Bill > HB156

This bill proposes a significant restructuring of school funding in Montana by replacing school district BASE (base amount for school equity) levies with countywide BASE levies. The key provisions include shifting the responsibility for funding school districts' BASE budgets from individual school districts to counties, which will now levy taxes across their entire geographic area to support school funding. Specifically, the bill changes how BASE budget funding is calculated and distributed, moving from a district-level to a county-level approach for levying taxes. The county superintendent will now calculate the BASE funding revenue requirement for elementary and high school districts within the county, and then apply a countywide levy to support these budgets. This change is intended to create more equitable school funding across different districts within a county by spreading the tax burden more evenly. The bill also makes numerous technical amendments to existing school funding laws to accommodate this new funding mechanism, including changes to how guaranteed tax base aid is calculated and distributed. The legislation is set to be fully implemented in fiscal year 2027, with the first countywide levies to support BASE budgets to be levied in that year. The goal is to increase funding equity and potentially reduce property tax disparities between school districts within a county.

Education

https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC1204