The Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees voted unanimously to be the first school district in Montana to join a forthcoming lawsuit against the state arguing the current contributions to school funding don’t meet the state’s constitutional obligation to a free, quality public education.
During the board’s meeting Tuesday night, attorney from Helena-based law firm Upper Seven Law Andres Haladay introduced eight categories of funding for which he said the state was not providing the appropriate money, including special education, curriculum, infrastructure and technology.
“It does not appear that the state of Montana is complying with its constitutional obligation to adequately fund public schools,” Haladay said.
Haladay said the timing of the lawsuit, which has yet to be filed, coincides with the decennial study commission’s work to draft recommendations for school funding formula changes ahead of the 2027 legislative session.
Haladay told the board the firm has reached out to between 20 and 25 school districts around the state to join the lawsuit and had formal discussions in Alberton, Bozeman, Billings and Helena.
Trustee Jenny Walsh asked Haladay if other districts were waiting for Missoula to be the first to join the lawsuit. Haladay said it would definitely help.
“I’ve used a bad analogy of a middle school dance, sort of waiting for somebody to hit the dance floor and get everybody else out there,” Haladay said. “I think it would be a great assistance for someone like Missoula to step in and say, ‘We can take the lead on this.’”
Trustee Lisa Davey asked if Missoula were to commit to “be those first middle schoolers on the dance floor,” would the district be confidently walking out there with a solid communications plan, “or are we going to slink our way onto the floor?”
“I can do the Roger Rabbit,” said Superintendent Micah Hill, to laughter in the room.
Chairwoman Wilena Old Person said this would be an opportunity to show the district is trying to advocate for funding to not have to cut programming.
“I can’t do the Roger Rabbit, but I can do the Running Man,” Old Person said.
MCPS would not have to pay to join the lawsuit, but board Vice Chairman Jeffrey Avgeris expressed trepidation over not knowing Upper Seven Law’s donors ahead of taking the vote.
“If there’s a donor that could be exploited, that’s something that we’re going to have to live with as soon as we vote yes for this,” Avgeris said.
Upper Seven Law brought in more than $820,000 in 2023, according to tax filings, with the “lion’s share” of their cases against the state of Montana, Haladay said.
Trustee Arlene Walker-Andrews asked if the board should be concerned about retribution given the current political climate. Haladay said he’s never seen that against previous plaintiffs in cases against the state.
“The rules of what we all understood 10 months ago don’t feel exactly the same anymore, or those rules don’t seem to apply in the same ways,” Haladay said. “If the question is, ‘Is the response going to be, ‘we’re not going to fund anybody’s education,’’ — that would walk directly into a judicial determination of an unconstitutional act by the Legislature.”
Trustee Koan Mercer abstained from voting due to conflicts, as he is a public defender employed by the state.
Decennial study timing
Every 10 years, the state Legislature takes a deep dive into the current school funding formula to see if it is holding up to the constitutional requirement of offering equitable access to a quality and free education in Montana.
That work is underway, with an interim commission of legislators and education stakeholders studying how the funding formula currently works, comparing it to other education systems in the country and the world and listening to feedback from Montanans.
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The commission will create a report which will be submitted to the 2027 Legislature to consider implementing.
Haladay said the lawsuit is timed to purposefully align with the work of the commission.
“We think a lawsuit at this juncture helps a narrative shaping the discussion going into the continued work on the interim study,” he said.
Lawsuits also take time, Haladay said, and if the firm waited until the commission finished its work or until the end of the next legislative session, you “restart that clock.”
Decennial study commission chairman Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, said in an interview with the Missoulian a lawsuit at this time would hinder the work of the commission and would be unhelpful during the 2027 legislative session.
He said he’s surprised a potential lawsuit is in play given a $100 million investment in school funding the previous Legislature made through the STARS Act, which primarily helps starting teacher pay and helps with inflationary increases districts face.
A lawsuit would likely divert the attention of at least some of the commissioners toward defending the current funding formula, Bedey said, and has the potential to change the current bipartisan analysis and “create partisan fissures within the commission.”
“A lawsuit will actually hinder the effort, not only of this commission, but of the Legislature going forward,” Bedey told the Missoulian. “This lawsuit is ill-timed and and I’m disappointed that this impetuous action has been taken.”
However, decennial study commission member Sen. Jacinda Morigeau, D-Arlee, said she supported the effort. Her district overlaps with several Missoula area school districts, including MCPS.
“I applaud MCPS in this move, and I hope more districts consider joining,” Morigeau said in a statement to the Missoulian.
Morigeau said Montana’s Constitution outlines the state’s educational obligations and while the legislature and the state have tried to meet them, there are still gaps in funding which can’t be ignored.
“We owe it to ourselves to find solutions to these problems; we owe our students, our public schools, and our communities,” Morigeau said. “We can not continue with piecemeal fixes, and hopefully this suit can work in tandem with the work of the decennial study to meet our responsibilities to provide a quality education for Montanans.”
Haladay told the board Tuesday evening the lawsuit would likely be filed by the end of the year.
The current funding formula is influenced by past lawsuits, including Helena Elementary v. State filed in the 1980s, which led to the requirement of “equitable” access to a quality education in Montana.
Scott Chook, the president of the Missoula Education Association, the MCPS teachers union, said during public comment that MEA was in favor of joining the lawsuit, saying his members have “little faith” the decennial study will actually get results.
“We support you getting behind this, and we support you being first, first in line, because I think others will follow,” Chook said.
“Ten years ago, the decennial study made some great recommendations that the Legislature ignored, and it needed a lawsuit to fix things,” Chook said. “We’re going to need a lawsuit again to fix things, if history shows us anything.”
Trustee Jenny Walsh asked Hill what his thoughts were, given joining the lawsuit would mean adding to his workload.
“It would be hard for me to sit here, having served as a superintendent for six years, and say that we should just sit back and let the usual happen,” Hill said. “I think there’s an opportunity to stand up on behalf of public education in Montana.”
“It’s hard for me to see a downside,” Hill said. “I don’t know that you can go anywhere but up.”
The decennial commission is hosting a virtual “road show” on Zoom Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. to hear feedback from the public, and previously held stops in Kalispell, Havre and Billings.
Nicole Girten is the education reporter for the Ravalli Republic and the Missoulian.
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Nicole Girten
Education reporter for the Ravalli Republic & Missoulian
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