(a) A regional office of education serving 2 or more counties, except those serving a county of 1,000,000 inhabitants or more, formed pursuant to Article 3A of the School Code shall be included within and be subject to this Article, effective as of the effective date of consolidation. For the purpose of this Article, a regional office of education serving 2 or more counties shall be considered a participating instrumentality but the requirements of Sections 7-106 and 7-132 shall not apply to it. Each county served by a regional office of education that serves 2 or more counties shall pay its proportional cost of the office’s municipality contributions. This cost shall be included in the budget prepared under and apportioned in the manner provided by Section 3A-7 of the School Code. Each county may include the cost for its share of the municipality contributions required for the regional office of education in its appropriation and tax levy under Section 7-171 of this Article.
     (b) At the request of the county, the Board may designate any participating regional office of education to be a separate reporting entity distinct from the county.