(1) A majority of the district school committee votes to place it on the warrant or ballot; or

(2) A written petition of at least 10% of the number of voters voting in the last gubernatorial election in each municipality within the community school district request it to be on the warrant or ballot.

B. The article containing the budget format may must be voted on by secret ballot at an election conducted in accordance with Title 30-A, sections 2528 to 2532.

C. The district school committee shall:

(1) Issue a warrant specifying that the municipal officers of the municipalities within the community school district place the budget format article on the secret ballot; and

(2) Prepare and furnish the required number of ballots for carrying out the election, including absentee ballots.

SUMMARY

This bill changes the school budget format from appropriating gross revenues to the school unit as a general rule to a procedure to implement a line-item budget format. This bill establishes a uniform, 10-category line-item budget format that would apply to all school budgets, while retaining an authority for the voters to adopt alternative budget formats at referendum. The details of the line-item budget format are to be developed by the Commissioner of Education through rulemaking. School units that have already adopted line-item formats are grandfathered from any regulatory requirement to amend their formats. This bill also makes explicit the detail of revenue, expenditure, enrollment and per pupil expenditure information that must be a part of the school budget documents.