Back to school - supporting public education

It’s that time of year again when the morning air is a little crisper, football season is upon us and our kids are back at school. Fall is my favorite season and I always look forward to turning the calendar from August to September, which is also my favorite month.

Along with enjoying the changing seasons, it’s also a great time to celebrate our public schools. As our community’s kids from kindergarten to high school get back in the swing of a schooltime schedule, it’s important to remember exactly how important a well-functioning public school system is to American democracy. Public schools in the United States predate the establishment of the republic itself, dating to 1635. Since that time, over 380 years ago, we have come to rely on our public schools to educate our youngest citizens, prepare tomorrow’s workforce and assure that all children — regardless of the neighborhood in which they live, family income or ethnicity — have the same shot at a brighter future.

As a member of the Montana Legislature, it has been an honor to support our state’s public schools and to help direct critically important state funding to school districts large and small across Montana, including here in Havre. Given tight local school budgets, every dollar from the State is important and is a dollar that will not have to come directly from local taxpayers in the form of levies.

It is critical to note, however, that even with the tight budgets local school districts work under, there are serious and well-funded efforts from both inside and outside Montana that continually try to siphon public funds from our state’s public schools into risky and unproven private charter or voucher systems. These schools would be able to pick and choose who to educate, are unaccountable to local residents and would divert precious and needed funding from our public schools that have been educating Montana’s sons and daughters since before statehood.

While my record stands firmly in support of public schools and proper funding for Montana’s K-12 education system, my opponent was the chief sponsor of charter school legislation during the 2021 session, even though it was opposed by teachers, administrators and parents from across our state, including in rural Montana.

I am proud to be a product of Montana’s public schools and will continue to advocate for a robust, properly funded education system for our state. Our kids deserve nothing less.

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Representative Paul Tuss represents the city of Havre and parts of Hill County in the Montana House of Representatives and serves on the House Appropriations Committee and Long Range Planning Subcommittee.