Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana has called a special legislative session beginning Dec. 14 to pass school finance legislation.
The legislature passed a $1.2 billion K-12 budget for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 earlier this year. It included $70 million more for schools than the previous budget.
But Mr. Schweitzer, a Democrat, said the special session is needed to meet the demands of a ruling in March by the Montana Supreme Court. The court struck down the current school aid system and gave the legislature until Oct. 1, 2005, to come up with another one.
The legislature has four proposals to consider in its special session, said Joe Lamson, the communications director for the Montana Office of Public Instruction. He added that work on the school aid formula would continue in the next regular session of the legislature, set to begin in January 2007.
