Montana Code 20-6-503. Opening or reopening of a high school
20-6-503. Opening or reopening of a high school. (1) The trustees of any high school district may open or reopen a high school of the district or a branch of a high school of the district when such opening or reopening has been approved by the superintendent of public instruction; except when a county high school is discontinued by a unification action, the trustees may establish, by resolution, a high school to be operated by the high school district without further action or approval. When the trustees of a high school district resolve to open or reopen a high school, they shall apply to the superintendent of public instruction for approval to open or reopen such school by June 1 before the school fiscal year in which they intend to open or reopen the high school. Such application shall state:
Terms Used In Montana Code 20-6-503
- ANB: means the average number of regularly enrolled, full-time pupils physically attending a school of the district or an offsite instructional setting or receiving remote instruction from the public schools of a district. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- BASE: means base amount for school equity. See Montana Code 20-9-306
- County superintendent: means the county government official who is the school officer of the county. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- school in the district: means an accredited school operated by the district that is located within the boundaries of the district operating the school. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Superintendent of public instruction: means that state government official designated as a member of the executive branch by the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- Trustees: means the governing board of a district. See Montana Code 20-1-101
(a)their reasons why the high school should be opened or reopened;
(b)the probable enrollment of such high school;
(c)the distance and road conditions of the route to neighboring high schools;
(d)the taxable value of the district;
(e)the building and equipment facilities available for such high school;
(f)the planned course of instruction for such high school;
(g)the planned methods of complying with high school standards of accreditation; and
(h)any other information that may be required by the superintendent of public instruction.
(2)The superintendent of public instruction shall investigate the application for the opening or reopening of a high school and shall approve or disapprove the opening of the high school before the fourth Monday of June preceding the first year of intended operation. If the opening is approved, the high school district trustees may open such high school.
(3)Whenever the opening or reopening of a high school is approved for the ensuing school fiscal year, the county superintendent shall estimate the average number belonging (ANB) after investigating the probable enrollment for the high school. The ANB determined by the county superintendent shall be used for budgeting and BASE funding program purposes.
(4)Nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to preclude the trustees of a high school district from establishing more than one high school in the district.