Legislative Leadership Endorses Sandy Welch for OPI

Montana’s education system is at a cross roads and we can either choose to continue on the path of stagnation that we are currently on, or we can embark on a mission to empower Montana’s teachers, administrators and children to make educational excellence their top priority. Continuing to allow the mandated bureaucracy that is now commonplace in the Office of Public Instruction will only cause additional harm to Montana’s educational system. The inefficient, ineffective ways of the current OPI system and their tendency to force “one size fits all” policy on Montana’s school administrators must be changed. Our local schools need flexibility in order to innovate and flourish in their unique environments while delivering the highest quality education possible.

We in the legislative leadership are very excited to advocate for a new paradigm. To prepare the next generation of Montanans to compete in this rapidly changing, competitive world, we must have a new focus and new leadership at the Office of Public Instruction. Montanans have worked tirelessly to secure our future and cannot ignore our most valuable resource; our children. Today’s students are tomorrow’s business owners and employers, and it is our job to ensure they move forward with the tools they need to face the future.

Our republican candidate for Superintendent of Schools, Sandy Welch, has the leadership and experience that Montana needs to reorient our school system to better serve our students. Her vision is one of OPI working collaboratively with our local schools to drive innovation while achieving educational excellence. Sandy Welch is committed to working with our wonderful local schools and providing the partnerships and leadership that should be expected from the OPI. She has worked as a teacher and administrator giving her great insight into the day-to-day workings of a school. This experience proved to be valuable as she worked as an advisor to the Montana Senate during the last legislative session.

Please join us, Republican legislative leadership, in supporting Sandy Welch as she seeks to change OPI into a driving force for educational excellence through partnerships and local control—not mandates and bureaucracy.

To join support Sandy, or for additional information about Sandy’s vision to make the Montana educational system the envy of the world go to WelchforMontana.com.

Senate President Jim Peterson

Speaker Mike Milburn

Senate Pres. Pro Tem Bruce Tutvedt