Subcommittee reviews OPI 'Program 9' budget; Indian-language immersion, K‑12 base aid and tax-account shifts draw attention

The Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education spent the bulk of its hearing reviewing the Office of Public Instruction’s local education activities budget (Program 9), including present-law adjustments and new proposals that would affect K‑12 base aid, retirement equalization payments, and Indian-language programs.

OPI Chief Financial Officer April Grady outlined the agency’s present-law adjustment requests and new proposals, saying she would “run through these pretty quickly” because much had been covered the prior day. Grady identified a set of decision packages (DPs) that include inflationary increases for K‑12 base aid (DP 904), new federal grant authority (DP 911), a request to expand the Indian-language immersion program (DP 923), and other adjustments such as matching funds for the summer EBT program and PowerSchool subscription costs. The governor’s budget packages generally track OPI’s requests, Grady said.

Why it matters: The program distributes the bulk of Montana’s K‑12 funding and contains multiple line items (base aid, special payments, major maintenance, school nutrition and others). Changes to the base aid calculation, statutory appropriations (the guarantee account), or the distribution of non‑levy revenue tied to the 95 school mills could shift tens of millions of dollars between general fund and state special revenue and alter local property-tax outcomes.

Key figures and proposals described during the hearing include:

- K‑12 base aid: OPI staff and legislative analysts showed the base aid budget at roughly $973 million…