Governor Gianforte's Budget
Author: Alex Sakariassen MT Free Press Reporter
Governor Gianforte's Budget
Alex Sakariassen
MT Free Press Reporter
Last August, Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte urged education leaders in school districts across Montana to join him in combating the challenge of student cellphone use during school hours. His letter reiterated growing concerns about the academic and behavioral impacts of unchecked gadgets in public school classrooms, and he offered his administration’s help supporting local cellphone-free school policies. This month, a Montana Free Press (MTFP) reader followed up with us to ask: How has that gubernatorial vow for assistance carried over into the 2025 legislative session?
The Legislature has yet to entertain any standalone bills specifically targeting the issue, but MTFP did some digging and found a pertinent line item tucked away in the currently in-process state budget bill. Heading into the session, Gianforte requested $1 million over the next two years to fund small grants for local K-12 schools to purchase “secure systems” capable of rendering students’ cellphones inaccessible during school hours. Tactics like magnetically sealed pouches have become increasingly popular in schools throughout the country, but the cost has proven prohibitive in Montana. Billings Public Schools Superintendent Erwin Garcia told MTFP last year he determined the $100,000 required to purchase such a system for his district was too steep.
So far Gianforte’s budget request has received a warm reception among lawmakers on the Legislature’s education budget subcommittee. They advanced the full $1 million ask to the House Appropriations Committee last month, but not, however, before a bit of debate. Rep. Connie Keogh, D-Missoula, proposed carving $200,000 from the appropriation to fund professional development in media literacy for teachers — efforts like field training and guest speakers that Keogh argued could dovetail with cellphone-free initiatives.
Republicans on the subcommittee resisted the change during a Feb. 18 vote, voicing concern about dictating such a specific requirement, and the motion failed. Members then unanimously approved the line item as originally proposed, advancing Gianforte’s $1 million request to the next stage in the budget process: the full House Appropriations Committee.
