Montana Title 20. Education § 20-9-326. Annual inflation-related adjustments to basic entitlements and per-ANB entitlements--reporting

(a) for the first year of the biennium, divide the consumer price index for July 1 of the prior calendar year by the consumer price index for July 1 of the calendar year 3 years prior to the prior calendar year and raise the resulting ratio to the power of one-third;  and

(b) for the second year of the biennium, divide the consumer price index for July 1 of the current calendar year by the consumer price index for July 1 of the calendar year 3 years prior to the current calendar year and raise the resulting ratio to the power of one-third.

(2)(a) The present law base for the entitlements referenced in subsection (1) of this section, calculated under Title 17, chapter 7, part 1, must consist of any enrollment increases or decreases plus the inflation factor calculated pursuant to this section, not to exceed 3% in each year, applied to both years of the biennium.

(b) This subsection (2) does not limit the superintendent or the governor from recommending, or limit the legislature from adopting, inflationary adjustments other than those calculated in this section.

(a) the increase in funding over the prior year on a per-ANB basis for the BASE aid elements represented in [20-9-306(2)(a), (2)(c) through (2)(g), and 2(i)] budgeted to be provided to school districts in the current fiscal year and provided to school districts in the preceding 5 fiscal years, which must be reported in both dollar and percentage amounts, with the six percentages rounded to the nearest one hundredth;

(b) the percentage change from July of the preceding year to July of the applicable year in the consumer price index for the current year and the preceding 5 years, with the six percentages rounded to the nearest one hundredth;  and

(c) a cumulative numerical comparison of the difference between the percentages reported in subsections (3)(a) and (3)(b), rounded to the nearest one hundredth.