Valley Views

valley views Education scholarships support more Montana students

The start of the 2022-23 school year marks the dawn of new educational opportunities for students across Montana. The Tax Credits for Qualified Education Contributions Program will send its largest ever number of scholarship recipients to high-quality K-12 nonpublic schools this fall. For these students, the start of this school year represents a new beginning—a new chance to succeed academically and pursue their dreams.

We are thrilled for these students, and we cannot wait to see what they accomplish. But as state legislators who believe strongly that every Montana student deserves an education that fits his or her unique needs, we also know there is still much work to do.

Like many other states, Montana’s scholarship program works entirely thanks to private contributions from businesses and individuals to state-approved, nonprofit student scholarship organizations (SSOs). Individual or corporate taxpayers who contribute to these organizations receive a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit for their gift, providing a strong incentive for them to support educational opportunities for disadvantaged students.

Those donations are then used to fund K-12 nonpublic school scholarships for students, usually prioritized on the basis of economic need. For instance, ACE Scholarships, the largest SSO in Montana, provides scholarships to students from families with income levels at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, or about $69,000 for a family of four.

Until recently, the program was hobbled by unnecessary restrictions. For instance, the law restricted donors from contributing more than $150 dollars per year. Considering that average tuition in a Montana nonpublic school is between $6,000 and $8,000 per year, it would take about 50 donors to fully fund one student’s tuition payments— although even doing that was impossible, as the program capped scholarship values far below the actual cost to educate a child.

This was not an efficient way to run the program, and the result was that only a handful of students received tiny scholarships in the years following the program’s launch.

HB 279, enacted in 2021, addressed many of these issues. It increased the annual contribution limit from $150 to $200,000 for businesses and individuals, enabling larger gifts from generous donors that will fund students in need and provide a stronger incentive for giving toward the program. It also removed limitations on scholarship sizes, allowing more meaningful scholarships to struggling families.

Further, since the cost of this program is significantly lower than the total cost for public education, these scholarships also lessen the tax burden on the education system and provide for a larger share of resources for students that choose to attend public schools.

The program is now capped at $1 million for 2021 and will grow to $2 million next year. Thereafter, it will grow by 20 percent in any year where SSOs manage to raise 80 percent of the cap.

These changes have proved pivotal for hundreds of Montana children. As we enter the 2022-2023 school year, approximately 250 new scholarship students will start their educational journeys in new schools

Legislative Notes

Rep. Seth Berglee Rep. Sue Vinton that would have been out of reach without the passage of HB 279. From there, it is up to them to write their own success stories.

As we watch those students thrive in their new environments, we hope to one day bring that same opportunity to the many other children still waiting for help. For now, we are excited to see what this school year brings the first round of Montana scholarship students under the newly expanded program—and we are grateful for the opportunity to have played a role in making their educational dreams a reality.

Rep. Seth Berglee (R-Joliet) represents HD 58 in the Montana House of Representatives and serves as Chairman of the House Education Committee.

Rep. Sue Vinton (R-Lockwood) serves as Majority Leader in the Montana House of Representatives, represents HD 56, and is a member of the

Four civic skills we need to keep our democracy

As primaries roll out around the country, we’re tracking voter turnout. Raised on Schoolhouse Rock’s cartoon civics lessons, I know that being a good American means voting.

Those 1970’s cartoons weren’t wrong. Voting is the most fundamental act of democratic citizenship. That’s why it has been fiercely contested throughout our history.

But now we’re in the 21st century, deluged by information, increasingly divided, with few models of bipartisanship.

Democracy now requires much more than voting. What should a 21st century Schoolhouse Rocks teach?

Finding information

Most fundamentally, we need to be skilled seekers of information. In this era of deepfakes, bots, and fragmenting media platforms, the ability to access and evaluate information is key. Algorithms push us ever more deeply into one point of view. To address multifaceted 21st century

Valley Views Melinda Burrell Peacevoice

see page 11 House Education Committee.

