# Montana HB 606: Revise school district reorganization laws Montana HB 606, Revise school district reorganization laws, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) House bill sponsored by Brad Barker (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-08 (Chapter Number Assigned) (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB606-2025 - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Montana HB 606 - State: Montana - Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) - Title: Revise school district reorganization laws - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-02-20 - Last action: 2025-05-08, Chapter Number Assigned - Sponsor: Brad Barker (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Education - K-12, Education - School Finance, Counties - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 4 (286 yes, 11 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 5 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Job protections for school staff after mergers: benefit, medium. When districts reorganize or annex to form one district, tenured principals, teachers, and other certified staff get first hiring preference for the first school fiscal year. If hired, they keep their tenure. Noncertified, nonprobationary staff get hiring preference for similar jobs in the first ye… - More ways to count students for funding: benefit, medium. Starting July 1, 2025, districts with at least 3 years of existence can set budgets using either current-year student counts or a 3‑year average, whichever gives a larger maximum general fund. Schools count eligible Montana Youth Challenge participants as half-time. Schools can also count some stud… - New school levies for maintenance and safety: cost, medium. Beginning July 1, 2025, trustees can ask voters to approve up to a 10‑mill levy for major maintenance. The cap on maintenance money is $15,000 plus $110 times last year’s budgeted student count. Trustees can add other lawful district funds to reach that cap. Voters can also approve a levy for trans… - Who pays school debt after mergers: mixed, medium. In most mergers, cash and debts move to the new district’s matching funds. If districts agree to share bond debt, bond cash and the bonds move too. For K–12 formations under the named reorganization path, bonded debt stays with the original territory, so those property owners keep paying it. Ballot… - New path to combine school districts: mixed, low. The law lets more school districts join into one, including forming a single K–12 district. The county superintendent must order needed boundary changes and make the new district effective July 1 of the next school fiscal year. An interim board made up of all current trustees runs the new district… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Brad Barker (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Sue Vinton (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-15 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 45 | 5 | | | 2025-04-14 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 44 | 6 | | | 2025-03-07 | House | Do Pass | pass | 99 | 0 | | | 2025-03-05 | House | Do Pass | pass | 98 | 0 | | ## Actions (27) - 2025-05-08: Chapter Number Assigned (House) - 2025-05-05: Signed by Governor (House) - 2025-04-25: Transmitted to Governor (House) - 2025-04-25: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-04-24: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-04-17: Returned from Enrolling (House) - 2025-04-15: Sent to Enrolling (House) - 2025-04-15: 3rd Reading (Senate) - 2025-04-14: 2nd Reading (Senate) - 2025-04-02: Committee Report (Senate) - 2025-04-01: Committee Executive Action (Senate) - 2025-03-24: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-03-14: Referred to Committee (Senate) - 2025-03-14: 1st Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-07: Transmitted to Senate (House) - 2025-03-07: 3rd Reading (House) - 2025-03-05: 2nd Reading (House) - 2025-03-01: Committee Report (House) - 2025-03-01: Fiscal Note Printed (House) - 2025-03-01: Fiscal Note Signed (House) - 2025-02-28: Committee Executive Action (House) - 2025-02-28: Fiscal Note Received (House) - 2025-02-21: Hearing (House) - 2025-02-20: 1st Reading (House) - 2025-02-20: Referred to Committee (House) - 2025-02-20: Fiscal Note Requested (House) - 2025-02-20: Introduced (House) ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2025-04-16: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=f576f132-c9b7-433c-8401-6fa4f16625ed) - Introduced, 2025-02-20: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=e90476bd-bcfe-4410-9f1e-d5806c14695b) ## Related bills - SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law (signed) - HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit (vetoed) - HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws (vetoed) - SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act (vetoed) - SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program (vetoed) - SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer (vetoed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=f576f132-c9b7-433c-8401-6fa4f16625ed) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=e90476bd-bcfe-4410-9f1e-d5806c14695b) ## Related - [SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB437-2025) - [HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB831-2025) - [HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB628-2025) - [SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB410-2025) - [SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB424-2025) - [SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB422-2025) - [Montana bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana/bills) - [Montana state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB606-2025 (as of 2026-10-19).