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Legislative staff brief lawmakers on Montana school funding formula, GTB and gaps
Summary
Legislative Fiscal Division and Research Office staff gave the House Education Committee an abbreviated training on Montana’s school funding formula, the constitutional bases for equality and equity, and the guaranteed tax base (GTB) equalization mechanism, noting a roughly $1.1 billion general fund and a significant state–local funding gap.
Julia Patton of the Legislative Fiscal Division and Pat McCracken, deputy research director, told the House Education Committee that Montana’s school funding rests on constitutional language in Article X guaranteeing equality of educational opportunity and on a statutory funding formula (20-9-309, MCA) that the legislature alone can change.
The presenters framed the formula as two halves: the lines that define district budget limits (a base and a maximum) and the mechanisms that fill the bucket. Pat McCracken described five fully state‑funded components—quality educator…
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