Hellgate ElementaryK-8 into a K-12 School District – Possibility?

Montana Code Annotated - 2014

November 19, 2014

** 20-6-326. Procedure for creation of high school district solely for expansion into K-12 school district -- trustee resolution.

20-6-326. Procedure for creation of high school district solely for expansion into K-12 school district -- trustee resolution. (1) An existing elementary district may create a high school district solely for the purpose of expanding an elementary district into a K-12 district only if:      (a) the nearest elementary school building is located at a distance of at least 40 miles from the nearest accessible high school;      (b) the trip from the nearest elementary school building to the nearest accessible high school is 60 minutes or more over the shortest passable route;      (c) periodically during the school year, the condition of the road makes it impractical to attend the nearest accessible high school; and      (d) at least 50 high school students reside in the elementary district; and      (e) the taxable valuation and boundaries of the combining elementary and high school district are the same.     

Montana Code Annotated - 2014

20-6-326. Procedure for creation of high school district solely for expansion into K-12 school district -- trustee resolution. (1) An existing elementary district may create a high school district solely for the purpose of expanding an elementary district into a K-12 district only if: the elementary district's classification under the provisions of 20-6-201 is first class. [Alternate language - use 1,000 ANB as the threshold, if the goal is to clearly limit to this change to the three largest independent elementary districts. ]

Change to Read…

Montana Code Annotated - 201420-6-201. Elementary district classification. (1) Each elementary district shall have a classification of:      (a) first class, if it has a population of 6,500 or more;      (b) second class, if it has a population of 1,000 or more but less than 6,500; or      (c) third class, if it has a population of less than 1,000.      (2) The population of an elementary district must be determined by the county superintendent on the basis of the best available population information for the district.      (3) The county superintendent shall establish the classification of each elementary district in the county on the basis of the population determined for the district and the district classification criteria prescribed in this section. Whenever the population of an elementary district increases or decreases requiring an adjustment of the district classification according to the criteria prescribed in this section, the county superintendent shall declare the district's classification to be changed in accordance with the determined population, except that the classification of an elementary district may not be changed more than once every 5 years.      (4) Whenever the county superintendent changes an elementary district's classification with the result that a larger number of trustees is required on the elementary board of trustees, the increased number of trustee positions must be filled in the manner provided for in 20-3-302.