Just 99 of Montana’s 399 school districts increased starting teacher salaries enough by the start of this school year to receive the state’s financial incentive for doing so. That’s down from 109 districts last year.

“I have a feeling that these are going to be issues that are churning for the next year into the next session,” legislative research analyst Pad McCracken told lawmakers during an interim legislative meeting this week. “This is really just getting the conversation started.”