“I would argue that the house is already on fire. We just haven’t been burned yet.”

Jake Warner, a Helena High School math teacher and recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, warning lawmakers that Montana is already in a full-blown teacher shortage crisis. Warner’s remarks came during testimony before the School Funding Interim Commission, where educators described classrooms without heat, low pay, rising student behavioral issues and long-standing funding gaps that are pushing teachers out of the profession. (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)