20-6-326. Procedure for expansion of elementary school district into K-12 school district -- trustee resolution. (1) An existing elementary district that is not part of a unified school system or governed by a joint board with a high school district may expand into a K-12 district under the procedures outlined in this section only if the elementary district's ANB, as calculated under the provisions of 20-9-311, is at least 1,000.
(2) The expansion to a K-12 district may be requested by the trustees of an existing elementary district through passage of a resolution that includes the information outlined in 20-6-105(3) and requests the county superintendent to order an election to allow the electors of the elementary district to consider the proposition of expanding the elementary school district into a K-12 district. The trustees of an existing elementary district with an ANB of at least 1,000 may not pass a resolution for expansion more than one time within a 5-year period.
(3) (a) If the proposition for the expansion is approved by the electors of the elementary district and the trustees issue a certificate of election as provided in 20-20-416, for a period of 2 years from the date of the certification of the election the elementary trustees have the authority to propose to the electors of the elementary district:
(i) a transition costs levy pursuant to 20-9-502; and
(ii) a general obligation bond pursuant to Title 20, chapter 9, part 4, for the purpose of building, altering, repairing, buying, furnishing, equipping, purchasing lands for, or obtaining a water supply for a school to accommodate high school students.
(b) The bond limitations pursuant to 20-9-406 imposed on a district proposing a bond under subsection (3)(a) must be calculated on the limits for a K-12 district with the high school ANB calculated by dividing the ANB of the elementary district by 9 and multiplying the result by 4.
(c) A bond approved under subsection (3)(a) becomes a bond of, and may not be issued until the creation of, the K-12 district formed pursuant to subsection (4).
(d) A district that issues a bond under this subsection (3) is eligible for facility reimbursements and advances pursuant to 20-9-366 through 20-9-371 that, until the new high school has enrolled students in all grades and has established an actual ANB for budgeting purposes, must be based on an estimated high school ANB calculated by dividing the ANB of the elementary district by 9 and multiplying the result by 4.
(e) Until the county superintendent orders the creation of a new high school district and attachment of the expanding elementary district to form a new K-12 district pursuant to subsection (4), the existing high school district remains intact for all purposes.
(4) If elementary electors approve a bond pursuant to subsection (3), on July 1 following the approval of the bond the county superintendent shall order the creation of a new high school district with identical boundaries to the expanding elementary district and the immediate attachment of the expanding elementary district to form a K-12 district. The county superintendent shall send a copy of the order to the board of county commissioners and to the trustees of the districts affected by the creation of the district. The trustees of the expanding elementary district must be designated as the trustees of the new K-12 district.
(5) Prior to the first school fiscal year in which the K-12 district will enroll students in a particular high school grade, the K-12 trustees shall prepare operating budgets for the new high school according to the school budgeting provisions of this title, except that:
(a) the ANB for any inaugural grades for the high school program of the K-12 district must be estimated by the trustees and may not exceed the number resulting from dividing the highest budgeted ANB of the elementary program in the preceding 3 fiscal years by 9 and multiplying the result by the number of grades in which the high school will enroll students for the first time in the ensuing school year;
(b) the number of quality educators for the high school program must be estimated by the trustees and may not exceed the number resulting from dividing the ANB estimated under subsection (5)(a) by 10;
(c) the taxable value for budgeting purposes of both the elementary and high school programs of the K-12 district must be based on the taxable value as most recently determined by the department of revenue;
(d) the general fund budget adopted by the trustees must be based on only the basic entitlement, the quality educator payment, and the budget components derived from ANB counts; and
(e) the district's BASE aid for the upcoming year must be based on the general fund budget adopted by the trustees for the upcoming school year.
(6) Until the first school year in which the K-12 school district enrolls high school students in all grades and for a period of time not to exceed 6 years following the creation of the K-12 district:
(a) the high school district shall provide high school instruction to high school students of the K-12 district in any grades in which the K-12 district is not enrolling students;
(b) the K-12 district shall be responsible for providing transportation for its students enrolled in the high school district pursuant to subsection (6)(a), may establish a transportation budget for this purpose, and may receive state and county reimbursements under Title 20, chapter 10; and
(c) the K-12 district shall pay the high school district 20% of the per-ANB maximum rate established in 20-9-306 for each of its students enrolled in the high school district with one-half of the amount due by December 31 of the year following the year of attendance and the remainder due no later than June 15 of the year following the year of attendance. The K-12 trustees shall establish a tuition fund and levy to fund these payments.
(7) (a) Bonded indebtedness of the high school district that is outstanding as of the date of creation of the K-12 district must remain secured by and be the indebtedness of the original territory against which the bonds of the high school district were issued and must be paid by tax levies against the original territory.
(b) Bonded indebtedness of the high school district that is issued by the high school district following the creation of the K-12 district is secured by the territory of the high school district as of the date of issuance of the high school district bonds and must be paid by tax levies against the territory of the high school district. However, if bonds of the high school district were approved at a bond election conducted before the creation of the K-12 district, all bonds of the high school district issued by the high school district under the bond election authority must remain secured by and be the indebtedness of the territory of the high school district as of the date the bond authority was approved by voters and must be paid by tax levies against that territory.
(c) Bonded indebtedness of the K-12 district is secured by the territory of the K-12 district as of the date of issuance of the K-12 district bonds and must be paid by tax levies against the territory of the K-12 district.
(d) Bonded indebtedness of the elementary district that is outstanding as of the date of creation of the K-12 district must become upon the date of creation of the K-12 district the bonded indebtedness of the K-12 district and must be secured by the territory of the K-12 district and paid by tax levies against the territory of the K-12 district. The debt service on the bonds must be allocated to the elementary program of the K-12 district.
(e) Bonded indebtedness of the high school district or the K-12 district that is subsequently affected by a later reorganization of the high school district or the K-12 district is governed by the provisions of Title 20, chapter 6, part 4.
(8) When a K-8 district expands to a K-12 district as provided for in this section, a principal, teacher, or other certified employee of the original high school district who has a right of tenure under Montana law must be given preference in hiring for a vacant position in the new K-12 district for which the employee is qualified with the required certification endorsements.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 194, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 205, L. 2017; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 551, L. 2021.