§ 20-A §1701 — Budget approval

1.
Preparation.
A district school committee shall annually prepare a budget for the operational and capital expenditures of the community school district.
2.
Articles.
The district school committee shall prepare appropriate articles to authorize the budget expenditures and to determine the sums of money that will be assessed to each member municipality.
3.
Time and place.
The district school committee shall call an annual budget meeting on or before June 30th at an hour and in a location within the community school district it designates, except that the school committee may delay the annual budget meeting to a date after July 1st in accordance with section 15693, subsection 2, paragraph C.
4.
Warrants.
The district school committee shall post warrants in each of the member municipalities calling for an annual budget meeting. It shall follow the procedures that are used by a town for the calling of a regular town meeting.
5.
Voting lists.
The following provisions shall govern voting lists.
6.
Moderator.
The chairman of the district school committee, or when absent the secretary, shall open the meeting and shall call for the election of a moderator.
7.
Majority vote.
A majority vote of those voters present and voting shall be necessary for the approval of the annual budget. An article must be voted on by written ballot if at least 10% of those present and voting vote to use a written ballot. The department, in consultation with municipal and school officials and with organizations representing those officials, shall develop and distribute guidelines to assist district budget meeting moderators in explaining and implementing this subsection.
8.
Special budget meeting.
The district school committee may call a special budget meeting when in their judgment a financial emergency exists. They shall post warrants in each of the member municipalities following the same procedures that are used for calling the regular annual budget meeting.
9.
Budget format; voter determination.
The budget format shall be prescribed by a majority of the district school committee, unless at least 20% of the number of registered voters, as certified by the several municipal clerks to the secretary, vote on an appropriate warrant article prescribing the budget format.
10.
Change in format.
A change in budget format shall be voted at least 90 days prior to the budget year for which that change is to be effective.
11.
Line item categories; transfer of funds.
Line item categories and transfer of funds shall be as follows.
12.
State-local allocations.
To summarize the action taken on the budget for the purposes of determining the community school district's state-local allocations, the articles prescribed in chapter 606-B must also be voted on.

Legislative History

PL 1981, c. 693, §§5,8 (NEW). PL 1983, c. 485, §17 (AMD). PL 1985, c. 12 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 502, §A53 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 429, §4 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 710, §§7-10 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 2, §§D11-13 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 2, §§D72,74 (AFF). PL 2005, c. 12, §WW18 (AFF). PL 2009, c. 571, Pt. E, §5 (AMD).