Gazette opinion: Communication key to support for schools. The community needs to know more about our schools. Voters won’t support what they don’t know.

It’s no coincidence that the state’s economy and education were by far the top concerns of Montanans who answered this month’s Gazette State Poll. Many Montanans have long recognized the vital link between quality education and a thriving work force and business market.

One wonderful example is the recent initiative by Billings businesses, led by First Interstate Bank, to improve school and community communications. At the urging of the businesses and with funding primarily from the businesses, School District 2 has contracted with a competent, experienced communications director in Nancy Hines. Importantly, the district’s leadership and trustees will continue to be the district’s spokespeople in mass media.

It’s obvious that Billings Public Schools need to communicate more effectively to raise awareness and build trust within the schools, with parents, grandparents, business people and other voters. Much publicity necessarily follows controversy and public funding issues. Those matters must be scrutinized. But the public also deserves to know how the schools are doing day to day. The fact is they are doing great things for their 15,000-plus students. Test scores generally are good. Students are involved in community service, music, art and athletics.

Lyle Knight, First Interstate chief executive, explained the urgent situation well in a recent Gazette news story: "As a major employer in Billings, we look to the school system as our source of future employees, so we’re very interested in keeping education at the highest quality."

The Gazette State Poll indicates that a school communication gap exists statewide. In a series of questions about public school funding, respondents statewide were split:

# Women were more likely than men to say that their local schools didn’t have enough money for quality education for all students.

# But 57 percent of all respondents agreed that the level of state funding for their local schools is inadequate.

# Only 32 percent said state funding is adequate with 11 percent saying they weren’t sure.

# But to the question, would you support or oppose paying higher taxes to increase the funding for K-12 education, 45 percent said "support" and 48 percent said "oppose." The rest were undecided.

Local tax levies remain the chief source of Montana school funding, despite the two-day special session.

Commendations are due the Billings businesses that have taken on the communications challenge to assist our local public schools. The community needs to know more about our schools. Voters won’t support what they don’t know.

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