Sections
Part 1 School Budgets § 20-9-101 – § 20-9-168
Part 2 Administration of Finances § 20-9-201 – § 20-9-250
Part 3 Funding of Basic System of Quality Public Schools § 20-9-301 – § 20-9-380
Part 4 School Bonds § 20-9-401 – § 20-9-474
Part 5 Special Purpose Funds § 20-9-501 – § 20-9-570
Part 6 Public School Fund and Grants to Schools § 20-9-601 – § 20-9-640
Part 7 Educational Cooperative Agreements § 20-9-701 – § 20-9-707
Part 8 Emergency School Closure § 20-9-801 – § 20-9-806

Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 20 > Chapter 9 - Finance

  • Adult education: means the instruction of persons 16 years of age or older who are not regularly enrolled, full-time pupils for the purposes of ANB computation and the provision of advanced opportunities to qualified pupils pursuant to Title 20, chapter 7, part 15. See Montana Code 20-7-701
  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Affidavit: means a sworn written declaration made before an officer authorized to administer oaths or an unsworn written declaration made under penalty of perjury as provided in 1-6-105. See Montana Code 1-1-203
  • Aggregate hours: means the hours of pupil instruction for which a school course or program is offered or for which a pupil is enrolled. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
  • 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
  • At-risk student: means any student who is affected by environmental conditions that negatively impact the student's educational performance or threaten a student's likelihood of promotion or graduation. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • 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 budget levy: means the district levy in support of the BASE budget of a district, which may be supplemented by guaranteed tax base aid if the district is eligible under the provisions of 20-9-366 through 20-9-369. 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
  • Basic entitlement: means :

    (a)for each high school district:

    (i)$343,483 for fiscal year 2024 and $353,787 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts with an ANB of 800 or fewer; and

    (ii)$343,483 for fiscal year 2024 and $353,787 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts with an ANB of more than 800, plus $17,175 for fiscal year 2024 and $17,690 for each succeeding fiscal year for each additional 80 ANB over 800;

    (b)for each elementary school district or K-12 district elementary program without an approved and accredited junior high school, 7th and 8th grade program, or middle school:

    (i)$57,246 for fiscal year 2024 and $58,963 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts or K-12 district elementary programs with an ANB of 250 or fewer; and

    (ii)$57,246 for fiscal year 2024 and $58,963 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts or K-12 district elementary programs with an ANB of more than 250, plus $2,863 for fiscal year 2024 and $2,949 for each succeeding fiscal year for each additional 25 ANB over 250;

    (c)for each elementary school district or K-12 district elementary program with an approved and accredited junior high school, 7th and 8th grade program, or middle school:

    (i)for the district's kindergarten through grade 6 elementary program:

    (A)$57,246 for fiscal year 2024 and $58,963 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts or K-12 district elementary programs with an ANB of 250 or fewer; and

    (B)$57,246 for fiscal year 2024 and $58,963 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts or K-12 district elementary programs with an ANB of more than 250, plus $2,863 for fiscal year 2024 and $2,949 for each succeeding fiscal year for each additional 25 ANB over 250; and

    (ii)for the district's approved and accredited junior high school, 7th and 8th grade programs, or middle school:

    (A)$114,493 for fiscal year 2024 and $117,928 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts or K-12 district elementary programs with combined grades 7 and 8 with an ANB of 450 or fewer; and

    (B)$114,493 for fiscal year 2024 and $117,928 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts or K-12 district elementary programs with combined grades 7 and 8 with an ANB of more than 450, plus $5,724 for fiscal year 2024 and $5,896 for each succeeding fiscal year for each additional 45 ANB over 450. See Montana Code 20-9-306

  • Board of public education: means the board created by Article X, section 9, subsection (3), of the Montana constitution and 2-15-1507. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Board of regents: means the board of regents of higher education created by Article X, section 9, subsection (2), of the Montana constitution and 2-15-1505. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Budget authority: Authority provided by law to enter into obligations that will result in outlays of Federal funds. Budget authority may be classified by the period of availability (one-year, multiyear, no-year), by the timing of congressional action (current or permanent), or by the manner of determining the amount available (definite or indefinite).
  • Budget unit: means the unit for which the ANB of a district is calculated separately pursuant to 20-9-311. See Montana Code 20-9-306
  • budgeted fund: means any fund for which a budget must be adopted in order to expend money from the fund. See Montana Code 20-9-201
  • community college district: means a body corporate and a subdivision of the state of Montana organized under a single board of trustees for the purpose of providing community college instruction open to all people, subject to uniform regulations as determined by the trustees. See Montana Code 20-15-101
  • County superintendent: means the county government official who is the school officer of the county. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Declaration of emergency: means a declaration by a board of trustees that an unforeseen emergency has occurred in the district. See Montana Code 20-9-802
  • Department: means a principal functional and administrative entity that:

