1-29-13
The notorious right-wing, billionaire Koch brothers sent their minions to Montana’s capitol yesterday, in their attempt to tear down Montana’s quality public schools. The secretive Kochs have been revealed as major supporters of school privatization.
Two organizations founded by Charles and David Koch showed up to testify in favor of bills that would channel public tax dollars to private schools via “tuition tax credits”: the Institute for Justice and Americans for Prosperity.
Representatives from these out-of-state groups joined the usual champions of school privatization, including the Montana Family Foundation, religious school advocates, and home schoolers.
MEA-MFT and our many allies in the public education community united to speak out against the privatizers and despoilers of public education. See news story below.
Wednesday, two more anti-public school bill hearings in House Education:
HB 288 (Schwaderer) – special education vouchers – http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2013/billpdf/HB0288.pdf
HB 315 (Knudsen)- charter schools – http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2013/billpdf/HB0315.pdf
Legislative legal counsel has already advised the sponsors that these two bills suffer serious constitutional questions.
Bullock, public education community line up to oppose tax credits for private institutions
BY MIKE DENNISON IR STATE BUREAU – JANUARY 29, 2013
Advocates of “school choice” filled the state Capitol halls Monday, in part to testify for a pair of bills creating new state income-tax credits helping finance private schools in Montana.
But they ran into a united front of opposition from Montana’s public-school community and Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, who said the measures essentially take public funds away from public schools and are likely unconstitutional.
“The education community is opposed to this bill, and any other bill like it,” said Marco Ferro of MEA-MFT, the union that represents public school teachers and other public employees. “School privatization schemes are not what we need in Montana.
“We’ve been able to keep this out of our state, and I think that is something we should be proud of.”
Ferro spoke against House Bill 213 (http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2013/billpdf/HB0213.pdf), which would enact tax credits of up to $550 per child for families who send their children to private schools, and was joined by school administrators, some school districts, the Montana School Boards Association, the state superintendent of public instruction and Bullock’s office in opposition.
The same coalition also testified Monday against Senate Bill 81 (http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2013/billpdf/SB0081.pdf ), which would allow up to $5 million a year in tax credits for individuals or businesses that donate to “student scholarship organizations” that give scholarships to students attending private schools.
Hearings on each bill lasted more than two hours, as parents, students and teachers from private schools showed up to testify in favor of the tax credits, saying they would help families whose children need an alternative to public schools.
“This great country is great because we have choice,” said Kirk Pugsley, principal of Capstone Christian Academy in Butte. “We want the playing field to be even, so every parent who has a concern for their child can make a choice.”
The bills hit the Legislature Monday on the first day of National School Choice Week, an event proclaimed by proponents of private-school tax credits, charter schools and other policies that support alternatives to regular public schools.
Supporters of the bills, led by the Montana Family Foundation — a nonprofit group that lobbies on behalf of conservative social issues — also held a rally outside the Capitol to urge passage of the measures.
U.S. Rep. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Senate President Jeff Essmann, R-Billings, spoke at the rally, which was attended by about 200 people on a brisk, sunny day. Many of them wore yellow scarves handed out by the Family Foundation.
Daines, elected just three months ago as Montana’s only congressman, said too many students in Montana are dropping out of school, and that it’s important for parents to have a choice in where they educate their kids.
“We can’t take a one-size-fits-all education,” he said.
Later Monday, the House and Senate education committees had hearings on the respective tax-credit bills, but took no immediate action on either one.
Sen. Dave Lewis, R-Helena, the sponsor of SB81, said he brought his bill forth to make private schools more of an option for parents whose children may not do well in public schools.
“Enacting a tax credit seems like a minimal contribution we can make to help the private-school movement grow and flourish,” he said.
Lewis noted that his bill also includes up to $5 million in tax credits for those who donate to something called “educational improvement organizations,” which would award grants for innovative new programs in public schools.
Most supporters of both tax-credit measures were affiliated with private religious schools.
“I’m not sure what the real objection is, rather than fear of what might be taken away from public school funding,” said Chris Bumgarner, a former public-school teacher who now directs the Mission Valley Christian Academy in Polson. “I don’t see that happening at all.”
Opponents, however, said the measures violate Montana’s constitutional ban on using public money for direct or indirect aid to religion-affiliated schools — and that private-school tax credits are using public funds that could be spent on public schools, which aren’t exactly flush with cash.
They also pointed out that the tax credits would support schools that may not be accredited and don’t have to meet the same standards as public schools.
“I think any bill that takes money away from public education as a whole does not serve the community,” said Darlene Schottle, superintendent of schools in Kalispell. “Taxpayer money should fund education that is available to everyone.”