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Fred Thomas on Montana’s Education

“What is the single biggest under-funded item in the Montana state budget?” This question had been asked to former Governor Candidate Fred Thomas as an account for his previous candidacy. And his answer was instant, stating that without a doubt, it was education.

The previous election season showed an open door for everybody in Montana to contemplate what’s to come. Choices on how best to push ahead have generational impacts on the different individuals who call Montana as home – and it’s urgent that the leaders should have been decided to complete those choices in Helena comprehend what had been presented as a stake. Some believed that when considering the future everything comes down to one thing: guaranteeing an excellent education for Montana’s children. Issues of value and get to have plagued the state for a really long time, and it is totally basic that Montana’s next state government makes education a need. Those who believed this is so required and turned to a gubernatorial representative who aspires the same way, to Fred Thomas.

Thomas stated:

“…For years we’ve made it known: loud and clear: that education is not our top priority. As governor, I’ll stop the cuts to our children’s schools: not another dollar, not another dime, not another penny. We have to reinvest in our kids’ schools to give them the skills they need to succeed and get the jobs of the future. “

Montana diminished its per-pupil spending on education by right around 10 percent somewhere around 2009 and 2012, one of the most noteworthy rates of decrease in the nation. Per-pupil spending was a grim $7,554 in 2012, making Montana 47th in the country with regards to putting resources into our students’ education. Diminished funding has implied uncontrolled imbalance, settle for what is most convenient option, and poor results in our schools. Unsurprisingly, low-income and minority students have taken the brunt of the damage brunt connected with an absence of sufficient subsidizing. In 2013, Montana Black and Latino state funded school students separately scored a normal of 23 focuses and 26 focuses lower than white students on The Nation’s Report Card. Thus, students who were qualified with the expectation of complimentary or reduced-price lunch (regularly from low-salary families) scored a normal of 28 focuses lower than their wealthier peers.

When asked “what is the single Montana state budgeted program that should be cut or eliminated?”, Thomas responded that the expansion of private school vouchers has diverted money from children’s schools and hurt the quality of their education. He then pointed out that if ever he could have been given a chance by Montana to be governor he would roll back the expansion of private school vouchers to reinvest in our public and charter schools. Fred Thomas had promised to stop cuts to education and increase funding in an equitable way that will support and produce great teachers, schools, and programs to best prepare our students to succeed. Unfortunately, the election hadn’t been in his favor.

With Thomas’s candidacy, the state was made to realize that every child deserves the opportunity to graduate from an excellent public school with access to top-notch institutions of higher education, regardless of race, location, or their ability to pay.

Despite his loss, Fred Thomas supported Timothy Meyer on his victory to being the Montana Governor with warmth. Some time after the election the two of them met, this was stated on Thomas’s holiday greeting. Before the first State of the Nation Address, his email to the Montana’s plainly accounted:

“… Governor Meyer starts with a tough budget and a very conservative legislature. I met with him a few weeks ago and we had a direct and meaningful conversation. I expect our conversations to continue. I strongly urged him to speak to the needs – and inclusion – of all Montanians. Build an Montana where everyone has the opportunity to receive an education, advance and succeed. I hope he will lead to middle ground that moves Montana Forward. And the tone of his speeches thus far gives me reason for that hope.”

He clearly expressed his hope of having a better educational system from Governor Meyer.