Appropriations subcommittee reviews Montana School for the Deaf and Blind budget, hears requests for staff, vehicles and interpreter training

The Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education held a budget hearing on the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind (MSDB), reviewing a request that relies mainly on the general fund and includes proposals for a new administrative assistant, longevity pay, additional motor-pool vehicles for outreach staff and funding for interpreter training.

The budget analyst told the committee the school currently has 88.28 budgeted positions and is requesting one additional full-time equivalent. The executive request would increase general fund support about 3.7%, adding roughly $713,000 across the 2027 biennium; the general fund is the primary source of funding, accounting for about 97% of the request in each fiscal year. Federal special revenues (including Medicaid reimbursements and National School Lunch Program subsidies) and state special revenues (school trust income) make up only small shares of the budget.

Why it matters: MSDB provides specialized instruction on its Great Falls campus and statewide outreach services for students who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired. The committee's decisions affect staffing, outreach travel capacity and pay practices that committee members and MSDB officials said influence recruitment and retention.

Budget highlights and new proposals - Administration: The school seeks funding for a new administrative assistant to split time between the business office and outreach recordkeeping (DP 9), budgeted at about $54,000 in fiscal 2026 and $52,000 in fiscal 2027. The administration program also includes a proposed longevity pay package (DP 15) that the analyst said would total roughly $107,000 in fiscal 2026 and $132,000 in fiscal 2027.

- General services: The campus maintenance program shows a request with an approximately 9.5% increase over the biennium, driven in part by a large percentage increase in debt service. The analyst and MSDB staff flagged an energy-conservation debt-service item (DP 2) tied to the Department of Environmental Quality loan program and explained the legislature could either adopt the executive request (which raises debt service) or offset it by reducing operating expenses.

- Student services: The program provides residential care and shows modest changes tied to pay-plan adjustments; the student services budget is mainly general fund with a small federal share for meal subsidies.

- Education program: The education program's requested budget is roughly $6.5 million per year and reflects a net decrease from the 2025 base largely tied to program transfers and present-law adjustments. The analyst said the school remains exempt from vacancy savings under Montana law.

Operational needs and outreach Superintendent Paul Firthmyre summarized operations and historic context, noting enrollment and outreach trends. He said MSDB has expanded outreach staff since the 2023 session and described caseload changes: "In 2023, we had 6 consultants serving 601 students; in 2025 we now have 9 deaf and hard of hearing consultants, 607 students," reducing average caseloads by about 32 students per consultant. For the visually impaired program he said adding one consultant increased the caseload coverage for that program as well.

The school requested six leased motor-pool vehicles (DP 5) to serve newly added outreach consultants. Staff explained MSDB is already using motor-pool vehicles but has covered their costs by reallocating other program funds; the request would provide specific appropriations for ongoing leased vehicles rather than paying these costs from other operating lines.

Interpreter training and other staffing requests Superintendent Firthmyre and committee members discussed training for educational interpreters. The school described an offer from RIT to run a cohort-style program that the superintendent said had been priced at about $61,000 for a yearlong cohort serving roughly eight participants (about $6,600 per participant). Firthmyre said MSDB is still determining statewide counts of educational interpreters who would need training and suggested a future legislative proposal or decision package could follow once numbers are available.

Firthmyre also urged support for the longevity step proposal, describing it as a retention and recruitment tool agreed with staff and the union to provide multi-year longevity steps similar to state employee schedules. He said the longevity package would recognize long-tenured staff and help close market gaps.

Program transfers and budget clarifications Committee members questioned a set of program transfers shown in the materials that made comparisons between fiscal years harder to read. MSDB and fiscal staff explained that end-of-year administrative transfers and pay-plan adjustments produced apparent increases in some program lines even though money shifted between programs; staff agreed to prepare a technical change package to correct a miscategorized decision package that had been placed in administration rather than education.

Committee directions and next steps Chair Beatty directed staff to prepare a change package to correct the mischaracterized decision package. The subcommittee was told it will consider the MSDB decision packages during forthcoming executive action; no formal committee votes were taken on budget items during the hearing.

Quotes - Superintendent Paul Firthmyre: "We now have 9 deaf and hard of hearing consultants, 607 students," describing the effect of added outreach staff on caseloads. - Alexandra (budget analyst): "This concludes the budget analysis for the Montana School for Deaf and Blind. I'm available for any questions." - Donna Schmidt (MSDB business manager): "Last name is spelled S C H M I D T," (introduced herself for the record when asked to speak to program transfers).

Ending The committee did not take final action during the hearing; members were reminded to submit any technical or substantive decision-package requests quickly for inclusion in upcoming executive action. The subcommittee will move these items into executive action sessions later in the week and continue deliberations as part of the appropriations process.