Gov. Brian Schweitzer has two words for statewide education administrators asking for more money this biennium.

Show me.

Addressing the Independent Record editorial board Tuesday, Schweitzer challenged education leaders to show him tangible results in the classroom for funding increases of 26 percent for K-12 schools and nearly $57 million for the Montana University System since 2005.

The challenge connected three of the governor’s top agenda items in the process — education, energy and economic development — making it clear the results play a part in preventing what some education officials predict as a severe budget shortfall in the coming two years.

Referring to statewide funding problems as “nails” sticking up and describing the Legislature as the tool that pounds them back in the deck, Schweitzer said of education: “It’s a pretty big nail, and it’s actually a deck that (the Legislature) built.”

The governor was quick to push color-lined charts in front of editorial board members, denoting the “bathtub” dip in K-12 education spending during the Marc Racicot years and only a slight increase during the Judy Martz years before leaping skyward during Schweitzer’s administration.

According to his charts detailing the K-12 state funding per number of students, spending was equal in 1993 when Racicot took office and in 2000, but there was a dip in the middle. The amount, referred to as the average number of belonging, was just below $3,000 per student in those years.

In Martz’s administration, K-12 education spending rose to nearly $3,400 per student by 2004.

But during Schweitzer’s administration primary education funding leapt 26 percent over four years (2005-09) to more than $4,500 per student — real, not inflationary, dollars, he noted.

Part of that was court-mandated, as the Montana Quality Education Coalition sued the state for insufficient funding and forced a court-ordered increase in school budgets. The other part was “because it’s a good idea,” Schweitzer has said.

Spending for the Montana University System also has boomed nearly $57 million into the next biennium, Schweitzer’s charts indicate — $27 million from 2005-07 and another $50 million, plus frozen tuition, for 2007-09.

“Racicot, in real dollars, decreased the amount of money until it took all the way out to 2000 to get back to where we were in 1993,” Schweitzer said. “A decent economist would tell you the cost of money doubles about every eight to 10 years.

“You see, the Racicot years, and to a much lesser extent the Martz years, were the reason they were able to win a lawsuit.”

The governor touted his record of increased K-12 spending, including a 7.3 percent boost in the first year of this biennium and a 1.9 percent spike for 2008-09.

“I’ve heard some educators say, ‘How does he expect us to get by on a 1.9 percent increase?’ Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That 1.9 percent is on top of the 24.5 percent I provided for you in the first three years. It isn’t that you only get 1.9. You get 24.5 plus 1.9.

“And now I’m hearing them say we can’t possibly do this. Well, where were those voices in these years?” he asked, pointing to the “bathtub” dip.

He also hears, he said, that these are additional state dollars appropriated based on the number of students, but that many schools across Montana have declining enrollments and therefore the net increase is less.

“And I say, I’m guilty. You’re right. I should have calculated the increase based on the number of square feet in your school, not the number of students. I should have calculated based on the number of cubic feet in your gymnasium or the number of acres you have surrounding your school.”

Revenue rates in Montana are cooling after three or four banner years, and Schweitzer doesn’t predict those inflationary years will continue.

“I’m saying to schools, K-12, we’ve increased your funding by 26 percent, show me what you did with it,” he said. “Show me what you’ve done other than just spend it. Show me you’ve increased efficiency.”

Schweitzer also noted a Montana law that enables districts to consolidate administrative costs, citing Judith Basin County and the towns of Geyser, Stanford and Hobson — each within about 18 miles of each other — as specific examples where administrative consolidation could save costs.

Each district has a full complement of administrators, but they likely won’t consolidate because of questions regarding the wills of some area ranchers who have bestowed the value of their ranches to the schools for full-ride scholarships to Montana universities.

What’s unclear is the effect on the ability of the trust to provide those scholarships should the districts unite.

Schweitzer has already challenged Montana to scale back its electricity and natural gas consumption by 20 percent.

If schools were to implement such changes, that would be roughly $5 million more in spending power they’d have at their disposal, Schweitzer said.

“That’s some serious money they could deploy to the classroom,” he said.

The results he’s looking for?

“Compare administrative costs between school districts. Show energy consumption. Show what percent of the money ended up in the classroom.

“I’m really kind of old-fashioned, and I gotta tell you, if we’re paying for education, that means the old-fashioned way, it’s about the kids,” he said. “How many of those dollars ended up in the classroom?

“If I had my druthers I’d like the greatest part of that 26 percent to have ended up in teachers’ salaries and in the classroom and in computers. …”

And that’s not all. At the university level, he said he is holding the board of regents accountable for closing the gaps between affordability and transferability at the funding level he’s already made available — not the $100 million he says regents are asking for.

“We’ve poured this money out to education, and now I want them to start talking to each other,” Schweitzer said. “I want distance learning. I want a kid in Scobey to be able to take Russian. I need an education system that is relevant, that is accessible, that is affordable. And I am tired of turf battles.”

Editor John Doran: 447-4072 or john.doran@lee.net