Quick turnaround public comment opportunity!
The Montana State School Funding Interim Commission (SFIC) is meeting on Tuesday, April 7 and Wednesday, April 8, 2026. The commission is focusing on potential legislative changes to the funding formula (specifically the formula and services listed in 20-9-309 Montana Code Annotated (MCA)). This is an opportunity to provide public comment on the necessity of adequately funding our public schools, including all services and resources that are expected from public schools. Several services that schools already provide are noticeably missing from the definition, and these expectations place significant burdens on the vast majority of Montana’s public school systems. Examples include:
Extracurricular activities/athletics
Nursing and health services required to meet requirements in some IEP/504 plans
6th grade comprehensive middle school programming
Extra graduation requirements beyond what is required by accreditation standards, but are allowed under 20-9-309(2)(h), MCA.
Excess costs associated with providing school lunch and breakfast services
Support services--school secretaries, custodians, paraprofessionals, business office, tech department staff, etc.
All cost increases in excess of the approved inflationary factors
A full agenda for the SFIC meeting can be found here. To sign up to give public comment via Zoom or in writing, register here. Approximate times for Public Comment are listed below, but note that the commission sometimes moves faster or slower than scheduled:
Tuesday, April 7, 2026: 11:45 am and 4:45 pm
Wednesday, April 8, 2026: 11:45 am, 1:00 pm, and 3:30 pm