Gianforte signs $52M public school funding inflationary increase at East Helena school

“Mr. G” and Montana’s superintendent of public instruction were grilled by second graders in East Helena on Tuesday on matters including whether they could solve every single math problem and how difficult their jobs are as they signed an education funding bill. Mr.

G, better known as Gov. Greg Gianforte, signed Republican Hamilton Rep. David Bedey's , which allocates $52 million to the state’s base budget for K-12 public schools to account for inflation over the past two years.



He was joined by first-term Superintendent Susie Hedalen at Prickly Pear Elementary School. The inflationary adjustment is signed into law in most sessions, but Gianforte touted the 3% increase — the maximum allowed under current law — as “historic funding” for public schools. “With students, teachers, and parents in mind, we’ll prioritize investments in education to secure a brighter future for all young Montanans,” Gianforte said.

However, some lawmakers have said they would like to fund public education above the 3% inflationary cap, and legislation is moving that would allow that to happen. from Helena Democratic Sen. Laura Smith is awaiting its first House committee hearing after passing the Senate in February.

And on Tuesday, the Senate gave a preliminary nod to Rep. Luke Muszkiewicz’s having to do more with additional reporting requirements from the state education agency about the base funding and inflation. But Tuesday’s event was a stark departure from the budgetary battles happening at the Montana Legislature.

Gianforte and Hedalen let Mrs. Chrissy Power’s students ask them a few questions before the governor read Dolly Parton’s book “Billy the Kid Makes It Big” to them. Both told the second graders their jobs are not hard but require a lot of work to bring people together and agree to things.

When asked how much the state needs to spend to "provide the resources everyone needs" and how much it costs to fund the state's 400 public school districts, "a lot" was the common retort. And the class got a lesson in government of its own when Gianforte asked one student if he’d want to change the school’s mascot from a tiger to a cheetah. The boy favored the world’s fastest land animal, but the majority of his class disagreed.

“That’s how democracy works!” Gianforte said to a room of laughter..