Montana Code 20-3-361. Joint board of trustees organization and voting membership
20-3-361. Joint board of trustees organization and voting membership. (1) The board of trustees of two or more school districts may form a joint board of trustees for the purpose of coordinating any educational program or support service of the districts. A joint board of trustees may coordinate only those programs and services agreed to by the participating boards of trustees.
Terms Used In Montana Code 20-3-361
- 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
- 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
- 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.
- Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
- 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
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
- Trustees: means the governing board of a district. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203
(2)When a joint board of trustees is formed, all of the members of the districts’ trustees must be members of the joint board of trustees and each member must have the right to participate in the meetings, but voting on matters considered by the joint board is limited by the provisions of this section.
(3)At the first meeting of the joint board of trustees, a presiding officer of the joint board of trustees must be selected from among the membership. A secretary of the joint board must be selected from the membership. The presiding officer, when selected as a voting member, may not be disqualified from voting because of the position. The secretary may not be a voting member except that the secretary shall cast the deciding vote when three successive ballots have resulted in a tie vote of the joint board of trustees.
(4)The voting membership of the joint board of trustees must be equalized among the trustee membership of the participating districts. After the selection of the presiding officer and the secretary, if necessary, the voting membership is:
(a)all of the membership of the board of trustees of the smallest class of district, according to 20-6-201 or 20-6-301, unless one of its members is selected as secretary, in which case that member may not be a voting member; and
(b)the members of the board of trustees of the other district or districts who are selected by the trustees as voting members of the joint board in a number equal to the number of voting members of the district as established under subsection (4)(a). The names of the voting membership selected by the trustees must be submitted in writing to the secretary of the board and are the only members of the district’s trustees eligible to vote on joint board matters unless the list is revised in writing by the trustees.
(5)Each voting member is entitled to cast one vote, individually, upon every matter submitted to the joint board for a vote.
(6)A joint board shall remain in existence for at least 1 school year and may not be dissolved until the end of a school year.
(7)A school district that elects to participate in a joint board formed under this section for special education purposes shall confirm in writing to the joint board by October 1 of the current school fiscal year the district’s intention to participate or to not participate in a joint board agreement for the next school fiscal year.