20-6-702. Funding for K-12 school districts. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (2) through (6), a K-12 school district formed under the provisions of 20-6-701 is subject to the provisions of law for high school districts.

Terms Used In Montana Code 20-6-702

  • ANB: means the average number of regularly enrolled, full-time pupils physically attending a school of the district or an offsite instructional setting or receiving remote instruction from the public schools of a district. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • BASE: means base amount for school equity. See Montana Code 20-9-306
  • BASE aid: means :

    (a)direct state aid for 44. See Montana Code 20-9-306

  • BASE budget: means the minimum general fund budget of a district, which includes 80% of the basic entitlement, 80% of the total per-ANB entitlement, 100% of the total quality educator payment, 100% of the total at-risk student payment, 100% of the total Indian education for all payment, 100% of the total American Indian achievement gap payment, 100% of the total data-for-achievement payment, and 140% of the special education allowable cost payment. See Montana Code 20-9-306
  • BASE funding program: means the state program for the equitable distribution of the state's share of the cost of Montana's basic system of public elementary schools and high schools, through county equalization aid as provided in 20-9-331 and 20-9-333 and state equalization aid as provided in 20-9-343, in support of the BASE budgets of districts and special education allowable cost payments as provided in 20-9-321. See Montana Code 20-9-306
  • district: means the territory, regardless of county boundaries, organized under the provisions of this title to provide public educational services under the jurisdiction of the trustees prescribed by this title. See Montana Code 20-6-101
  • fund: means a separate detailed account of receipts and expenditures for a specific purpose as authorized by law or by the superintendent of public instruction under the provisions of subsection (2). See Montana Code 20-9-201
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • school: means an institution for the teaching of children that is established and maintained under the laws of the state of Montana at public expense. See Montana Code 20-6-501
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Trustees: means the governing board of a district. See Montana Code 20-1-101

(2)The number of elected trustees of the K-12 school district must be based on the classification of the attached elementary district under the provisions of 20-3-341 and 20-3-351.

(3)Calculations for the following must be made separately for the elementary school program and the high school program of a K-12 school district:

(a)the calculation of ANB for purposes of determining the total per-ANB entitlements must be in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-311;

(b)the basic county tax for elementary equalization and revenue for the elementary BASE funding program for the district must be determined in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-331, and the basic county tax for high school equalization and revenue for the high school BASE funding program for the district must be determined in accordance with 20-9-333;

(c)the guaranteed tax base aid for BASE funding program purposes for a K-12 school district must be calculated separately, using each district’s guaranteed tax base ratio, as defined in 20-9-366. The BASE budget levy to be levied for the K-12 school district must be prorated based on the ratio of the BASE funding program amounts for elementary school programs to the BASE funding program amounts for high school programs.

(d)the levy authority limits under 20-9-502(3) and the corresponding state school major maintenance aid under 20-9-525(3) for a K-12 school district must be calculated separately for the K-12 school district’s elementary and high school programs in the same manner as those limits and aid would be calculated if the K-12 school district consisted of a separate elementary and high school district.

(4)The retirement obligation and eligibility for retirement guaranteed tax base aid for a K-12 school district must be calculated and funded as a high school district retirement obligation under the provisions of 20-9-501.

(5)For the purposes of budgeting for a K-12 school district, the trustees shall adopt a single fund for any of the budgeted or nonbudgeted funds described in 20-9-201 for the costs of operating all grades and programs of the district.

(6)Tuition for attendance in the K-12 school district must be determined separately for high school pupils and for elementary pupils under the provisions of 20-5-320 through 20-5-324, except that the actual expenditures used for calculations in 20-5-323 must be based on an amount prorated between the elementary and high school programs in the appropriate funds of each district in the year prior to the attachment of the districts.