Bill would let Community Choice Charter Commission seek public and federal funds; opponents warn of fiscal and equity risks

Senator Vinton opened a hearing on Senate Bill 177, which would allow the Community Choice Charter School Commission to seek and receive public funds, including federal charter-startup grants, to support the formation and early operations of community choice charter schools.

"The authorization of the commission to seek and receive public funds will open our state to accessing federal grant money that is specifically allocated for new community choice charter schools," Senator Vinton said, describing the bill’s limited changes to the law as focused on fundraising authority.

Trish Scheiber, chair of the Community Choice Schools Commission, told the committee the commission currently has no state appropriation and funds operations through authorizing fees and private fundraising; she said allowing the commission to accept public funds would make Montana eligible to apply for the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) so the commission could subgrant planning and startup funds to schools. "Passing of this bill will allow the commission to apply for the funds, which in turn the commission can award as subgrants to the community choice schools for their planning year and initial operations," Scheiber said.

Supporters cited out‑of‑state CSP awards as examples of available federal funding and said Montana’s commission needs the ability to apply in order to bring federal dollars to the state. Panel testimony listed recent national CSP awards and examples: West Virginia received $12 million in February 2023 and Idaho received $25 million (second award), and proponents noted the CSP national appropriation was large enough to matter to states with strong charter laws.

Trish Scheiber said the commission raised approximately $325,000 in private funds, including an unexpected private grant of about $300,000, and projected that administrative costs to run the commission could be roughly $150,000–$200,000 annually once a full‑time staffer and operations are in place. Committee members asked whether the grant programs would require the commission to retain a portion for administration; Scheiber said federal rules often permit the grantee to retain a small percentage for administration.

Opponents raised constitutional and fiscal concerns. Joy Koehl, representing the League of Women Voters of Montana, urged the committee to reject SB 177. "SB 177 allows for the Community Choice School Commission to seek and receive public funding, whether federal or state. It can provide for the diversion of income from the general fund where it can more equitably be available to fund Montana public schools," Koehl said. The League also noted no fiscal note was attached to the bill and warned of statewide equity and accountability issues for nonpublic schools.

Committee members questioned the scale of potential CSP funding and the commission’s budget. Kathy Kincheloe and OPI staff provided federal CSP totals and discussed administrative requirements for receiving and administering federal grants. Paul Taylor of OPI answered procedural questions about whether districts and OPI could accept contributions and how federal grants are administered.

Senator Vinton closed by saying the bill does not divert existing public school funding and asked for a do-concur recommendation. No committee vote was recorded at the hearing.