School Funding Litigation Statement

6/23/2004

Governor Martz Announces Appeal of School Funding Decision

HELENA - Governor Judy Martz today announced the appeal of the First District Court decision in the school funding litigation to the Montana Supreme Court. Attached is the entire statement Governor Martz provided at a press briefing this afternoon.

Every citizen in Montana wants strong schools and well-prepared students.

We all want to see our children and our state succeed. That is why the people of Montana have consistently been willing to provide an excellent school system. That is also why we have been engaged in the continuing discussion about how to best serve our students.

First District Court Judge Jeffrey Sherlock's ruling in the school funding litigation is another important part of that very serious and necessary discussion about the future of our public schools.

My office has been an active participant of that conversation since I was sworn into office because I have often said that it is better to strengthen our schools than rebuild them from scratch.

That is why we have taken great strides toward making sure our children have the resources they need. We made great progress when I authorized the first-ever automatic inflationary increase for schools last session.

We also worked to ensure needed resources are getting to our special needs and American Indian students. I took these positive steps because we must always work to improve education.

It was for that same reason that I joined the Board of Public Education and the legislature in establishing the Public School Renewal Commission.

This group is doing a fine job of identifying critical issues and offering solutions to make our schools stronger. The Commission has been another very active and positive part of this ongoing discussion about empowering our students and I know their recommendations will be a part of the final legislative solution.

My staff and I had a similar attitude as we collected information regarding the possible appeal of Judge Sherlock's decision. We listened to education leaders, legislators of both parties, and business groups to gain every possible perspective. I thank each Montanan that stepped forward with an opinion.

Because this was a decision I felt had to be made in consultation with the Attorney General, whose office has represented the state in this matter, I also met with the lead attorney on the case from his office to discuss all of the details and come to the best possible decision for all of Montana.

This is a decision for the entire state because in order for Montana to move forward, our students must have the tools to embrace the new economy, our educators must have the resources to shape young minds, and the taxpayers deserve a clear vision from a responsible government. I have made a decision based on each of these factors.

And after a thorough examination of each of these critical issues, I have decided to appeal the district court decision to the Montana Supreme Court.

As I said at my May 26th press conference, I have made this decision with the best interests of Montana's schoolchildren and taxpayers in my mind and in my heart.

Our schools, students, taxpayers, parents, and educators deserve answers based in fact and reason. I believe that a Supreme Court decision will provide the guidance to the legislature for solutions that will not only strengthen schools but also take into account pressure on the entire state budget and impacts to taxpayers.

We have been engaged in that very conversation for some time and my decision today lets Montana finish this long discussion and begin to implement real solutions for public education in Montana.

Thank you for being here.