School bells are ringing locally and many little people and some parents have butterflies right now. Grandson Colton was very apprehensive about moving schools in Tucson earlier this month but found some comfort in having his second grade brother, Ethan, by his side. His biggest accomplishment when asked after the first day of Kindergarten was, "Mom, I didn't even cry!"

A little success on the first day of school goes a long way to a satisfying year, even if it isn't crying. There will be a lot of teachers and support personnel making sure that learning days are productive ones.

The legislative interim newsletter is always full of tidbits of information coming from committee meetings so I thought I'd share some with constituents. Did you know that Montana has 144,532 students in K through 12th grade with 11.4 percent of them in Billings. There are also 824 schools in 406 operating school districts.

Students were carried on Montana buses for a total of over 17 million miles last school year. This translates to 690 trips around the Earth. We know these drivers transport some precious cargo daily and applaud their safety records in all kinds of Montana weather.

The latest statistics also revealed that the statewide per-pupil expenditure is $10,874.10. For every $100 coming into districts, the state pays $48.75, locals pick up $39.50 and the feds contribute $12.75.

The huge funding numbers always make me question the need for so many districts and the overhead associated with them. Wouldn't the money be better spent on rewarding the finest educators in the classroom?

Our local graduation rates are much better than the statewide average of 85.4 percent. What should we be doing, however, for those 15 out of 100 who aren't being reached in the classrooms today? Surely we can do better.

Until we come up with some real solutions to all of the education questions I will continue Skyping with the grandkids to find out what they learned this week.

Youngest grandson, Oliver, has a few years at home before joining his sister, Addison, at the local New Hampshire elementary. She is eager to be in Mr. Ward's class with a new Snoopy backpack full of school supplies and plenty of spunk.

Best of luck and enjoy the year, all you teachers and support personnel. Starry-eyed students, including our grandkids, have headed your way. The world will soon be theirs so we can hope there's little crying and know there's lots of learning coming their way! Have another great year.

Senator Dee Brown, SD2

Hungry Horse