LETTER POLICY

Letters to the editor are welcome. The content is the opinion of the letter writer and not the newspaper. The decision to publish letters is made by the editor.

Letters regarding candidates in the Nov. 8 midterm election will not be printed after the Oct. 26 issue in order to allow candidates time for response.

Letters must be 350 words or less. A writer will only be published twice per month.

Letters may be edited for content or length, or may not be published if considered libelous, in poor taste, spiteful, self-promotional or of limited interest to the general readership. Space limitations also dictate when or if letters are published.

Letters must be signed by the author and name, address and phone number must be included – phone number is for verification purposes only. Letters from organizations must include the name of at least one author.

Please limit “thank you” letters to four people/organizations or less. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday to publish the following week.

Opinions expressed in this section are not necessarily those of the newspaper.

from page 10

issues, we need deliberately to seek a variety of information, including backstories about controversial events, from differing sources to construct the whole picture.

Understanding our own biases

We must process information skillfully, getting around our inherent neurobiological biases. For example, we naturally lap up information that confirms what we already think but ignore information that challenges our world view. We also are wired for double standards: we attribute another person’s bad behavior to their personality (“she’s late because she’s disrespectful”) while giving ourselves a pass for the same behavior (“I’m late because traffic was bad”). Understanding these natural biases lets us challenge ourselves to explore issues more fully.

Having conversations – not arguments – across divides

Understanding biases promotes a third democratic skill: truly talking with one another. Research, including my own, shows that liberals and conservatives alike often experience cross-divide conversations as an assault on their values. Yet most people also believe these conversations are important and would like to have them to feel connected and informed.

Constructive conversations require listening and asking good questions. Political scientist Andrew Dobson describes listening as our “democratic deficit.” We rarely listen closely to the other side. This undermines our ability to create policy which is seen as a legitimate outcome of democratic debate. Nor do we ask enough genuinely curious questions to learn why others think what they do to help find common ground. As Steve Benjamin, former head of the National Conference of Mayors, noted, “We all suffer from some degree of experiential blindness and need to become experts at learning about others’ perspectives.”

Having complicated relationships

Perhaps the most important – and most difficult -- 21st century citizenship skill is maintaining relationships with people who think differently. For a democracy to function, we need not only a robust marketplace of ideas, but also the ability to work together for policy that meets widespread needs. A conservative interviewee in my study remarked, “Everybody is so comfortable being polarized – they are not happy unless they’re mad.”

It’s challenging to hold conflicting feelings about people, appreciating their good qualities while disagreeing on politics. But perhaps we make it harder than it is.

Research shows we overestimate both how much the other party dislikes us as well as how much they disagree with us about policy. Asking genuinely curious questions and remembering what we appreciate just might help us find that we have more in common than we think. Our 21st century democracy needs us to develop these skills.

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Consider Monica Tranel

Editor,

If you’re not yet familiar with Montana Western District Congressional Candidate Monica Tranel, prepare to be impressed. I’ve seen her several times on the campaign trail and each time I’m struck by her integrity, grit, and tenacious work ethic. Raised on a ranch in eastern Montana with nine siblings, Monica learned the values of community, fairness, and hard work. She’s applied these values to her life as a world-class rower in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, and as an attorney fighting for Montana’s consumers, ranchers, and landowners.

Monica embodies Montana’s strong tradition of standing up to corporate power and greed and fighting to keep dark money out of state politics. She’s running a Montana-made grassroots campaign of small donors and doesn’t accept corporate PAC donations. In contrast, 95% of Republican opponent Ryan Zinke’s war chest is funded by outof-state billionaire executives, lobbyists, and corporate and special interest PACs. That’s a lot of outside influence looking to buy Montana’s new Congressional seat.

