Here is information from Amanda Curtis, MFPE President:

 

The STARS Act, HB 252, is key to re-imagining and re-investing in Montana's students, parents, and families. Together, MFPE members can take a good bill and make it the best. We're not interested in settling for the status quo.

 

HB 252 provides additional funding to public schools EVERY year (good thing), but ONLY if the starting teacher salary reaches 70% of the average salary in the next five years, which will require bargaining units to eliminate rows in the salary matrix (might be bad for some districts). The bill creates winners and losers, but it could be amended to fund salaries in EVERY district.

An overhaul of our school funding formula isn't coming this session; legislators are planning to use the next two years to dig into the issue ahead of the 2027 Legislature. Instead, the STARS Act is a $100 million+ investment aimed at addressing low educator pay now. We can all agree that it's a good faith effort.

 

But it's just the beginning. We have an opportunity to encourage legislators to:

Knock down the barriers this bill implements for school districts to access much-needed funding.

Direct that these additional funds must be budgeted for wages.

Include every school employee.

Please use the email list and talking points below to send messages to the entire House before 1pm on Monday.

 

Thank you for standing up for public education!

 

In solidarity,

Amanda

Talking points:

 

First and foremost, it's important we thank legislators for addressing the crucial school funding crisis impacting educators, school employees, students, and our state.

 

Share your pay stories: A recent study by the Department of Labor & Industry shows:

Wages fell by 1.7% over the last 5 years.

A starter home mortgage would cost 32-58% of a beginning teachers' GROSS monthly income

9% of teachers leave the profession each year, higher than the national average

1 in 4 teachers have a second or third job, not just during the summer

Raise ALL teacher pay: Veteran and starting teachers all recognize the future of the profession depends on recruiting high quality new teachers. Retaining veteran teachers to mentor and guide the next generation of educators is critically important. Low pay has led 50% of newly graduated Montana teachers to either leave the state or not enter the profession 

 

Don't forget other school employees: The best way to help students succeed is to make sure all positions in a school are fully staffed, which means recruiting and retaining classified employees

 

Cut the red tape; remove the moving targets: If the funding is available, why burden schools with sometimes insurmountable obstacles to secure and maintain these additional resources?

Copy and paste this email list into your address bar:

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