I. At a meeting held before January 1, the school administrative unit board shall adopt a budget required for the expenses of the school administrative unit for the next fiscal year, which budget may include the salary and expenses of supervisors of health, physical education, music, art, and guidance, and any other employees, and shall include the expenses necessary for the operation of the school administrative unit. Superintendents, assistant superintendents, business administrators, teacher consultants, and the regularly employed office personnel of the school administrative unit office shall be deemed employees of the school administrative unit for the purposes of payment of salaries and contributions to the employee's retirement system of the state of New Hampshire and workers' compensation. The school administrative unit board shall apportion the total amount of the budget among the constituent school districts in the following manner: the apportionment shall be based 1/2 on the average membership in attendance for the previous school year and 1/2 on the most recently available equalized valuation of each district as of June 30 of the preceding school year. Prior to January 15 in each year, the board shall certify to the chairperson of the school board of each constituent school district the amount so apportioned. Each district within a school administrative unit shall raise at the next annual district meeting the sum of money apportioned to it by the school administrative unit board for the expenses of services which each district received in connection with the school administrative unit office. The school administrative unit board in adopting the budget shall not add any new service to the school administrative unit budget unless a majority of the school districts in the school administrative unit representing not less than 60 percent of the total pupils in the school administrative unit have voted favorably upon the establishment of the service. A vote to accept a new service shall not be construed as a vote to raise and appropriate money within the meaning of RSA 197:3.II. The provisions of paragraph I shall not apply to school administrative units comprising only one district. The budget for these units shall be a part of the school district budget and subject to the vote of the annual school district meeting or, for those districts without an annual meeting, by the legislative body.III. Paragraph I of this section shall not apply to school districts which have adopted the provisions of RSA 194-C:9-a.IV. In addition to the method of apportionment set forth in paragraph I, the school administrative unit board may consider other methods. Any method of apportionment to be used shall have been approved by the constituent school districts pursuant to RSA 194-C:9 or RSA 194-C:9-a, except that the proposed method of apportionment shall be adopted only if there is a majority affirmative vote in each school district within the school administrative unit.Amended by 2024, 329:1, eff. 10/1/2024.1996, 298:3. 2003, 279 : 1 , eff. Sept. 16, 2003.