Past and present Governor candidates from Montana: on Education

Greg Gianforte: Provides high school scholarships for computer coding

Greg is the founder of CodeMontana, which provides public school scholarships to high school students to learn coding and computer science. He's also the founder of ACE Scholarships Montana to help low and moderate income students attend the school of their choice. Additionally, Greg launched Gianforte manufacturing scholarships, providing 50% scholarships to low-income Montanans and veterans. Source: 2016 Montana governor's campaign website GregForMontana.com Feb 3, 2016

Greg Gianforte: Supports school choice and voucher initiatives

In addition to supporting school choice and voucher initiatives that have faced stiff opposition from Democrats in the Legislature, Gianforte proposed investing in additional science and math training for K-12 teachers and an expansion of the state's Digital Academy so more kids could pursue advanced coursework. As one way to bring more computer science courses to schools, he proposed making them an alternative to fulfill foreign language credit requirements. Source: Billings Gazette on 2016 Montana gubernatorial race Jan 24, 2016

Greg Gianforte: Helped build a museum based on creationist beliefs

Montana has attracted a small but vocal hard-right Christian coalition, which is where Gianforte, a devout Christian who grew up in Philadelphia, fits in. The Gianforte Family Foundation has supported anti-abortion campaigns and helped build a museum based on the creationist belief that humans and dinosaurs coexisted. In 2014, Gianforte lobbied against a nondiscrimination ordinance in Bozeman. Source: Ozy.com on 2016 Montana gubernatorial race Jan 13, 2016

Brad Johnson: Supports school choice

Johnson called himself a "proven vote-getter" with strong conservative positions, such as opposition to abortion, support of gun rights, support of "school choice" and opposition to expanded government, such as Medicaid coverage for poor people. Source: KRTV.com on 2016 Montana gubernatorial race Sep 23, 2015

Mark Perea: Allot vouchers based on what we spend now per child

Perea, who has no children, is an advocate of school choice vouchers. "I want parents to have the choice of how they educate their kids," he said. "What I think would be perfectly equitable is each individual child having an allotment based on what we spend on each child now in public schools." Source: Bozeman Daily Chronicle on 2016 Montana gubernatorial race Feb 1, 2015

Bob Kelleher: Supports voluntary prayer in public schools

Endorse voluntary prayer in public schools.
Support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods.
Support abstinence-only sexual education programs.
Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.

Source: Montana 2004 Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test Nov 1, 2004

Bob Kelleher: State-funded vouchers for private or religious school

Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
Support teacher testing and reward with merit pay.
Require public schools to administer high school exit exams.
Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.

Source: Montana 2004 Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test Nov 1, 2004

Brian Schweitzer: Invest in K-12 by creating public-private partnerships

Education is the key to economic development, and I support investing in K-12 and higher education. We need to offer a competitive wage to attract and retain good teachers, and we need to hold schools and students accountable. I’ve proposed creating public-private partnerships with our 2 and 4-year institutions to lower the cost of college tuition. Source: 2004 Montana Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test Nov 1, 2004

The above quotations are from Winners and Losers Gubernatorial candidates from Montana. Click here for definitions & background information on Education. Click here for other issues (main summary page).
*Candidates and political leaders on Education:*
*Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:* GA:Chambliss(R) IA:Harkin(D) MI:Levin(D) MT:Baucus(D) NE:Johanns(R) OK:Coburn(R) SD:Johnson(D) WV:Rockefeller(D) *Resigned from 113th House:* AL-1:Jo Bonner(R) FL-19:Trey Radel(R) LA-5:Rod Alexander(R) MA-5:Ed Markey(D) MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R) NC-12:Melvin Watt(D) SC-1:Tim Scott(R)	*Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:* AR-4:Tom Cotton(R) GA-1:Jack Kingston(R) GA-10:Paul Broun(R) GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R) HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D) IA-1:Bruce Braley(D) LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R) ME-2:Mike Michaud(D) MI-14:Gary Peters(D) MT-0:Steve Daines(R) OK-5:James Lankford(R) PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D) TX-36:Steve Stockman(R) WV-2:Shelley Capito(R)	*Retired House as of Jan. 2015:* AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R) AR-2:Tim Griffin(R) CA-11:George Miller(D) CA-25:Howard McKeon(R) CA-33:Henry Waxman(D) CA-45:John Campbell(R) IA-3:Tom Latham(R) MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R) NC-6:Howard Coble(R) NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D) NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R) NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D) NY-21:Bill Owens(D) PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R) UT-4:Jim Matheson(D) VA-8:Jim Moran(D) VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Aug 12, 2018