Post by Okwes on May 16, 2007 10:25:39 GMT -5
Lawmakers cry foul over Indian education cuts
The Associated Press
www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070206/NEW\
S01/70206022
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WS01/70206022> HELENA �" The state’s schools chief
joined Democrats and American Indian lawmakers Tuesday in asking a
budget panel to reinstate nearly $3 million that was cut from the
state’s Indian Education for All program last week. The cuts
were approved by the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.
They virtually “gutted” the program, which requires
Montana schools to teach all students �" not just Indian students
�" about the state’s Indian tribes and culture,
Superintendent of Public Instruction Linda McCulloch said.
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McCulloch said the subcommittee gave no explanation for its actions,
which she called “disturbing,” and said she would ask the
House Appropriations Committee to put the money back in when the budget
gets to that panel. The Senate must also still review the budget, and
Senate leaders said Tuesday they would try to reinsert the money then if
it’s not done already.
“We have got a great start, but folks, this is just a
start,” McCulloch said. “We have got a long ways to
go.”
Created in 1999, Indian Education for All went largely unfunded until
2005, when lawmakers funneled several million dollars into it.
Sen. Carol Juneau, D-Browning, and other Indian lawmakers wanted a lot
more for the program that year, and Juneau plans to introduced a bill
Friday asking for $14.5 million more in funding over the next two years.
That figure is $7.2 million more than McCulloch has proposed, and $8.6
million more than what’s included in Gov. Brian
Schweitzer’s proposed budget, Juneau said.
The Associated Press
www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070206/NEW\
S01/70206022
<http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070206/NE\
WS01/70206022> HELENA �" The state’s schools chief
joined Democrats and American Indian lawmakers Tuesday in asking a
budget panel to reinstate nearly $3 million that was cut from the
state’s Indian Education for All program last week. The cuts
were approved by the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.
They virtually “gutted” the program, which requires
Montana schools to teach all students �" not just Indian students
�" about the state’s Indian tribes and culture,
Superintendent of Public Instruction Linda McCulloch said.
<http://gcirm.greatfallstribune.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/news.grea\
tfallstribune.com/stories/localnews/184022789/ArticleFlex_1/OasDefault/1\
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McCulloch said the subcommittee gave no explanation for its actions,
which she called “disturbing,” and said she would ask the
House Appropriations Committee to put the money back in when the budget
gets to that panel. The Senate must also still review the budget, and
Senate leaders said Tuesday they would try to reinsert the money then if
it’s not done already.
“We have got a great start, but folks, this is just a
start,” McCulloch said. “We have got a long ways to
go.”
Created in 1999, Indian Education for All went largely unfunded until
2005, when lawmakers funneled several million dollars into it.
Sen. Carol Juneau, D-Browning, and other Indian lawmakers wanted a lot
more for the program that year, and Juneau plans to introduced a bill
Friday asking for $14.5 million more in funding over the next two years.
That figure is $7.2 million more than McCulloch has proposed, and $8.6
million more than what’s included in Gov. Brian
Schweitzer’s proposed budget, Juneau said.