An Act To Reform the School Budget Validation Process
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1283
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Amends: 20-A MRSA §1485, 20-A MRSA §1486, 20-A MRSA §2307

FIKST REGULAR SESSIOr~-2009 
. Legislative Document 
No. 1283 
S.P.464 
In Senate, March 31, 2009 
An Act To Reform the School Budget Validation Process 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered . 
printed. 
presented by Senator WESTON of Waldo. 
Printed an recycled pnper 
9tf)(J~ .. 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA§1485, first ~, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 240, Pt. XXXX, 
§ 13, is amended to read: 
After January 3J, ;WW 2010, the format of ~he annual budget of a regional school 
unit must be in accordance with this section. 
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §1485, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 240, Pt. X:XXX, 
§ 13, is amended to read: 
3. Budget approval. A regional school unit's cost center summary .bud'get must be 
approved at a regional school unit budget meeting and by a budget validation referendum 
as provided in section 14 86 pursuant to this subsection. 
A. The regional school unit board shall preliminarily approve the budget received 
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under subsection 2 at a meeting that is open to the public. 
B. Subsequent to the meeting held under paragraph A. the regional school unit board 
shall hold a budget meeting open to the public to receive comment on the budget 
approved in paragraph A and may amend the budget at that meeting by vote of the 
board. 
C. At the budget meeting held under paragraph B, the regional school. unit board 
shall approve a final budget that is subject to referendum under section 1486. A final 
budget must be approved pursuant to this paragraph at least 21 days before a 
referendum under section 1486. 
Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA'§1486, first~, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 240,Pt. XXXX, 
§ 13,is amended to read: 
After January 31, 2008, the The procedure for approval of the annual budget of a 
regional school unit must be in accordance with this section and section 1485. 
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §1486, sub-§l, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 240, Pt. XXXX, 
§ 13, is amended to read: 
1. Budget validation. Following development of the arumal regional school unit 
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budget and approval at a regional school unit budget meeting as provided in section 1485, 
a referendum must be held in the regional school unit as provided in this section to allow 
the voters to validate or reject the total budget adopted at the regional.school unit budget 
. meeting. 
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Every 3 years, the voters in a regional school unit shall consider continued use of the 
budget validation referendum process. The '.varrant at the budget validation referendum 
in the 3rd year follov/ing adoption or continuation of the referendum process must 
include an article by which the voters of the school administrative district may indicate 
v/hether the»' wish to continue the process, for another 3 years; A vote to continue retains 
the 1JFocess fur 3 additional vears. 
A vote to discontinue the 1JFocess ends its use 
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beginning with the follo'.ving budget year. and prohibits its reconsideration for at least 3 
:y-ear&.-
Sec. 5. , 20-:A MRSA §1486, sub .. §2, as amended by PL 2007, c. 668, §19, is 
further amended to read: 
2. Validation referendum procedures. The budget validation referendum must be 
held on or before the 14th calendar day at the annual meeting under Title 30-A, section 
2525 of each municipality within the regional school unit or the primary ele'ction under 
Title 21-A, section 339, to be determined by the regional school unit, following the 
scheduled date of the regional school unit budget meeting. The referendum may not be 
held on a Saturday, Supday or legal holiday. For a year in which there is not a primary 
election, if the regional school unit board has decided to hold the referendum at the 
primary election, then the referendum must be held on the day that the primary election 
would be held if the year was a general election year. The vote at referendum is for the , ' 
purpose of approving or rejecting the total regional school unit budget approved at the 
regional school unit budget meeting. The regional school unit board shall provide printed 
' information to be displayed at polling places to assist voters in voting. That information 
,is limited to the to.tal amounts proposed by the regional school-unit board for each cost 
center summary budget category article, the amount approved at the re'gional school unit 
budget meeting, a summary of the total authorized "expenditures and, if applicable 
because of action on an article under section 15690, subsection 3, paragraph A, a 
statement that the amount approved at the regional school. unit budget meeting includes 
locally raised funds that exceed the maximllm state and local spending target pursuant to 
section 15671-A, subsection 5. 
Sec. 6. 20-A MRSA §1486, sub-§3, W, as amended by PL 2007, c. 668, §20 
andc. 695, Pt. G, § 1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
F. ' Except as provided in paragraph G, the article to be voted on must be in the 
following form: 
(1) "Do you approve (name of regional school uniO's spending $ .................... .. 
for the upcoming school year as proposed by the regional school unit board? The 
amount is at or below (name of regional school unit)'s spending target as set by 
the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act. 
Yes No 
A YES vote means you approve of this spending. 
A NO vote means you do not approve of this spending." 
Sec. 7. 20-A MRSA §1486, sub-§3, ~G, as repealed by PL 2007, c. 668, §20 and 
amended by c. 695, Pt. G, "§2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
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G. 
If the school budget exceeds the maximum state and local' spending target 
pursuant to section 15671-A, subsection 5, the article to be voted on must be in the 
following form: 
(1) "Do you approve (name of regional school unit)'s spending $ ...................... .. 
for the upcoming schooi year as proposed by the regional school unit board? The 
amount IS at or below (name of regional school unin's spending target as set by . 
the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act. 
Yes No 
A YES vote means you approve of this spending.· 
A NO vote means you do not approve of this spending. 
Do you approve of (name of regional school unit)'s spending an additional 
$ ....................... for the upcoming school year, as proposed by the school board? 
This is the additional amount by which (name of regional school unit)'s budget 
exceeds its spending target as set by the Essential Programs and Services Funding 
Act. 
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Yes No 
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A YES vote means you approve of this spending. 
A NO vote means you do not approve of this spending. II 
Sec. 8. 20-A MRSA §2307, sUb-§l, as enacted by PL 2007,c. 668, §28 and 
affected by §55, is amended to read: 
1. Budget ~eeting. In charter municipalities the budget meeting required by section 
1485, subsection 3, paragraph B must be a meeting of the municipal councilor other 
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municipal legislative body established by the charter with authority to approve the 
bUdget. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the school budget approval process by allowing a budget to be 
approved at a school board meeting rather than a district-wide meeting, and then go 
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directly to referendum vote. The bill also changes slightly the wording on the required 
referendum if a school budget exceeds the maximum state and local spending target. 
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