Last week's Question of the Week asked whether the Legislature is to blame for an impending school-budget shortfall. A majority said it is.

Among 370 responses to this unscientific survey, 224 blamed the Legislature, while 146 did not.

Some readers' comments:

- How can we expect a Legislature that places Rick Jore, a member of the extreme Constitution Party, in charge of education to do right by our kids? The leadership of the Legislature is totally to blame for this embarrassment.

- Absolutely not! Schools have more money than ever and overall increasingly fewer students. Moreover, they knew at the outset what funds they would have and when. They need to tone down the whining and be more responsible. "Class, our lesson today is on budgeting ..."

- Republicans, yes. Democrats, no. The Republicans, Libertarians and Constitutionalists in our midst do not believe in a strong, free public education. They don't support scientific method or understanding. The Democrats worked long and hard trying to improve both the funding and quality of our education system. Unfortunately, the resistance to education in our government was too great.

- The shortfall in educational funds comes not from the lack of money but the lack of proper administration of money. The system is top heavy in people that hold administrative jobs. The money would be better spent getting education to the students. A slight indication of the failure of the system is the lack of math and spelling skills noted when dealing with school-age individuals.

- Yes. Because the 2007 session of the Montana Legislature was a complete travesty; once again in order to maintain an acceptable level of education for our children, we the property owners of the state are going to be asked for yet another mill levy in order to bail out our cash-short school system. I think it is high time for the people of Montana to start looking seriously at another source of school funding. Like (gasp!) a 4 percent statewide sales tax.

- If the state's schools cannot live within their budget, it isn't the fault of the state Legislature for the schools' fiscal mismanagement of taxpayer funds. The majority of Montanans live within their budget, so why can't the schools?