on-going allocation increase over FY 2006 budgets of about 4 percent and high schools, generally saw an increase of about 3 percent.

Last Modified: Thursday June 07, 2007

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