Monica’s thoughtful stances on issues are published on her website: www.monicatranel.com. She supports investing in clean renewable energy, protecting Social Security and healthcare, building economic fairness, providing quality services for Montana’s veterans, creating early childhood education programs, keeping our public lands public, and safe and legal abortion access for women. But what really seals the deal for me is Monica’s authenticity. We have a great opportunity to send a woman to Congress who embodies Montana values and will always put people – not party or corporations – first.

Beth Waterbury St. Ignatius

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Education Department announces college completion fund competition

News from the U.S. Department of Education

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced the availability of $5 million in funds to support a new College Completion Fund for Postsecondary Student Success. The funding will support grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) such as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) – many of which are community colleges – to invest in data-driven and evidence-based reforms that encourage postsecondary retention, transfer, and completion. Institutions are specifically invited to focus on supporting existing students who are close to graduation and reengaging students who withdrew from school temporarily during the pandemic.

The availability of the funds will be announced by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona today, during the Raise the B.A.R.: Bold + Action + Results in College Excellence & Equity Summit. The one-day summit is being held at the Department with higher education leaders from colleges, systems, and organizations across the country. This is the Department’s latest action delivering on the Secretary’s priority of making higher education more inclusive and affordable.

Leadership from Salish Kootenai College participated in the summit and shared its institution’s perspective on reimagining higher education. In total, more than 40 colleges and universities were represented at the event. A livestream of Secretary Cardona’s remarks and moderated conversation will be available online.

“For far too long, our higher education system has left our nation’s most accessible, inclusive colleges without adequate resources to support student success, while many institutions chase rankings that reward privilege and selectivity over equity and upward mobility,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “Reimagining higher education means rejecting a status quo in which so many students earn some college credits but no degree, leaving them with student debt they cannot afford and less access to good-paying jobs. (This) summit demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration’s belief that investments in college completion can level up our entire higher education system and help more students from communities of color and other low-income and underserved communities make it to commencement day.”

Invited guests will discuss opportunities to uplift inclusivity, equity, and excellence - rather than exclusivity and privilege - in our higher education system and share their experiences in reforming higher education to promote stronger outcomes, particularly for their students of color and low-income students. The summit will also serve as a launching pad for the Biden-Harris Administration’s renewed commitment to postsecondary student success, with remarks from White House and Department leadership.

Additionally, the Department is announcing today that it plans to extend its Project Success initiative, currently set to expire next month, for an additional three-year period. Through Project Success, more than 200 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, including HSIs, receive access to resources and support services to help improve their students’ outcomes. The extension announced today will enable the Department to continue the initiative and increase its focus on evidence-based strategies, including through capacity-building networks focused in improving student success.

Institutions seeking funding under the College Completion Fund for Postsecondary Student Success have 60 days to submit their applications. Applicants should describe the work that their institutions are doing to promote retention and completion, propose activities and initiatives to be implemented through the program that meet at least the Department’s definition of promising evidence, and present a high-quality evaluation plan. Grantees will be eligible for up to $1 million in grant funds to support their proposals. All institutions eligible for Titles III and V, including HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, including HSIs, are eligible to apply. The Department has also established an invitational priority for community colleges where enrollment declines during the national emergency have been most severe and additional funds can help to support efforts to reengage students and get their educational pathways back on track.

The funds provided through the College Completion Fund for Postsecondary Student Success are the latest action in the Department’s continued commitment to ensuring student success, particularly for students of color and low-income students. The Department has continued to improve upon and provide high-quality information about student outcomes through the College Scorecard, improving student choice about higher education.

Additionally, the Department continues to lift-up inclusive institutions and has proposed billions of dollars in new funding for HBCUs, TCUs, MSIs, and community colleges. The Department is also working to promote innovation at colleges and universities across the country, including by requesting $110 million from Congress for the upcoming fiscal year to support additional retention and completion grants.

CSKT statement regarding the passing of Missoula Mayor John Engen

News from the CSKT

PABLO — On behalf of the Tribal Council of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Tribal Council offers the following statement regarding the death of Missoula’s Mayor, John Engen.

