20-9-439. Computation of net levy requirement for general obligation bonds — procedure when levy inadequate. Subject to 20-6-326, the following provisions apply:

Terms Used In Montana Code 20-9-439

  • BASE: means base amount for school equity. See Montana Code 20-9-306
  • County superintendent: means the county government official who is the school officer of the county. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • 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
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • 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.
  • Principal: means a person who holds a valid class 3 Montana teacher certificate with an applicable principal's endorsement that has been issued by the superintendent of public instruction under the provisions of this title and the policies adopted by the board of public education and who has been employed by a district as a principal. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
  • 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
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
  • Writ: means an order in writing issued in the name of the state or of a court or judicial officer. See Montana Code 1-1-202

(1)The county superintendent shall compute the levy requirement for each school district‘s general obligation debt service fund on the basis of the following procedure:

(a)Determine the total money available in the debt service fund for the reduction of the property tax on the district by totaling:

(i)the end-of-the-year fund balance in the debt service fund, less any limited operating reserve as provided in 20-9-438;

(ii)anticipated interest to be earned by the investment of debt service cash in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-213(4) or by the investment of bond proceeds under the provisions of 20-9-435;

(iii)any state advance for school facilities distributed to a qualified district under the provisions of 20-9-346, 20-9-370, and 20-9-371;

(iv)funds transferred from the impact aid fund established pursuant to 20-9-514 that are authorized by 20-9-437(2) to be used to repay the district’s bonds; and

(v)any other money, including money from federal sources, anticipated by the trustees to be available in the debt service fund during the ensuing school fiscal year from sources such as legally authorized money transfers into the debt service fund or from rental income, excluding any guaranteed tax base aid.

(b)Subtract the total amount available to reduce the property tax, determined in subsection (1)(a), from the final budget for the debt service fund as established in 20-9-438.

(2)The net debt service fund levy requirement determined in subsection (1)(b) must be reported to the county commissioners by the later of the first Tuesday in September or within 30 calendar days after receiving certified taxable values by the county superintendent as the net debt service fund levy requirement for the district, and a levy must be made by the county commissioners in accordance with 20-9-142.

(3)If the board of county commissioners fails in any school fiscal year to make a levy for any issue or series of bonds of a school district sufficient to raise the money necessary for payment of interest and principal becoming due during the next ensuing school fiscal year, in any amounts established under the provisions of this section, the holder of any bond of the issue or series or any taxpayer of the district may apply to the district court of the county in which the school district is located for a writ of mandate to compel the board of county commissioners of the county to make a sufficient levy for payment purposes. If, upon the hearing of the application, it appears to the satisfaction of the court that the board of county commissioners of the county has failed to make a levy or has made a levy that is insufficient to raise the amount required to be raised as established in the manner provided in this section, the court shall determine the amount of the deficiency and shall issue a writ of mandate directed to and requiring the board of county commissioners, at the next meeting for the purpose of fixing tax levies for county purposes, to fix and make a levy against all taxable property in the school district that is sufficient to raise the amount of the deficiency. The levy is in addition to any levy required to be made at that time for the ensuing school fiscal year. Any costs that may be allowed or awarded the petitioner in the proceeding must be paid by the members of the board of county commissioners and may not be a charge against the school district or the county.

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