Education candidates meet the public

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

Five candidates for state superintendent of public instruction, the head of the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) in Helena, answered questions during a forum in the Whitefish Middle School auditorium on April 24.

Organizers were not able to contact Republican Elaine Sollie Herman, who did not attend.

Current state superintendent of public instruction, Linda McCulloch, is term-limited out and is running for Montana Secretary of State.

? Donald Eisenmenger, L-Helena, provided a contrast to the four Democrats on the stage. He emphasized that he is the only candidate who has not been directly involved in public education and so was providing a "distinct viewpoint," more that of taxpayers and parents than educational professionals.

Eisenmenger's main goal is to return more decisions to the local level. He called funding for the 300-or-so employees at OPI a "tremendous misallocation of resources." But decision-making also needs to be de-centralized, he said.

"I don't believe 'one size fits all' is the best approach," he said.

Regarding special education programs, Eisenmenger said taxpayers already pay "a significant amount" and "so there will always be a funding problem."

Comparing Montana students' test results with other areas would "take hours" to discuss, he noted. "We're not perfect," he conceded, but the state's school system was "overly rigid."

The 8 percent of students who attend private schools or are home-schooled should also be supported, Eisenmenger said. The state was not providing parents with options, and parents were stuck footing the bill themselves, he said.

As for whether the state was meeting its constitutional obligation to fund public education, Eisenmenger pointed out that the average cost per student in Montana is about the same as for the rest of the U.S., but the average income in Montana is much lower than the U.S. average.

Eisenmenger also said it was unrealistic to expect 100 percent graduation rates. He said the 80-percent rate in Montana was "better than most states" and should be improved. But no matter how the funding to reduce drop-outs was arranged, the money still comes from taxpayers, he said.

? Denise Juneau's education began with Head Start in Billings. The Democrat from Helena graduated from Browning High School, got her bachelor's in English at Montana State University-Bozeman and a master's at Harvard Graduate School of Education, and graduated from the University of Montana Law School in 2004.

After teaching English in North Dakota and Browning, Juneau went to work at the OPI in Helena. After graduating from law school, she clerked for two Montana Supreme Court justices and worked for a national law firm specializing in federal Indian law.

She returned to OPI where she is a division administrator working on personnel, policy, budgets and legislative process. She described her current job as "the mini superintendent of public instruction."

Juneau said it's "time to stop the shell game" and make the state and federal government pay their obligations for special education.

She also responded to Eisenmenger's call to shrink OPI. All candidates for superintendent of public instruction should be in favor of public education.

"We should work to improve public education, not to leave it," she said.

Juneau is not a fan of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which she says has made things more difficult for educators. By focusing on teaching to the test, music and art programs have suffered, she said.

The goal of public education should be to graduate everyone, Juneau said. One way to do that is to keep kids in school longer, with full-day kindergarten, after-school programs and even school programs in the summer.

? Sen. Sam Kitzenberg, D-Glasgow, began his political career as a sophomore in high school when he spent 60 days as a page in the Montana House. His first teaching job was at Columbia Falls in 1969, where he earned $7,600. He's worked as an English teacher for 17 years.

After moving to Glasgow, Kitzenberg was elected to the Montana House, where he served from 1995-2000. He was elected to the Montana Senate in 2000. He served a total of 14 years in legislative education committees. He's an advocate of boosting teachers salaries and healthcare benefits.

As vice chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Kitzenberg participated in putting a definition for "quality education" in the state's education formula. He was also there when the full-day kindergarten bill was enacted.

Kitzenberg switched parties to help break the 25-25 tie in the Senate during the 2007 legislative session. He currently works for the Montana Department of Revenue working on reappraisals for agricultural land.

A longtime and vocal advocate of making U.S. Highway 2 a four-lane highway across the state, Kitzenberg addressed the state's education-funding issue by calling for coal mining on state land in the Otter Creek area in southeastern Montana. He said Wyoming has "out maneuvered" Montana with coal production, and now Montana was playing catch-up.

The state superintendent of public instruction is one of five members on the state land board, which makes decisions on how state lands are used to raise money for schools.

? Claudette Morton graduated from Billings Senior High and got her bachelor and master degrees in English and theater and her doctorate in education at University of Montana-Missoula.

The Democrat from Helena has taught middle and high schools, worked as a college professor and administrator, and served as a curriculum advisor at OPI. She has also worked on numerous federal education committees and task forces. She is currently the executive director of Montana Small Schools Alliance.

Morton said she first went to OPI to find out why "dumb" requirements were making their way down to local schools. She said she learned that OPI has good policies, but sometimes they get "skewed" by the time they reach teachers and students.

State and federal governments need to pay their share for special education, she said, but she'd also like to see more funding for "gifted and talented" students. They're "our future leaders," she pointed out.

She called for voters to demand that legislators get the job done in properly funding the state's public education system. Some progress has been made, she said, but "we need a unified voice for education" to successfully influence the legislature.

To meet the needs of the 21st century, the goal should be to graduate 100 percent of high school students. She also called for more "relevant programs" in schools, especially with computers. She explained how her granddaughter helped her learn how to use Microsoft PowerPoint.

"Real problem-solving will hold students' interest," she said.

Teacher pay and compensation must be increased to attract and retain quality teachers here, Morton said, noting that 75 percent of teachers graduating from Montana colleges leave the state.

"Teaching must be seen as a profession," she said.

? Rep. Holly Raser, D-Missoula, has served in the Montana House since 2001. She has been a Montana teacher for 26 years. She received her bachelor's and master's in education from the University of Montana-Missoula.

Raser has taught grades K-5 and "gifted and talented" programs. She currently teaches first grade at Target Range Elementary School in Missoula, where she finds herself teaching the children of former students.

In Helena, Raser has been active in promoting education. She sponsored OPI bills in 2003 and 2005 and the full-time kindergarten bill in 2007. She has served on education committees across the state and is currently vice chairman of the House Education Committee.

Raser pointed out that she is the only candidate currently active in public schools, but she also emphasized that her experience in the legislature was a big plus for the head of OPI.

"We're at a critical juncture right now in terms of school funding," she said. "I have the needed connections in the legislature."

As a parent of a child with disabilities, Raser called for early intervention when it comes to special education. She suggested schools be allowed to use "supplemental budgets" to handle unseen expenses, the same way Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation handles forest-fire costs.

Raser called for "revoking" the No Child Left Behind Act so students could be taught more "critical thinking" instead "learning the test."

"In Montana, we need to teach what we value," she said.

As for state funding for public schools, Raser called on voters to elect legislators who will deal with the issue, but she also suggested giving local schools more flexibility on how they want to spend money and involving stakeholders more.