Next week is another meeting of the School Funding Interim Commission on June 17-18, where we continue the work of examining how Montana funds its public schools and preparing recommendations for the 2027 Legislature.

A few of the items on our agenda:

The Successful School District Study. APA Consulting will present their analysis identifying high-performing districts and what their per-pupil funding actually looks like. This foundational work helps us understand what adequate, efficient funding requires.

Inflation and school budgets. Montana's current formula adjusts school funding for inflation using a three-year lookback, which means funding consistently lags behind real costs, creating a gap for districts from 2021 to 2025. We'll review options to make the calculation more responsive, including whether the existing 3% cap should be revisited. It’s important to find ways to keep schools whole without driving up the property tax burden on homeowners.

Special education funding. The state's allowable cost payment hasn't kept pace with rising special education costs, pushing more of the burden onto local permissive levies. We'll discuss options including a potential "high-cost pool" so that smaller districts aren't sunk by the occasional enrollment of a student with extraordinary needs.

We'll also take up school facilities, student mental health, and begin narrowing the list of recommendations that will go into our final report.

As always, the meeting is open to the public. You can attend in person, watch online, or submit written comments through the Legislature's website. If you have thoughts on any of these issues, please reach out.

Please email, text, or call me with any questions or concerns. It is an honor to serve you.