Montana Title 20. Education § 20-10-147. Bus depreciation reserve fund

(1) The trustees of a district owning a bus used for purposes of transportation, as defined in 20-10-101, or for purposes of conveying pupils to and from school functions or activities may establish a bus depreciation reserve fund to be used for the conversion, remodeling, or rebuilding of a bus or for the replacement of a bus or communication systems and safety devices installed on the bus, including but not limited to global positioning systems, cameras, and two-way radios. The trustees of a district may also use the bus depreciation reserve fund to purchase an additional bus for purposes of transportation, as defined in 20-10-101.

(2) Whenever a bus depreciation reserve fund is established, the trustees may include in the district's budget, in accordance with the school budgeting provisions of this title, an amount each year that does not exceed 20% of the original cost of a bus or communication systems and safety devices installed on the bus. The amount budgeted may not, over time, exceed 150% of the original cost of a bus or communication systems and safety devices installed on the bus. The annual revenue requirement for each district's bus depreciation reserve fund, determined within the limitations of this section, must be reported by the county superintendent to the county commissioners by the later of the first Tuesday in September or within 30 calendar days after receiving certified taxable values as the bus depreciation reserve fund levy requirement for that district, and a levy must be made by the county commissioners in accordance with 20-9-142.

(3) Any expenditure of bus depreciation reserve fund money must be within the limitations of the district's final bus depreciation reserve fund budget and the school financial administration provisions of this title and may be made only to convert, remodel, or rebuild buses, to replace the buses or communication systems and safety devices installed on the bus, or for the purchase of an additional bus as provided in subsection (1), for which the bus depreciation reserve fund was created.