‘Real crisis on our hands’: MT teachers discuss violence, impacts of staff cuts in schools

Teachers also spoke about how the lack of nurses meant teachers or secretaries were left to help students with insulin pumps or concussed kids, as well as how English Language Learners were in classes too big for teachers to adequately help them.

This was part of a coordinated “day of action” organized by the state’s largest union the Montana Federation of Public Employees, which represents more than 12,500 teachers and school staff.

The purpose was to have people currently working in education speak to members on the School Funding Interim Commission as they start drafting their recommendations for changes to the state’s education funding system they will give to lawmakers in the upcoming 2027 legislative session.

MFPE President Rep. Melissa Romano, D-Helena, who was sworn in earlier last week in Missoula, also serves on the commission. She told the Missoulian she hopes her colleagues the lack of funding in schools is a “widespread issue that affects every corner of Montana.”

“We have a real crisis on our hands,” Romano said.

Rising behavioral health concerns

Many teachers spoke of having students with behavioral health issues lash out with physical violence or threats of violence in their classrooms.

Speech language pathologist Jessica Reynolds, who works in Helena Public Schools, told the commission she’s seen a paraprofessional get stabbed in the face with a pencil.

“She wiped the blood off and said, 'Okay, let's get back to your math,’ ” Reynolds said. “She didn’t even take a breather.”

Reynolds said these aren’t bad kids, just kids dealing with challenges which need a lot of specialized care.

Behavioral support assistant Nick Acker of Bozeman said students have bit, hit and stabbed him with a pen. Students have drawn pictures of him and other staff members being shot, he said.

Acker said for educators to continue to do this work, the state needs to make sure staff is paid “at a level that ensures that we are not struggling to survive.” Nearly 60% of Acker’s last paycheck went toward his rent, he said.

Nathan Beckwith, a special education paraprofessional at the Florence-Carlton School District, said students will throw scissors, desks and chairs at him in “unpredictable anger.”

Beckwith said current compensation levels, which he said was $14.20 an hour, “do not reflect the significant responsibilities and risks involved.”

Squeezed budgets and staffing struggles

Lisa Verlanic Fowler worked as a teacher in Florence for 30 years, saying she retired because she could “not fulfill the duties of my job with fidelity due to lack of adequate school funding.”

The state pays for 80% of a district’s funding, and districts have the option to ask local taxpayers for the additional 20% needed to be fully funded through local levies. But Florence voters don't pass levies, Verlanic Fowler said.

Her classroom budget went from $1,000 per year, to $100 per year, she said, and used the same “outdated” reading program for 15 years.

“No more mining for sapphires,” she said. “My students lost out on field trips, guest speakers, and so much more.”

Phillipsburg science teacher Melissa Kienitz, who teaches grades for grades 7-12, said teachers were asked to retire early as a way to free up revenue because their salaries were higher. And with staff living paycheck to paycheck, there’s a lot of turnover, she said.

“Our students deserve high-quality, experienced teachers, but I worry we will not be able to provide this as our pay falls further and further behind the cost of living,” she said.

Adapting for increased English Language Learners

Kristen Hopkins has been an educator for 25 years and said in Bozeman, English Language Learners make up about 10% of the student body. And while these students’ first language is typically Spanish, other languages include Chinese, Polish and Portuguese.

“For even native English speakers, the complex academic vocabularies of a class like Biology 1 can seem like a second language,” Hopkins said. “Now our [English Language Learner] students are asked to learn the same content while their teacher fumbles through Google Translate, sometimes with students who don't yet read fluently in their language of origin.”

Hopkins has been writing grants to find funds to have non-English language books in the school’s library.

“My colleagues are developing parallel materials and tap dancing to find ways to instruct these kids,” Hopkins said. “I ask that you consider these amazing kids and find a funding mechanism that will help them develop their full potential.”

Teachers as nurses

Kris Hursh, president of the Kalispell Classified Staff Union for non-teaching staff, told commissioners about how lack of funding for school nurses means unqualified teachers are asked to respond to seizures or concussions on the playground.

Miles City teacher Val Pachl told the Missoulian her school doesn’t have a nurse and when one of her students had diabetes, he asked her how much sugar was in the lunch so he would know how much insulin he would need. Pachl didn’t know.

“I spent a good month trying to figure that out, and we did, but I don't feel like that's part of my job description to figure out how many units of insulin this kid's supposed to get,” she said.

Pachl said one-third of the Miles City teaching staff resigned this year.

“Pretty soon we're going to have 30 to 40 kids in a classroom, and you expect one adult to manage that and work for $45,000 a year?” she said. “It's not going to happen.”

Commissioner discussion

Some commissioners made the point scarcity of resources will always be an issue.

“I don't think we'll ever be able to come up with the resources to find a place where scarcity doesn't exist, and hard decisions don't have to be made,” said Commissioner Mike Waterman, Bozeman School District’s business director. “There's always more needs than there is funding.”

The commission will be getting down to the nitty gritty of drafting their recommendations during their next two meetings this summer, and Romano said it was important commissioners heard from teachers before then.

“I just hope that it continues to remain at the top of their mind when they come back to make decisions in July and August,” Romano said.