Montana Code Annotated
Part 1. School Buses and Transportation
20-10-143. Budgeting for transportation and transmittal of transportation contracts

20-10-143. Budgeting for transportation and transmittal of transportation contracts. (1) The trustees of a district furnishing transportation to pupils who are residents of the district shall provide a transportation fund budget that is adequate to finance the district's transportation contractual obligations and any other transportation expenditures necessary for the conduct of its transportation program. The transportation fund budget must include:
(a) an adequate amount to finance the maintenance and operation of school buses owned and operated by the district;
(b) the annual contracted amount for the maintenance and operation of school buses by a private party;
(c) the annual contracted amount for individual transportation, including any increased amount because of isolation, which may not exceed the schedule amounts prescribed in 20-10-142;
(d) any amount necessary for the purchase, rental, or insurance of school buses; and
(e) any other amount necessary to finance the administration, operation, or maintenance of the transportation program of the district, as determined by the trustees.
(2) The trustees may include a contingency amount in the transportation fund budget for the purpose of enabling the district to fulfill an obligation to provide transportation in accordance with this title for:
(a) pupils not residing in the district at the time of the adoption of the final budget and who subsequently became residents of the district during the school fiscal year;
(b) pupils who have become eligible transportees since the adoption of the final budget because their legal residence has been changed; or
(c) other unforeseen increases in bus route mileage or obligations for payment of additional contracts for individual transportation for an eligible transportee for which state and county reimbursement is authorized under 20-10-141 and 20-10-142. The budgeted contingency amount may not exceed 10% of the transportation schedule amount as calculated under the provisions of 20-10-141 and 20-10-142 for all transportation services authorized by the schedules and provided by the district unless 10% of the transportation schedule amount is less than $100, in which case $100 is the maximum limitation for the budgeted contingency amount.
(3) A budget amendment to the transportation fund budget may be adopted subject to the provisions of 20-9-161 through 20-9-166.
(4) The trustees shall report the transportation fund budget on the regular budget form prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction in accordance with 20-9-103, and the adoption of the transportation fund budget must be completed in accordance with the school budgeting laws. When the adopted final budget is sent to the county superintendent, the trustees shall also send copies of all completed transportation contracts for school bus transportation to the county superintendent. The contracts must substantiate all contracted school bus transportation services incorporated in the final budget.
History: En. 75-7020 by Sec. 297, Ch. 5, L. 1971; R.C.M. 1947, 75-7020; amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 711, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 44, Ch. 767, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 211, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 14, Ch. 343, L. 1999.

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