Montana Code Annotated 2019

TITLE 20. EDUCATION

CHAPTER 9. FINANCE

Part 9. Supplemental Funding for Innovative Educational Programs

Distribution Of Supplemental Revenue To Public Schools -- Innovative Educational Program

20-9-904. (Temporary) Distribution of supplemental revenue to public schools -- innovative educational program. (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall:

(a) obligate at least 95% of its annual revenue from the educational improvement account provided for in 20-9-905 for supplemental funding to eligible public schools for innovative educational programs and technology deficiencies;

(b) provide innovative educational program or technology deficiency supplemental funding to eligible public schools; and

(c) distribute supplemental funding from the educational improvement account to each geographic region and each large district in a manner that provides proportionate funding based on the amount of donations under 15-30-3110 in each of the respective geographic regions and large districts. In distributing the supplemental funding, the superintendent of public instruction shall determine the allocation for each school district in a geographic region based on the ratio of the school district's number of quality educators compared to the total number of quality educators in the school district's geographic region.

(2) (a) Subject to subsection (2)(b), the superintendent of public instruction shall use the taxpayer's residential address and allocate the supplemental funding to the geographic region or large district schools that serve the taxpayer's residence. If a residential address is served by schools that are part of a large district and a smaller district, then the superintendent of public instruction shall allocate the supplemental funding between the large district and the geographic region of the smaller district based on the average number belonging served by each district.

(b) A taxpayer may specify the geographic region or large district in which the supplemental funding must be used. If a taxpayer specifies that an allocation is to be used in a:

(i) geographic region, the allocation may not be used in a large district; and

(ii) large district, the allocation may not be used in a geographic region.

(3) The supplemental funding must be deposited in the district's school flexibility fund provided for in 20-9-543. Each district shall report the expenditure of supplemental funding for specific schools to the superintendent of public instruction. (Terminates December 31, 2023--sec. 33, Ch. 457, L. 2015.)

History: En. Sec. 4, Ch. 457, L. 2015.