Missoula, in the heart of the Selis and Qlispe people’s traditional and aboriginal territories, is a place that for many years was led, guided, and shaped by John Engen. As Mayor, John worked tirelessly to help keep Missoula beautiful, accepting, and vibrant. He led with a great sense of humor, wit, kindness, humility, and always with a deep commitment to inclusivity.

The Tribes are grateful to have called Mayor Engen a friend and to have been able to call upon him as a collaborator as well. We witnessed him many times stay true to his values, while also being respectful of other positions and points of view. We hope that whoever is appointed as the next Mayor of Missoula is also inclusive, and exemplifies the values that we know and appreciate about Missoula and the aboriginal territories of the Selish, Qlispe, and Ksanka. To his family, friends and colleagues, we offer our condolences.

MTPR podcast receives national award

News from MT Public Radio, MT PBS

MISSOULA — “Fireline,” a podcast produced by Montana Public Radio in partnership with the University of Montana College of Business, has been named a national winner of the 2022 Edward R. Murrow Awards presented by the Radio Television Digital News Association. These awards recognize more than 100 outlets for outstanding work in digital, radio and television journalism in technical and editorial categories.

UM Associate Professor of Marketing and the Poe Family Distinguished Faculty Fellow is the host and creator of “Fireline,” a six-part series about what wildfire means for the West, our planet, and our way of life. He’s supported by executive producer Nick Mott, editor and producer Victor Yvellez, and digital editor Josh Burnham. The podcast probes the causes and consequences of the increasingly devastating wildfires burning in the U.S. and taps into the experience of firefighters, tribal land managers and climate scientists.

“We’re very proud of the entire “Fireline” team for this national recognition,” said MTPR General Manager Ray Ekness. “We’re honored that their hard and outstanding work is being rewarded with a national Murrow Award.”

“The Edward R. Murrow Awards are among the most prestigious in journalism,” said RTDNA President and CEO Dan Shelley. “More than 750 Regional Murrow winners advanced to the national competition, and over the past few months, an expert panel of journalists has meticulously reviewed and deliberated over every entry. That’s why I’m confident in saying today’s winners represent the absolute best of the best.”

There were more than 5,200 entries this year. In May, RTDNA recognized winners of the Regional Murrow Awards, which automatically advanced to the national competition. “Thank you to every journalist who played a role in the pieces that were submitted,” said RTDNA Chair Allison McGinley. “Not everyone can be a Murrow Award winner, but all of you make a difference in your communities. Thank you for the work you do.”

Trail advisory committee to meet in Helena

News from MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks

HELENA — The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks State Trails Advisory Committee (STAC) will meet Aug. 30 and 31. The STAC advises FWP on trail-related concerns and needs across Montana, including funding, use and the promotion of recreational trails across land ownership.

The group will meet in person, with a virtual option, in the Montana Room at the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) building in Helena. The meeting will run from noon to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30, and from 8:30 to noon on Wednesday, Aug. 31.

On the first day of the meeting, the committee will hear a programmatic overview of the trail grant programs, go over a breakdown of the eligibility requirements for the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) and Trail Stewardship Program (TSP) and learn more about the roles and responsibilities of the STAC across both programs. The second day will focus on the updated TSP application and scoring criteria, as well as the STAC’s annual role of application review and scoring.

The Montana DNRC building is at 1539 11th Ave. in Helena. The meeting is open to public and public comment will be taken before lunch and at the end of the agenda. The meeting will also be streamed live via Zoom on the State Trails Advisory Committee webpage.

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THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” 1 Peter 3:18 Jesus, who is God in the flesh, died on the cross for our sins to pay for all past, present, and future sins. The sin debt has been paid! Will you accept the free gift of pardon and salvation Jesus is offering?

GOD PROVIDES A WAY OUT

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