Montana

Largest school district in Montana raises pay, still behind Wyoming • Daily Montanan

Published

2 years ago

May 27, 2024

Largest school district in Montana raises pay, still behind Wyoming • Daily Montanan

Billings Public Schools, the largest district in Montana, used to get a flood of applications when it posted a teaching job.

Now, Superintendent Erwin Garcia said it’s getting one application for every 10 positions, roughly a reverse of the 10 apps to one single job it used to get.

He said teachers apply from other states — “They love Montana” — but they change their minds once they realize the pay compared to the cost of housing.

“We are scratching our heads right now,” Garcia said. “What are we going to do?”

This month, Billings moved ahead on a deal that will mean a significant increase for rookie teachers, he said — from $41,803 to $46,900.

“What we want is to be the best paying district in Montana, so we want to be sure beginning teacher pay jumps up significantly,” he said.

Data from Billings Public Schools. (Screenshot of presentation to school board)

However, data Garcia presented last week to the school board shows Billings is still behind at least a couple of nearby and competing districts in Wyoming. For example, his data shows Sheridan School District pays $54,525 to new teachers.

“We still have a long way to go compared to Wyoming salaries, especially at the base,” he said.

Montana has long been at the bottom of the heap for starting teacher pay, and Garcia told the school board that even with some increases, teachers are still behind with the rising cost of health insurance.

In 2021, the Montana Legislature created the TEACH Act to try to help increase starting teacher pay. However, a report to lawmakers earlier this year said starting pay is still low, citing a national benchmark that ranked Montana 51 in 2023. It said new teachers here earn $6,000 to $13,000 less than in neighboring states.

The act creates a payment that goes to districts, not directly to teachers, and the report from the Montana Legislature’s Office of Research and Policy Analysis said the number of teachers who qualify for the incentive increased “a bit” from 2023 to 2024, but the number of school districts receiving the money dropped.

On Friday, Garcia said more seasoned teachers in Billings also will see increases following recent negotiations, generally to the tune of 5.9%, and he said teachers who have master’s degrees and more experience are “very competitive” with Wyoming.

For example, a teacher moving from year five to year six will go from $61,671 to $65,242.

However, Garcia said if Montana doesn’t address the cost of housing, day care, and health insurance, teachers won’t be able to afford to take jobs in this state.

“Eventually, we are going to run out of teachers in the profession. And then we’re just going to have to use AI (artificial intelligence). Isn’t that sad? It’s the reality,” Garcia said.

He said he doesn’t want people to take his remarks as a threat, but he does want to be transparent about the limited alternatives. They include bringing in teachers from overseas, who sometimes struggle with the language, he said — and AI, which he said would represent “a decline of civilization.”

“If we do something like that, we’re in trouble. That’s why we need to increase teacher salaries,” Garcia said.

He said in some cities in Montana, teachers don’t have certificates, which he doesn’t want to see either.

His focus is on quality education for students and a strong workforce for the future of the state. But Montana is behind, he said; by comparison, Montana spends $315 million less on education on average on a per pupil basis than other states.

The Billings Education Association could not be reached Friday for comment.

In an earlier interview, Amanda Curtis, president of the Montana Federation of Public Employees, said year after year, elected officials “dabble around the edges at school funding” during legislative sessions.

She said Montana recently has seen 1,000 open teacher jobs, but the teachers Montana is graduating aren’t taking jobs here, and the fix doesn’t require rocket science.

“I’m tired of people pretending there’s some other complicated solution,” Curtis said. “Just f**king pay them.”

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Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for July 8, 2026

Published

5 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at July 8, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from July 8 drawing

12-29-37-43-55, Powerball: 18, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from July 8 drawing

17-26-31-32-37, Star Ball: 01, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 8 drawing

03-13-16-17, Bonus: 10

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from July 8 drawing

06-27-33-44-69, Powerball: 23

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from July 8 drawing

08-16-17-22-27

Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 8 drawing

16-18-43-48-50, Bonus: 01

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Montana

Montana signs onto data center energy cost protection pledge

Published

16 hours ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Montana signs onto data center energy cost protection pledge

HELENA, Mont — Gov. Greg Gianforte is backing a new effort to keep data centers from driving up Montanans’ power bills.

This week, Gianforte announced Montana is signing on to the Ratepayer Protection Pledge — an initiative endorsed by President Trump.

Several major technology companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and XAI first signed the pledge back in March.

The pledge comes as data center development continues to grow — raising questions about how much new energy will be needed and who will pay for it.

NBC Montana spoke with Julia Haggerty, professor of geography and department head of earth sciences at Montana State University, about whether Montana’s power grid is ready for that growth.

“Not without resolution of significant transmission bottlenecks and massive amounts of new generation. So, while our grid is adequately, relatively adequately equipped to serve the needs of our current load base, it’s definitely not equipped to accommodate the new demands without a lot of expansion,” she said.

According to the pledge, data center developers will pay for new power generation, and infrastructure needed to support their operations.

“It does align with ongoing regulatory efforts to ensure that the cost of new generation associated with data centers is borne by the developers of those data centers and not customers,” Haggerty said.

The governor’s office says Gianforte’s support of the pledge is designed to encourage responsible data center investments while protecting Montana ratepayers from long-term costs.

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