School funding

It was something like this:

This past summer, a legislative interim committee projected the impact of 10 percent cuts from various components of the state budget. The cuts were worked out to deal with the possibility of a $400 million projected budget deficit.

The impact on K-12 schools were profound. Most prominent in the cuts was the dismantling of full-day kindergarten and an approximate 10 percent reduction in state spending toward an individual school district’s budget. Without associated changes in accreditation standards, which detail class size and staffing, which is determined by the independent Board of Public Education, the reduction in state spending would be shifted to local taxpayers.

With this as a background, I am very concerned over the proposal by House District 4 candidate Derek Skees in respect to a 40 percent reduction in state appropriations for government. Such action, minus radical changes by the Board of Public Education, would either eviscerate the Whitefish School District or simply cost-shift expenses from the state to local districts.

Such action would also tamper with the state constitution and its language regarding the relationship between the state and local school districts in respect to funding that is both equitable and adequate.

As a long standing school board trustee, I have always been interested in constructive change or “restructuring” of components within K-12 education. Change is necessary but should be investigated carefully in order to understand the impacts of such changes.

Here’s the reality of the School District 44 budget: 85 percent of the general budget is associated with the support of district personnel, inclusive of teachers. An arbitrary reduction of government for political expediency will have negative impact on Whitefish children and will result in lost jobs and a decrease in our high-quality schools.

Consider your vote very carefully.

David Fern

Whitefish