Baucus, Tester announce nearly $1.6 million for Montana schools

28 Montana schools will receive funding thanks to stimulus bill

(BIG SANDY, Mont.) – More than two dozen elementary and high schools across Montana will receive nearly $1.6 million thanks to the recently passed federal stimulus bill, Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester announced today.

The $1.6 million will be divided among 28 schools, all on or near Montana’s seven Indian reservations. The money will be used to repair and modernize the schools, which Baucus and Tester say will help rebuild Montana’s economy by creating new jobs and investing in education.

Both Baucus and Tester helped write, supported and voted for the federal stimulus bill—also known as the Jobs Bill—earlier this year.

The following Montana schools will receive new funding from the Jobs Bill:

• Ashland Elementary: $12,624
• Box Elder Elementary: $86,068
• Box Elder High: $25,819
• Brockton Elementary: $20,942 
• Brockton High: $14,630
• Browning Elementary: $304,110
• Browning High: $132,257
• Dixon Elementary: $12,338
• Dupuyer Elementary: $2,296
• Frazer Elementary: $17,786
• Frazer High: $10,614
• Harlem Elementary: $78,895
• Harlem High: $34,426
• Hays-Lodge Pole Schools: $63,979
• Heart Butte Schools: $42,173
• Lame Deer High: $51,067
• Lame Deer Schools: $107,299 
• Lodge Grass Elementary: $63,690
• Lodge Grass High: $39,303
• Morin Elementary (near Billings): $6,026
• Plenty Coups High (Pryor): $18,647
• Poplar Elementary: $132,832
• Poplar High: $46,764
• Pryor Elementary: $14,345
• Rocky Boy Elementary: $104,143
• Rocky Boy High: $43,608
• Wolf Point Elementary: $84,347
• Wyola Elementary: $18,647

TOTAL: $1,589,675

The funding announced today is in addition to nearly $1 billion Montana is already receiving from the Jobs Bill to create jobs and rebuild infrastructure. The Jobs Bill is also delivering more than $500 million in tax relief to Montana residents.
 
“Rebuilding our schools to improve education is a good way to boost our economy,” said Baucus, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee. “These dollars will create good-paying jobs and they will result in projects that will increase prosperity for generations. Jon and I voted for the Jobs Bill because it will help rebuild our economy through projects like this.”

“This money will address well documented, long-standing school construction backlogs on Montana reservations,” said Tester, who serves on both the Senate Appropriations and Indian Affairs Committees. “Investing in Montana schools and Montana kids is a smart thing to do because it will create jobs now and it will expand opportunities in the future by investing in Montana’s people and communities.”

Earlier this week, Baucus and Tester announced Montana is receiving more than $60 million in Jobs Bill funding to upgrade rural drinking water systems across northern Montana.