Recently the MCPS (Missoula County Public Schools) district proposed a series of budget cuts that sparked a range of public response. This has since led to much confusion and miscommunication in regards to these issues. Community members have questioned what the specifics of the cuts are, as well as the reasons behind them.
The Spartan Scoop interviewed several MCPS employees and affiliates to better understand the details of these changes in the district.
A RISING CRISIS
MCPS K-12 trustee Grace Decker provided information regarding the background of the cuts for the 2024-2025 school year. As an elected member on the board of trustees, Decker helps to set district policies, oversees the Superintendent, and looks out for the public’s interest.
Decker first explained why these budget cuts have become a necessary point of action. The incident that has affected the cuts the most is decrease in enrollment in schools throughout the state. Reduced numbers have resulted in the decline of state-allocated funds (based on student numbers) being provided to the district.
Another reason Decker mentioned these cuts were taking place was that “…[certain]
legislative decisions in 2023, and even 2021, are not keeping pace with inflation, and are reducing the funds we have to operate”. However, the most recent development in MCPS’s funding challenges is the issue of COVID relief money running out.
Decker explains that much of these funds were used to solve momentary budget issues and even create new teaching positions. David Rott, a former HR representative, also notes this as a prominent point of the funding struggles all over the country. As the federally-granted Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) runs out, many schools are currently struggling to retain staff numbers.
As Decker describes, MCPS administration had “proposed a set of strategies to address budget shortfalls”, and as a large portion of each district’s budgets go towards paying staff members of all types, “most of what is proposed means changes and reductions to staffing”. During a public board meeting on February 13, these cuts were given approval to move ahead.
As for other impacts MCPS’s budget cuts may have, there are numerous ways in which they might be handled. Decker states that the district is looking to find more means of funds. One option MCPS is currently examining is the idea of “raising rent fees and increasing activity fees”. The reallocation of expenses to different sectors of funding is also being explored. Other solutions involve the reduction of specific positions like administrators, coordinators, and reorganizing the duties of these positions to make this possible.
The final proposed solution is keeping the 2024 staffing as tight as possible and ensuring classes are enrolled “at a level close to the max allowed by accreditation”. This would also involve trying to “retain as many employees as possible by moving people around, including moving people into newly created positions at the new charter schools”.
A charter school, as the National Charter School Resource Center states, is essentially a public school that operates within a more flexible format than traditional public schools. Students do not pay tuition for public charters, but must be signed up to enroll.
On February 27, a blackboard email was sent from MCPS administration to parents and families clarifying charter schools in Montana. According to this message “The discussion surrounding charter schools in Montana developed fairly quickly as a result of legislation (HB 549) that took effect in July and the associated timeline”.
MCPS officials state that any charter school funding is provided federally and “savings from reductions in staffing and other budget areas are not being used to fund charter schools”. For more information on the introduction of charter schools according to legislation MCPS offered a link to the Montana Legislative Branch.
Decker clarified that these relocation decisions have been made by a committee involving board members (herself excluded), staff, administrators, and union representatives. This committee decided it would be best to attempt to spread the cuts more evenly across schools (as opposed to fixing their focus on one school, program, or grade level).
Decker predicts that those facing these changes will certainly need time to adjust, as they will have to “…figure out how things work with fewer people sharing responsibilities, and that is never an easy thing to do”. While she explains shifting around teams will certainly be a disruption, she also notes there is no way around it.
She also adds that “we didn’t eliminate any programs, opportunities, or classes. We didn’t consider closing any schools. We still have more art (even at K8, believe it or not) and, especially, more music, in our schools than most districts our size”.
IN CONVERSATION WITH MCPS OFFICIALS
MCPS Superintendent Micah Hill put into perspective how decisions are being made and the process behind them – there are quite a few factors that affect the budget cuts. This year there has been a $3.6 million drop in the general fund for MCPS; the state of Montana decides exact funding each district gets by the number of students enrolled. Hill explained that the general fund is the budget that pays for 90% of the staff’s salary and benefits. The other 10% goes toward items like inflationary costs. 80% will be provided by the state, with the remaining 20% essentially up to voter approval.
