20-9-503. Budgeting, tax levy, and use of building reserve fund. (1) Whenever an annual building reserve authorization to budget is available to a district, the trustees shall include the authorized amount in the building reserve fund of the final budget. The county superintendent shall report the amount as the building reserve fund levy requirement to the county commissioners by the later of the first Tuesday in September or within 30 calendar days after receiving certified taxable values, and a levy on the district must be made by the county commissioners in accordance with 20-9-142.

Terms Used In Montana Code 20-9-503

  • 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
  • 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
  • Trustees: means the governing board of a district. See Montana Code 20-1-101

(2)The trustees of any district maintaining a building reserve fund may:

(a)pledge the revenue from the building reserve fund levy for up to 15 years to repay loans used only for projects authorized by the electors of the district pursuant to 20-9-502.

(b)expend money from the fund for the purpose or purposes for which it was authorized without the specific expenditures being included in the final budget when, in their discretion, there is a sufficient amount of money to begin the authorized projects. The expenditures may not invalidate the district’s authority to continue the annual imposition of the building reserve taxation authorized by the electors of the district.

(3)Whenever there is money credited to the building reserve fund for which there is no immediate need, the trustees may invest the money in accordance with 20-9-213(4). The interest earned from the investment must be credited to the building reserve fund or the debt service fund, at the discretion of the trustees, and expended for any purpose authorized by law for the fund.