Use tax rebates to help local schools

Many aspects of our recently ended legislative session were disappointing, if not disturbing. Apparently, partisan politics managed to obscure the needs and obligations facing our state funding system.

Adequate support for our public schools has ever been a primary concern of our society, dating back to colonial times. We have always recognized that education is the underpinning of our social and economic well-being.

Yet our legislature has failed to demonstrate its belief in this concept. Instead of using our tax dollars to address the gap between cost of living increases and the past 15 years of inadequate school funding levels, the State of Montana is promising a $400 rebate to every household.

If you are concerned that our legislature has fallen short in the area of school finance, you could deposit your rebate dollars in your school's endowment fund. This fund can be spent at the discretion of your local school district, rather than being tied to state or federal mandate.

We in Whitefish are fortunate to have the Whitefish Education Foundation, which has been established to oversee and manage public donations to our schools. If even half of our local population would contribute their tax rebate to the Foundation, a significant pool of financial resources would be available to our school system for the development of visionary supplements to our regular classrooms.

These dollars could provide for some of our technological advances, or for purchase of musical instruments, or for gifted and talented enrichment supplies, or for embellishment of any other of our budding supplementary programs.

Please encourage our local school districts with a free-will offering at rebate time.

Ruth Harrison is a Whitefish resident