2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 20. Education › Chapter 3. Elected Officials › Part 3. School District Trustees › 20-3-352. Request and determination of number of high school district additional trustee positions -- nonvoting trustee

20-3-352. Request and determination of number of high school district additional trustee positions -- nonvoting trustee.
(1) As provided in 20-3-351(1)(b), a high school district, except a county high school district, may have additional trustee positions when the trustees of a majority of the elementary districts with territory located in the high school district, but without equitable representation on the high school district trustees under the provision of 20-3-351(1)(a), request the establishment of additional trustee positions under the provisions of subsection (2) or when the electors approve an alternative method of electing members of the board of trustees under the provisions of subsection (3).
(2) A request for additional trustee positions must be made to the county superintendent by a resolution of the trustees of each elementary district. When a resolution has been received from a majority of the elementary districts without representation on the high school district trustees, the county superintendent shall determine the number of additional trustee positions for the affected high school district in accordance with the following procedure:
(a) The taxable valuation of the elementary district that has its trustees placed on the high school trustees must be divided by the number of positions on the trustees of the elementary district to determine the taxable valuation per trustee position.
(b) The taxable valuation used for the calculation in subsection (2)(a) must be subtracted from the taxable valuation of the high school district to determine the taxable valuation of the territory of the high school district without representation on the high school district trustees.
(c) The taxable valuation determined in subsection (2)(b) must be divided by the taxable valuation per trustee position calculated in subsection (2)(a). The resulting quotient must be rounded off to the nearest whole number, except that when the quotient is less than 0.5, at least one nonvoting trustee position must be established for the territory without representation on the high school district board of trustees under the provision of 20-3-351(1)(a).
(d) Except for a nonvoting trustee position, the number determined in subsection (2)(c) must be the number of additional trustee positions, except that the number of additional trustee positions may not exceed four in a first- or second-class high school district or two in a third-class high school district except when two-thirds or more of the high school enrollment of the high school district and two-thirds or more of the taxable valuation of the high school district are located outside of the elementary district that has its trustees placed on the high school district trustees. When this situation exists, three additional trustees must be elected from the elementary school districts in which the high school is not located and one additional trustee must be elected at large in the high school district.
(e) An additional trustee may serve as the presiding officer of the board of trustees of an elementary district in accordance with 20-3-321(3).
(3) (a) If more than half of the electors of the high school district reside outside the territory of the elementary school district in which the high school district buildings are located, at least 10% of the electors of the high school district who are qualified to vote under the provisions of 20-20-301 may petition the county superintendent, requesting an election to consider a proposition on the question of establishing one of the following alternative methods of electing the members of the high school district board of trustees:
(i) one trustee must be elected from each elementary school district with territory included in the high school district and two or three trustees must be elected at large in the high school district, whichever number results in an odd number of members on the board of trustees; or
(ii) the county superintendent shall establish four trustee nominating districts within the high school district but outside the territory of the elementary school district in which the high school buildings are located. One trustee must be elected from each trustee nominating district and three trustees must be elected from the elementary district in which the high school buildings are located, for a total of seven trustees on the high school district board of trustees. Trustees elected from the elementary district in which the high school buildings are located shall serve on both the high school district board of trustees and on the elementary school district board of trustees.
(b) (i) When the county superintendent receives a valid petition, the county superintendent shall order the trustees of the high school district to conduct an election on the next regular school election day on the proposition allowed under the provisions of subsection (3)(a).
(ii) If the electors of the district approve a proposition to establish the alternative method of electing the high school district board of trustees, the county superintendent shall order that the members of the board of trustees be elected according to subsection (3)(a) at the next regular school election.
(c) Whenever the trustees are elected at one regular election under subsection (3)(b), the members who are elected shall draw by lot to determine their terms of office. The terms of office by trustee position must be divided as equally as practicable among 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year terms.
(d) A petition to call an election for the purposes of subsection (3) may not be submitted to the county superintendent more than one time in each 5-year period.
History: En. 75-5903 by Sec. 32, Ch. 5, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 328, L. 1973; R.C.M. 1947, 75-5903; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 528, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 11, Ch. 219, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 151, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 14, L. 2011.