After voting on it twice, it was sent to the tax committee for further deliberation. I sit on the tax committee, so I will have a chance for some input. I believe that we will take action on it the first two days of the week of March 25, and pass it back to the floor with our recommendation. The legislative session is winding down and we must make sure that our budget is balanced. Every department s budget is under scrutiny to see if any revenue can be better spent somewhere else.
Education has a high priority, and most are trying to find revenue to increase the funding.
It is still not clear what the final education budget will be, but as in every session in the past, we will spend more on education than the previous session. As I write this letter, I have just returned to Helena after the mid-session break. While I was home, I attended a forum in Forsyth, and the Lincoln day dinner in Terry. At both of these events, and in my conversations with others, it was apparent that funding for K thru 12 education was on the minds of many. Most of the people I talked to said to try finding additional funding, and they did not rule out any funding sources.