Any candidate who has already filed for election,
but wishes to withdraw their name, may do so
by sending a statement of withdrawal to the
election administrator by 5:00 p.m. on April 3
rd
.
A person seeking to become a write-in candidate
for a trustee position shall file a declaration of
intent no later than 5 p.m. on the day before the
ballot certification deadline in 20-20-401 (not
less than 30 days before election day).
At least 30 days before the election, the governing
body shall appoint three judges, one of whom
must be designated chief judge.
Not less than 30 days prior to election day, the
election administrator prepares the final ballot
form, listing all candidates and propositions to be
voted upon.
Trustees must pass a resolution stating exact levy
amounts by this date in order for the clerk to
certify the ballot. This resolution must include the
durational limit, if any, on the levy.
If the number of candidates filing a nomination
petition or filing a declaration of intent to be a
write-in candidate is equal to or less than the
number of open trustee positions to be elected,
the trustees may cancel the trustee election and
give notice that a trustee election will not be held.
The trustee election may not be declared by
acclamation until all candidate filing deadlines
have passed. Send a copy of your election
cancellation notice to the county election
administrator to aid with the provisions of late
registration.
Registration forms postmarked by this date and
received within 3 days are accepted for regular
registration. Beginning April 8, late registration
must be completed at the county election office
(not at the school district).
Contact your county election administrator
for the absentee ballot list and work with
them to develop a plan for registrations that
come in after initial absentee lists are sent.
The election administrator must publicly test and
certify that the system is performing properly.
Monthly lunch, breakfast and snack counts are
due the 10
th of each month. Counts are submitted
in the Montana Agreement and Payments System
(MAPS) for National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
or Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
reimbursement.
See OPI’s Back to School Page for more
information on SFSP and important updates.
OPI pays grant cash requests submitted by the 25th of the previous month.
Not before the 20th day nor later than the 15th
day prior to election day, all ballots must be
mailed on the same day, except that if an inactive
elector reactivates after the ballots are mailed,
the elector should be provided with or mailed a
ballot. If the elector reactivates after noon on the
day before election day, the elector must come in
on election day to receive a ballot.
At least 20 days before election day, the election
administrator prepares ballots for absentee
voters.
Grant cash requests made by this date will be paid
on April 10.
Direct State Aid
Quality Educator Component
At Risk Component
Indian Education for All
Student Achievement Gap
Data for Achievement
Special Education
Districts must publish in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county a statement of the
location of the polling places and whether each
location is accessible or inaccessible. This notice
may be combined with the notice above, and with the notice of election if the notice is published on
the 10th day prior to the election.
Districts shall broadcast on radio or television or
publish in a newspaper of general circulation in
the county a diagram showing the voting system
to be used by voters and a sample ballot
(newspaper only), a statement of location of
where the voting system to be used is on public
display, and instructions on how to vote. This
notice may be combined with the notices above,
and with the notice of election if the notice is
published on the 10th day prior to the election.
Districts must publish in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county a notice indicating the
method that will be used for counting
absentee/mail ballots and the place and time that
the absentee/mail ballots will be counted on
election day.
If the district publishes their notice of election on
the 10th day prior to the election, in a newspaper
of general circulation in the county, this
information may be included in that notice.
Form 941 payroll report for Quarter 1 (January,
February and March) is due.
Application forms to request an indirect cost rate
for fiscal year 2026 are posted on the OPI website.
This form is optional but is required if your district
plans to charge indirect costs to federal and state
grant awards using an indirect cost rate.
Application for an indirect cost rate does not
increase the amount of your grant awards.
For compatibility with the E-grants system the
closing date for applying for an Indirect Cost Rate
is April 30.