Miller testifies about problems in school funding

HELENA - Money shortages make it increasingly difficult for Montana schools to meet accreditation standards and recruit teachers, a leader in Montana education said Wednesday at a trial examining state school support.

Twenty percent of schools were out of compliance with accreditation standards in 2002-03, up from about 4 percent 10 years ago, said Kirk Miller, chairman of the state Board of Public Education and superintendent of Havre Public Schools. Miller said schools lack the money to do what standards require.

A lawyer for the state, however, later suggested it was misleading to argue the...