PRESS RELEASE: Concerned Parents to Deliver Over 1,000 Letters to Office of Public Instruction

Concerned Parents to Deliver Over 1,000 Letters to Office of Public Instruction

Montanans in over 100 communities call on Superintendent Artnzen to stop advocating for the privatization of public education

(HELENA, MT) - Montanans love and support their public schools. That’s why they are so concerned when Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Artnzen uses state resources to celebrate “School Choice Week” and attends pro-school privatization forums. 

"School choice" is the term that came out of focus groups funded by wealthy special interests that want to dismantle public education across America and in Montana. What "school choice" really means is "using public dollars to fund for-profit private schools." These private schools mean big checks to CEOs, but millions of dollars in wasted tax money.

“School Choice Week” was started by the far-right Gleason Family Foundation, which also funds the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Uncommon Charter Schools, and the radical Cato Institute. 

According to the National School Choice Week website, "National School Choice Week is nonpartisan and nonpolitical, and is not related to any legislative advocacy effort." That's beyond disingenuous. The "planning partner" listed for the events here in Montana is the Montana Family Foundation.

In addition to pushing a deeply homophobic agenda, the Montana Family Foundation literally lists "legislative advocacy" as part of its mission. That advocacy includes pushing for school privatization.

Today, concerned parents will deliver over 1,000 letters from Montanans across the state to Superintendent Artnzen’s office in Helena. The letters were signed by people in at least 106 Montana communities, which demonstrates the broad and diverse opposition to the privatization of education in Montana. A list of those communities can be found below. The body of the letter reads:

Dear Superintendent of Public Instruction Arntzen:

As the head of Montana's public education system, we strongly urge you to support public education and oppose the privatization of our schools, including "school choice."

Public education is the cornerstone of every Montana community and every child is entitled to a thriving public school. Diverting public money to private for-profit institutions starves public schools of vital resources. That's why I, like most Montanans, firmly believe public funds belong in public schools, which are open to all children and accountable to the community.

Nearly 400 Montanans added additional comments to their letters.

Montana communities voicing their opposition to “school choice” (i.e. “school privatization”)

Absarokee

Alberton

Anaconda

Belgrade

Bellmead

Belt

Biddle

Big Sandy

Big Sky

Big Timber

Bigfork

Billings

Black Eagle

Bonner

Boulder

Bozeman

Broadus

Browning

Butte

Cardwell

Charlo

Clancy

Clinton

Colstrip

Columbia Falls

Columbus

Condon

Corvallis

Culbertson

Cut Bank

Darby

Dassel

Deer Lodge

Dickinson

Dillon

Dutton

East Helena

Ekalaka

Emigrant

Ennis

Eureka

Fishtail

Florence

Fort Benton

Fort Peck

Fort Smith

Fortine

Gallatin Gateway

Glasgow

Glasgow

Glendive

Great Falls

Hamilton

Hardin

Harlem

Harlem

Havre

Helena

Huntley

Joliet

Livingston

Lolo

Los Angeles

Mackinaw City

Malta

Manhattan

Miles City

Minot

Missoula

Moiese

Nye

Ovando

Philipsburg

Plains

Plentywood

Polson

Poplar

Pray

Pray

Red Lodge

Ronan

Ronan

Saint Ignatius

Shelby

Sidney

St Marie

Stevensville

Sun River

Sunburst

Superior

Terry

Three Forks

Toston

Townsend

Trego

Twin Bridges

Ulm

Victor

Walkerville

West Yellowstone

Whitefish

Whitehall

Wibaux

Wisdom

Wyola

Yellowtail

###

Stacks of letters addressed to Superintendent Arntzen

Why is the Montana Superintendent of PUBLIC Instruction supporting school PRIVATIZATION?

This week is "School Choice Week." The week was started by the right-wing Gleason Family Foundation that also funds the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Uncommon Charter Schools, and the radical libertarian Cato Institute. 

"School choice" is the term that came out of focus groups funded by wealthy special interests that want to dismantle public education across America and in Montana. What "school choice" really means is "using public dollars to fund for-profit private schools." These private schools mean big checks to CEOs, but millions of dollars (actually, at least a billion dollars) in wasted tax money.

We understand why greedy special interests would support school privatization, but our Superintendent of PUBLIC Instruction? That makes ZERO sense. Unfortunately, Superintendent Elsie Arntzen is doing just that: supporting efforts to privatize education in Montana by backing the homophobic Montana Family Foundation's "school choice" rally in Billings later this week. So are Senator Steve Daines and Representative Greg Gianforte.

Please call Superintendent Arntzen and tell her you oppose selling off Montana's schools: 406-444-5643

While you're at it, call Representative Gianforte (202-225-3211) and Senator Daines (202-224-2651)

Far-reaching and universally disastrous implications

As I write this, the United States Supreme Court is hearing arguments in the Espinoza v Montana Department of Revenue case.

The national press has covered this extensively and there have been several Montana blog posts as well as print media.  We will not be able to hear the audio of the hearing until it is posted by the Supreme Court at the end of the week.

Supporters of Espinoza tout this as religious freedom but in reality, it is nothing more than the path through which they can funnel scarce public funds into private education.  Our public schools, particularly our rural schools, cannot afford to lose yet more resources to bolster schools that discriminate and are unaccountable and unaccredited.

The 1972 Montana Constitution is clear that public funds may not be given to religious organizations and the writers of that document have now written again to underscore their intentions and fight back against this attempt to divert our public resources.

Our Montana Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional.

But there is a great deal of money to be made off of private education and those with already deep pockets are pouring even more money into this fight so that they can get richer and take more from our public coffers.

Espinoza v the Montana Department of Revenue has far-reaching and universally disastrous implications.  It means that someone like Greg Gianforte could ultimately give $50,000 to his private, discriminatory Petra Academy taking that $50,000 out of the tax pool that pays for our roads, our water and yes, our public schools.

We won’t know the outcome of this hearing until June.  But today and tomorrow, I urge everyone to do all that the can to support our strong public school systems and fight back against those who would diminish and demean our public schools, students and teachers.

Sincerely,

Representative Moffie Funk