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Staff briefing: how GTB, the SEPTA (95‑mill) account and levies shape Montana school funding
Summary
Legislative analysts Pat McCracken and Julia Patton briefed the House Taxation Committee on K‑12 funding mechanics, explaining Guaranteed Tax Base (GTB), the SEPTA 95‑mill account trigger and how state and local revenue streams interact to set district levies and taxpayer bills.
Legislative staff told the House Taxation Committee that Montana’s K‑12 funding system balances multiple sources — local levies, a state guarantee account, the 95‑mill School Equalization and Property Tax Reduction account (SEPTA) and the State General Fund — to produce a statewide package of roughly $1 billion in school funding.
Deputy Research Director Pat McCracken and fiscal analyst Julia Patton framed GTB as the state’s main equalization tool. Patton said GTB "is an equalization mechanism that equalizes revenue generating capacity by providing a state subsidy," and illustrated the point by comparing two districts: Ennis (a large taxable base) and Superior (a small taxable base). For 2025, she said Ennis received no GTB while Superior received roughly $823,000, demonstrating how GTB reduces the mills a less‑wealthy district…
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