    (a)is created by this chapter within the executive branch of state government;

    (b)is one of the 20 principal departments permitted under the constitution; and

    (c)includes its units. See Montana Code 2-15-102

  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • Direct state aid: means 44. 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
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • Educational program: means a set of educational offerings designed to meet the program area standards contained in the accreditation standards. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. Source: OCC
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • federal impact aid basic support payment: means the annual impact aid revenue received by a district under 20 U. See Montana Code 20-9-406
  • Female: means a member of the human species who, under normal development, has XX chromosomes and produces or would produce relatively large, relatively immobile gametes, or eggs, during her life cycle and has a reproductive and endocrine system oriented around the production of those gametes. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • 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
  • General obligation bonds: means bonds that pledge the full faith and credit and the taxing power of a school district. See Montana Code 20-9-408
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Impact aid revenue bonds: means bonds that pledge and are payable solely from federal impact aid basic support payments received and deposited to the credit of the fund established in 20-9-514. See Montana Code 20-9-408
  • interest and income money: means the total of the following revenue, as provided for by Article X, section 5, of the 1972 Montana constitution:

    (a)95% of the interest received from the investment of the public school fund;

    (b)95% of the interest received from the investment of any other school funds held in trust by the state board of land commissioners;

    (c)95% of the income received from the leasing of or sale of timber from state school lands; and

    (d)95% of any other income derived from any other covenant affecting the use of state school lands. See Montana Code 20-9-341

  • Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Maximum general fund budget: means a district's general fund budget amount calculated from the basic entitlement for the district, the total per-ANB entitlement for the district, the total quality educator payment, the total at-risk student payment, the total Indian education for all payment, the total American Indian achievement gap payment, the total data-for-achievement payment, and the greater of the district's special education allowable cost payment multiplied by:

    (a)175%; or

    (b)the ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the district's special education allowable cost expenditures to the district's special education allowable cost payment for the fiscal year that is 2 years previous, with a maximum allowable ratio of 200%. See Montana Code 20-9-306

  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. Source: OCC
  • National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) Source: OCC
  • nonbudgeted fund: means any fund for which a budget is not required in order to expend money on deposit in the fund. See Montana Code 20-9-201
  • Offsite instructional setting: means an instructional setting that is an extension of a school of the district, located apart from the school, but within the boundaries of the district, where a school district provides in-person pupil instruction to a student who is enrolled in the district. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Oil and natural gas revenue bonds: means bonds that pledge and are payable from a first lien on oil and natural gas production taxes received by a school district pursuant to 20-9-310. See Montana Code 20-9-408
  • 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
  • Printing: means the act of reproducing a design on a surface by any process. See Montana Code 1-1-203
  • Proficiency: means a measure of competence that is demonstrated through application in a performance assessment. See Montana Code 20-7-1601
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Pupil: means an individual who is admitted by the board of trustees pursuant to 20-5-101 and who is enrolled in a school established and maintained under the laws of the state at public expense. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Pupil instruction: means the conduct of organized learning opportunities for pupils enrolled in public schools while under the supervision of a teacher. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Reasonable effort: means the rescheduling or extension of the school district's instructional calendar to make up at least 75% of the hours of pupil instruction lost due to an unforeseen emergency through any combination of the following:

    (a)extending the school year beyond the last scheduled day;

    (b)the use of scheduled vacation days in the district's adopted school calendar pursuant to 20-1-302;

    (c)the conduct of pupil instruction on Saturdays as provided in 20-1-303; or

    (d)extending instructional hours during the school day as provided in 20-1-302. See Montana Code 20-9-802

  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Remote instruction: means pupil instruction that occurs through virtual learning processes incorporating distance and online learning methods that best prepare pupils to meet desired learning outcomes as authorized in 20-7-118. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • 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
  • School bus: means , except as provided in subsection (5)(b), any motor vehicle that complies with the bus standards established by the board of public education as verified by the department of justice's semiannual inspection of school buses and the superintendent of public instruction and:

