2001 Montana Legislature

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HOUSE BILL NO. 358

INTRODUCED BY K. BALES, BARRETT, DEVLIN, HEDGES, R. HOLDEN, LENHART, MATTHEWS, OLSON, STEINBEISSER, ZOOK

Montana State Seal

AN ACT REVISING THE PROCEDURES FOR OPENING OR REOPENING AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL; ALLOWING PARENTS OF AT LEAST TWO PUPILS TO PETITION THE TRUSTEES; LOWERING THE REQUIRED ANB TO TWO; ALLOWING THE TRUSTEES TO OPEN OR REOPEN THE SCHOOL DURING THE CURRENT SCHOOL FISCAL YEAR; REQUIRING A SCHOOL TO BE CLASSIFIED AS ISOLATED BEFORE OPENING OR REOPENING DURING THE CURRENT SCHOOL FISCAL YEAR; AMENDING SECTIONS 20-6-502 AND 20-9-302, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:



     Section 1.  Section 20-6-502, MCA, is amended to read:

     "20-6-502.  Opening or reopening of elementary school. The trustees of any elementary district may open or reopen an elementary school of the district when such the opening or reopening has been approved in accordance with the following procedure:

     (1)  The parents of at least three two pupils who would attend the opened or reopened school petition the trustees of the district to open or reopen a school during the ensuing school fiscal year. Such The petition shall must identify the school, state the reasons for requesting the opening or reopening, and give the names of the children who would attend such the school.

     (2)  If the trustees approve the opening or reopening of a school, they shall send the petition with a copy of their approval resolution to the county superintendent. The county superintendent shall review the petition to determine if the average number belonging (ANB) of such the school would be five two or more. If the trustees plan to open or reopen the school during the current school fiscal year, the trustees shall include the proposed opening date in the approval resolution and shall request that the process outlined in this section be expedited.

     (3)  The county superintendent shall present the petition, trustees' approval, and his the county superintendent's findings on the probable ANB to the board of county commissioners (budget board) for their consideration. The budget board shall deny the opening or reopening of any school if the county superintendent's enrollment estimate for such the school is less than five two ANB. In all other cases, the budget board may approve or disapprove the requested opening or reopening of the elementary school.

     (4) (a) If the budget board approves a school opening or reopening, the county superintendent shall send a copy of such the approval, along with the petition, trustees' approval, and his the county superintendent's estimate of the probable ANB, to the superintendent of public instruction. The superintendent of public instruction shall approve or disapprove the requested opening or reopening of the elementary school. If the opening or reopening is approved, the superintendent of public instruction shall approve or adjust the ANB estimate of the county superintendent for such the school and such the ANB amount shall must be used for budgeting and BASE funding program purposes during the ensuing school fiscal year. No An ANB amount shall may not be approved for the ensuing school fiscal year for an opening or reopening school when the request for such the school has not been received by the superintendent of public instruction before the fourth Monday of June.

     (b) (i) If the opening or reopening is approved and the trustees want to open or reopen the school during the current school fiscal year, the trustees shall submit a budget request to the superintendent of public instruction for that portion of the fiscal year in which the school will be in operation prior to the ensuing school fiscal year. The superintendent of public instruction shall approve or adjust the budget request and shall fund the budget for the portion of the school year in which the school will be in operation.

     (ii) Before a school can open or reopen during the current school fiscal year, the school must be classified as an isolated school in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-302, except that the dates in that section for the submission and approval of the application for classification do not apply and the application must be made at the same time that the application for opening or reopening the school is made."



     Section 2.  Section 20-9-302, MCA, is amended to read:

     "20-9-302.  School isolation. (1) The Except as provided in 20-6-502(4)(b), the trustees of any district operating an elementary school of less than 10 ANB or a high school of less than 25 ANB for 2 consecutive years shall apply to have the school classified as an isolated school. The application shall must be submitted by the trustees to the county superintendent by May 1 of the second consecutive year that enrollment falls below the amount specified in this subsection. Such The application shall must include:

     (a)  the name of each pupil who will attend the school during the ensuing school fiscal year with the distance the pupil resides from the nearest county road or highway;

     (b)  a description of conditions affecting transportation such as poor roads, mountains, rivers, or other obstacles to travel, the distance the school is from the nearest open school having room and facilities for the pupils of such the school, or any other condition that would result in an unusual hardship to the pupils of the school if they were transported to another school; and

     (c)  any other information prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction.

     (2)  The county superintendent shall submit the applications to the board of county commissioners (budget board) for their consideration on or before May 15. The budget board shall approve or disapprove the application on the basis of the criteria established by the superintendent of public instruction. The budget board also may approve an application because of the existence of other conditions which would result in an unusual hardship to the pupils of such the school if they were transported to another school.

     (3)  When an application is approved, the county superintendent shall submit such the application to the superintendent of public instruction before June 1. The superintendent of public instruction shall approve or disapprove such the application for isolated classification by the fourth Monday of June on the basis of the information supplied by the application or objective information the superintendent of public instruction may collect on his the superintendent's own initiative. No An elementary or high school shall may not be considered an isolated school until the approval of the superintendent of public instruction has been received."



     Section 3.  Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 2001.

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