Montana Governor Gianforte Pushes To Raise Teachers Pay

The Office of the Governor sent out a press release on Wednesday stating that Montana Governor Greg Gianforte is advocating for raising teachers' salaries.

This statement comes after Governor Gianforte visited Bonner Schools.

Gianforte's appearance promoted the STARS (Student and Teacher Advancement for Results and Success) Act, which looks to "continue incentivising increases to baseline teacher pay while also fully funding the Advanced Opportunities Act so that more students can take advantage of dual credit and work-based learning."

The STARS Act builds off of the TEACH Act, which provided "incentives to school districts to increase starting teacher pay."

Not only was Gianforte pushing for higher salaries, but also for cell phone-free policies.

"Cell phones are a huge distraction," said Bonner School Superintendent Jim Howard.

"I can tell you, when I'm wearing my principal hat and dealing with behavior issues, so much of the behavior challenges that middle school kids deal with come from what happens on the phone over the weekend, social media. So if that phone is in hand in the classroom, that becomes the focus."

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The press release reminds us that "In August 2024, Gov. Gianforte asked Montana superintendents and school board trustees to adopt policies to limit learning distractions in the classroom and improve student academic performance by establishing 'cell phone-free' schools."

Gianforte will hold his weekly press conference on Thursday in Helena.