    (i)is owned by a district or other public agency and operated for the transportation of pupils to or from school or owned by a carrier under contract with a district or public agency to provide transportation of pupils to or from school; or

    (ii)is district-owned, is designed to carry 10 or fewer passengers, has an overall safety rating of five stars from the national highway traffic safety administration at the time of purchase, and is insured in accordance with minimum coverage requirements set forth in 20-10-109. See Montana Code 20-10-101

  • School day: means the school day set by the trustees as provided in 20-1-302. See Montana Code 20-9-802
  • School election: means a regular school election or any election conducted by a district or community college district for authorizing taxation, authorizing the issuance of bonds by an elementary, high school, or K-12 district, or accepting or rejecting any proposition that may be presented to the electorate for decision in accordance with the provisions of this title. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • School facility entitlement: means :

    (a)$300 per ANB for an elementary school district;

    (b)$450 per ANB for a high school district; or

    (c)$370 per ANB for an approved and accredited junior high school or middle school. See Montana Code 20-9-370

  • School food services: means a service of providing food for the pupils of a district on a nonprofit basis and includes any food service financially assisted through funds or commodities provided by the United States government. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • school in the district: means an accredited school operated by the district that is located within the boundaries of the district operating the school. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Serial bonds: means a bond issue payable in annual installments of principal commencing not more than 2 years from the date of issue, any one installment consisting of one or more bonds, with the principal amount of bonds maturing or subject to mandatory sinking fund redemption in each installment, commencing with the installment payable in the fourth year after the date of issue, not exceeding three times the principal amount of the bonds payable in the immediately preceding installment. See Montana Code 20-9-408
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • state equalization aid: means revenue as required in this section for distribution to the public schools for guaranteed tax base aid, BASE aid, and state debt service assistance. See Montana Code 20-9-343
  • State reimbursement for school facilities: means the amount of state equalization aid distributed to a district that:

    (a)has a district mill value per ANB that is less than the corresponding facility guaranteed mill value per ANB; and

    (b)has a debt service obligation in the ensuing school year on bonds. See Montana Code 20-9-370

  • subscription: includes the mark of a person who cannot write if the person's name is written near the mark by another person who also signs that person's own name as a witness. See Montana Code 1-1-203
  • Superintendent of public instruction: means that state government official designated as a member of the executive branch by the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • System: means the Montana university system. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Teacher: means a person, except a district superintendent, who holds a valid Montana teacher certificate 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 is employed by a district as a member of its instructional, supervisory, or administrative staff. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
  • Total at-risk student payment: means the payment resulting from the distribution of any funds appropriated for the purposes of 20-9-328. See Montana Code 20-9-306
  • Total data-for-achievement payment: means the payment provided in 20-9-325 resulting from multiplying $22. See Montana Code 20-9-306
  • Total quality educator payment: means the payment resulting from multiplying $3,566 for fiscal year 2024 and $3,673 for each succeeding fiscal year by the sum of:

    (a)the number of full-time equivalent educators as provided in 20-9-327; and

    (b)as provided in 20-9-324, for a school district meeting the legislative goal for competitive base pay of teachers, the number of full-time equivalent teachers that were in the first 3 years of the teacher's teaching career in the previous year. See Montana Code 20-9-306

  • Total school facility entitlement: means the school facility entitlement times the total ANB for the district. See Montana Code 20-9-370
  • Total special education allocation: means the state payment distributed pursuant to 20-9-321 that is the greater of the amount resulting from multiplying $293. See Montana Code 20-9-306
  • Traffic education: means instruction in motor vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian, and school bus traffic laws or motorcycle laws, in the acceptance of personal responsibility on the public highways, in the causes and consequences of traffic accidents, and in the skills necessary for the safe operation of bicycles and motor vehicles or motorcycles. See Montana Code 20-7-501
  • Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
  • Transportation: means :

    (a)a district's conveyance of a pupil by a school bus between the pupil's legal residence or an officially designated bus stop and the school designated by the trustees for the pupil's attendance; or

    (b)individual transportation. See Montana Code 20-10-101

  • Trustees: means the governing board of a district. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Unforeseen emergency: means a fire, flood, explosion, storm, earthquake, riot, insurrection, community disaster, or act of God or a combination of the foregoing that acts as a principal cause for a school district's inability to conduct a portion of the minimum aggregate hours of instruction required by 20-1-301. See Montana Code 20-9-802
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • University: means the university of Montana-Missoula. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
  • 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