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Montana DOC presents per‑student cost estimates for HiSET and Last Mile programs
Summary
Department of Corrections staff told a legislative budget subcommittee the HiSET adult-education program costs about $8,422.76 per student per year and the Last Mile coding program about $11,097.45 per student; the committee asked the department to cost the remaining education and vocational programs and to provide materials within about a week.
The Montana Department of Corrections told the Section D interim budget subcommittee on Feb. 24 that the cost per student for its HiSET adult education program is $8,422.76 per year and that the Last Mile coding program costs $11,097.45 per student per year.
Natalie Smithham, chief financial officer for the Department of Corrections, walked the committee through a written cost analysis and assumptions, saying the analysis assumes an average HiSET class size of nine and a teacher salary and benefits average of $89,696. "For purposes of this analysis we assume a class size of 9," Smithham said, and later summarized, “That brings us to a total cost per student for the HiSET program of $8,422.76 per year.”
Why it matters: the committee is rolling program-level costings into the education portion of the corrections budget so lawmakers can compare program costs against outcomes when they finalize the biennial budget.
Details from the department's analysis: the HiSET per-student breakdown includes $4,983.11 in teacher salary and benefits, about $50 for educational…
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