By Kelia Szpaller DAILY MONTANAN
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said states need to be “creative and innovative” in how they think about learning — and don’t need the bureaucracy of Washington, D.C., in the way.
McMahon made her remarks Friday at a roundtable with Gov. Greg Gianforte at Montana State University in Bozeman, the largest public university in the state.
At the roundtable, MSU students and representatives from industry talked about the importance of connecting education with the needs of the private sector and the benefits of the trades at Gallatin College.
“You guys probably know this statistic, but the fastest growing class of millionaires in the country are trade skills,” McMahon said. “So keep working.”
In 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that private equity firms were investing in skilled trades and minting a new class of millionaires.
Gianforte, a Bozeman Republican and entrepreneur-turned-politician, said he wanted McMahon to see that Montana is leading the way in innovation. He touted more than 3,000 apprenticeships in various trades in Montana and “record low unemployment.”
The Governor’s Office announced on Friday an unemployment rate of 2.9% in August, “the eleventh straight month under 3% and over four consecutive years of unemployment at or below 3.4%, a new record.”
Gianforte, whose Gianforte Family Foundation made a $50 million donation to MSU to support cybersecurity, optics and photonics, and engineering, said a strong partnership between the private sector and higher education means better outcomes for students.
“That’s why we’ve made such a priority in our administration to align workforce with education, so that our students can have brighter futures and our economy continues to grow, so that people can pursue the American dream,” Gianforte said.
The governor said he appreciates McMahon’s interest in all 50 states to “understand what we face” and to “be a better partner” — and he’s seen progress on the partnership.
Republican President Donald Trump’s appointment of McMahon to head the Department of Education has been controversial and led to legal battles and protests.
Trump charged McMahon, head of the Small Business Administration during his first term and an executive with World Wrestling Entertainment, with shuttering the department in a bid to increase efficiency.
But some education groups and many Democrats argue the plan to dismantle the agency will hurt vulnerable students.
At the roundtable, McMahon said bureaucracy at the federal level — “we don’t hire teachers, we don’t buy books” — should not get in the way of “having more funds flow into the states to get to students.”
“The president certainly believes that every child should have access to a quality education,” McMahon said. “But we need to look at education differently.”
She said innovation means skills-based learning and understanding the needs of businesses. McMahon also said literacy is her top priority.
Courtney Johnson, of Johnson Metal Works in Bozeman, said the company is excited to have a pipeline of students from Gallatin College who meet their workforce needs.
She said some students make six figures right out of school.
“They have nicer trucks than us,” Johnson said.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen, who also participated in the roundtable, said career training is a focus for the Office of Public Instruction too.
For example, she said OPI is sending interactive lesson plans and materials to help teachers teach photonics to elementary and middle school children.
“We are trying to make sure that kids get an early introduction and see these as options,” Hedalen said.
After the roundtable, Hedalen said children get excited about things like light sabers and robotics and lasers, and they excel with the hands-on learning.
She also pointed to one example of a disconnect between a federal regulation and the classroom.
She said Carl Perkins funds for Career and Technical Education can be used only for permanent items such as machinery or tools — but the money can’t be used to buy wood in shop class.
“Obviously, for the student to complete a project in wood shop, you need the lumber,” Hedalen said.
At the close of the discussion, MSU President Brock Tessman presented McMahon with a special pin.
He said the pins are reserved only for the executive team and “guests who’ve shown exemplary partnership and support for our university.”
“You’re our first external guest to receive this,” said Tessman, who took the helm of the flagship this summer.
Pointing to a painting of the headwaters of the Missouri River, Tessman said he thinks of MSU as the headwaters of the state’s future, rural America’s future and the future of the country.
“This is a special time for this campus,” Tessman said. “We’re bursting at the seams because of the innovation and the partnership that you learned a little bit about around this table.”