The general budget decrease is mainly due to enrollment significantly going down, specifically in elementary schools. There has been an inflationary cost increase of 8-9% from 2023-2024 school year. Hill said that MCPS has had certain inflation-related costs that have exceeded the increase that the Montana State Legislature delegates every two years. Some included in those cost increases include property and liability insurances, and domestic utilities. When more money is needed for those costs, the district has to cut into the 90% of the general fund that is typically allocated for the teacher salaries.
MCPS has spent about $500 million from ESSER funds towards staff, nurses, behavioral interventions, social workers, and more. This funding is ending this September and MCPS will not again receive more money from ESSER.
When it comes to deciding where cuts should be made to properly fund everything, Hill explains that the board had to look at the proportion of budget vs expenditures (expenditures are the act of spending funds). He described it as the school board seeing what things could be “put on the table” to help reduce the budget deficit.
The MCPS school board will ultimately make final budget decisions, but there are many people that factor into these decisions. The board put together a budget levy committee that analyzed the information as a whole in order to determine where cuts could be made. The board and levy committee then used a consensus process that helped determine the best course of action.
The MCPS school board witnessed the public reaction to the initial spread of information and ultimate confusion of community members. Hill said that he appreciated how passionate the community was about the first rumors of the staff cuts during the second week of February. He then went on to explain that this would likely happen in any department that might be affected by cuts. Hill states that he and the other staff included in these decisions feel that there is not an easy way to choose where these cuts should be made. According to Hill, the district keeps in mind what would have the least impact on the student population.
The plan that MCPS has put together includes identifying a dollar amount and then comparing salaries of teachers. Hill has said that they have framed the total cuts as:
- 20 elementary teachers
- 13 high school teachers
- 14 administrative positions
When it comes to the long term effects, Hill describes it as a recalibration.
“We just have to acknowledge the fact that we can’t operate this way without some really hard decisions”. He explained it’s also important to keep in mind that this will probably not be the last time something like this happens. If MCPS enrollment continues to decline, funding will follow suit.
WHAT OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE EXPERIENCING
The issue of cuts combined with underfunding has not just been seen in MCPS, but also throughout Montana and the United States. Lewistown, MT, is currently facing “budget deficits”, which largely relate to diminishing enrollment. Several aforementioned MCPS officials have explained that enrollment is down, especially in elementary schools. Lewistown is seeing a slew of similar issues. A decrease in enrollment means that the district will no longer qualify for certain monetary provisions and state teaching incentives.
As of writing this article, Lewistown’s Board of Trustees is working on determining the best way to handle budgetary concerns. LPS Business manager Rebeka Rhodes explains, “The administration is working really hard on getting these costs down, but right now, the way it looks, we’ll need the support of the community”.
Helena, Montana is also facing budget constraints that may result in the closure of schools and eliminating certain programs or positions.
“According to the budget consensus committee report, the school [Hawthorne Elementary] is looking at $2.68 million shortfalls between the high school and elementary districts, not including teacher salary and insurance increases…” says Montana Free Press reporter JoVonne Wagner.
However, despite these challenges the Helena Trustee board (as well as community members) have worked towards varying solutions. A proposed tax was voted on Tuesday February 13th by the Helena community to mitigate the fallout caused by cuts, -the biggest aspiration being to avoid closing schools.
Additionally, Helena trustees have formulated a plan for finalized budget measures; Helena Superintendent Rex Weltz notes, “I don’t think this is the end of the game for us…this really is now an opportunity for us to really roll up our sleeves and [decide] where we’re going to go with our district”.
FUTURE PROJECTIONS
MCPS (like much of Montana) is actively working on handling all budget concerns. Many proposed solutions are in the works and as former MCPS Human Resources manager David Rott notes “Currently, [MCPS is] evaluating proposed budgets” and not necessarily making final decisions. As previously confirmed by Micah Hill, the district will ultimately make difficult decisions in the near future.
In the meantime, The Spartan Scoop would like to thank the many people that assisted with the writing of this article – their patience and cooperation are greatly appreciated.
