Opinion ID: 887060
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Trust For Public Schools

Text: ¶ 8 Under the Act of February 22, 1889 (the Enabling Act), the federal government granted Montana certain lands for the support of common schools. Enabling Act, § 10. The grant of those lands created a trust for the people. Montanans for the Responsible Use of the School Trust v. Board of Land Commissioners, 1999 MT 263, ¶ 13, 296 Mont. 402, ¶ 13, 989 P.2d 800, ¶ 13 ( Montrust I ). Montana's first Constitution accepted the lands which were granted on the terms of the Enabling Act, recognizing that they were held in trust and that the State acted as trustee. Montrust I, ¶ 13. Finally, Montana's 1972 Constitution re-affirmed the land grant, the trust, and the terms of the Enabling Act. Art. X, Sec. 11, Mont. Const. (1972). ¶ 9 Pursuant to the Montana Constitution, the Board of Land Commissioners is directed to administer the trust and act as the accountable trustee. See Art. XI, Sec. 4, Mont. Const. (1889); Art. X, Sec. 4, Mont. Const. (1972). To assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibility as trustee, the Legislature enacted Sec. 3, ch. 60, L.1927, today § 77-1-202, MCA, which outlined the Board's obligations with regard to the language of the Enabling Act and the Montana Constitution. At the time this proceeding was initiated, the language outlining the trust responsibility had not changed in seventy years. It provided: In the exercise of these powers, the guiding principle is that these lands and funds are held in trust for the support of education and for the attainment of other worthy objects helpful to the well-being of the people of this state as provided in The Enabling Act. The board shall administer this trust to secure the largest measure of legitimate and reasonable advantage to the state. Section 77-1-202, MCA.