Montana Code 20-9-324. Incentives for school districts meeting legislative goal for competitive base pay of teachers in public school districts — definitions
20-9-324. Incentives for school districts meeting legislative goal for competitive base pay of teachers in public school districts — definitions. (1) A district, as defined in 20-6-101, must receive an extra quality educator payment for certain quality educators, calculated as provided in 20-9-306(16), if it meets the legislative goal for competitive base pay of teachers in subsection (2).
Terms Used In Montana Code 20-9-324
- BASE: means base amount for school equity. See Montana Code 20-9-306
- Board of public education: means the board created by Article X, section 9, subsection (3), of the Montana constitution and 2-15-1507. 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
- 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
- Teacher: means a person, except a district superintendent, who holds a valid Montana teacher certificate that has been issued by the superintendent of public instruction under the provisions of this title and the policies adopted by the board of public education and who is employed by a district as a member of its instructional, supervisory, or administrative staff. See Montana Code 20-1-101
(2)The legislative goal for competitive base pay of teachers is a teacher base pay that in the applicable year:
(a)is equal to at least 10 times as much as the quality educator payment amount provided in 20-9-306(16); and
(b)for a school district classified as first class pursuant to Title 20, chapter 6, is not less than 70% of the teacher average pay in the school district.
(3)A district seeking an incentive for the subsequent school fiscal year under this section shall, by December 1, provide the data necessary, as determined by the superintendent of public instruction, to verify:
(a)that the district has met the legislative goal established in subsection (2) for the current year; and
(b)the number of full-time equivalent teachers that are in the first 3 years of the teacher’s teaching career in the current year. The first 3 years of a teacher’s teaching career do not include a year of teaching under an emergency authorization pursuant to 20-4-111.
(4)For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(a)”Teacher” means an individual who:
(i)holds a current class 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, or 7 license issued by the office of public instruction under rules adopted by the board of public education pursuant to 20-4-102; and
(ii)is employed by a school district in an instructional position requiring teacher licensure.
(b)”Teacher average pay” means the total compensation paid by a school district to all of its teachers, not including bonuses, stipends, or extended duty contracts, divided by the total full-time equivalent teachers employed in the district, with full-time equivalence rounded to the nearest tenth.
(c)”Teacher base pay” means the lowest salary for a beginning teacher incorporated in the district’s collective bargaining agreement if the teachers’ employment is covered by a collective bargaining agreement pursuant to Title 39, chapter 31, or incorporated in district policy if the teachers’ employment is not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, not including bonuses, stipends, or extended duty contracts.