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House panel hears bill to fund sixth graders at middle‑school rates and expand CTE
Summary
A House Education Committee hearing on HB 339 focused on aligning funding for sixth graders enrolled in accredited middle schools with their seventh‑ and eighth‑grade peers and adding requirements to expand career and technical education for middle grades; the Office of Public Instruction outlined fiscal assumptions and the bill drew broad support from teachers and education groups.
Representative Melissa Romano, sponsor of House Bill 339, told the House Education Committee that the bill would end what she called an “arbitrary funding gap” by funding sixth graders in accredited middle or junior high programs at the same A and B rates as seventh and eighth graders and requiring expanded age‑appropriate career and technical education (CTE) offerings.
The bill’s sponsor, Representative Melissa Romano, said the change reflects current practice: “In fact 98% of our sixth graders are now being served in a middle school setting,” and the bill would allow schools to “expand career and technical education or CTE opportunities” for younger students.
Why it matters: Proponents told the committee that funding parity would let districts offer richer programming and better meet accreditation standards. Katie Burke, a sixth‑grade science teacher at Helena Middle School, described near‑identical schedules for sixth through eighth graders and said her department budget has fallen sharply, limiting lab work and electives. Rob Watson of the Coalition of Advocates for Montana’s Public Schools and representatives of teacher groups said the change would help stabilize school budgets and support early exposure to career pathways.
Fiscal details: Paul Taylor of the Office of Public Instruction advised members to consult the fiscal note for the bill’s cost assumptions. He said the fiscal note assumes roughly 11,500 sixth graders statewide and listed line items that include an estimated direct state aid figure (about $7.4 million in 2026) and a quality educator component figure (about $1.3 million). During testimony Taylor also summarized an overall estimate discussed in the hearing as “about $3,500,000 beginning in 2026” for the program; the fiscal note contains the detailed breakout and the committee deferred to it for precise budgeting.
Questions and caveats: Committee members pressed the sponsor on whether some portion of added funding should be earmarked for CTE classroom use; Representative Romano said she had not added a percentage requirement and was “certainly willing to work with you and anyone else on the committee” if members wanted that included. Members also asked about whether the omission of sixth grade from the higher A and B rates dated back decades; Taylor said the current formula dates to the late 1980s and that he did not have a definitive explanation for the original design.
What happens next: Romano closed the hearing urging a do‑pass recommendation. The committee hearing on HB 339 concluded without a committee vote recorded in the transcript; the fiscal note will be the primary document for cost details if the bill advances.
