(a) Whenever a county board of education and the city board or boards of education in the county shall deem it advisable to consolidate the administration of their respective systems under the county board of education and shall reach an agreement to that effect through resolutions adopted by and recorded in the minutes of each board, which agreement shall provide for the payment of their respective indebtedness, said consolidation shall be made to become effective at the time designated in the resolutions providing for such consolidation; provided, that, if within 30 days after the adoption of said resolutions 25 percent of the qualified electors of the territory covered by either of the school systems concerned shall submit a protest in writing, the consolidation procedure shall be as follows:

(1) REQUEST FOR REFERENDUM. The boards concerned shall adopt resolutions asking for a referendum on the proposed consolidation; whereupon the chairman of each board shall certify to the judge of probate a copy of the agreement and of the resolution adopted by his board.

(2) ORDER OF ELECTION. Upon receipt by the judge of probate of certified copies of the agreement and resolutions, adopted as provided herein, he shall forthwith present them to the county commission, which shall order elections to be held simultaneously in the territories concerned and at the time requested by said boards, to determine whether or not the school system of the county and the school system or systems of the city or cities shall be administered by the county board of education.

(3) NOTICE OF ELECTION. At least 30 days before the elections are held, the sheriff shall give notice of the time and the purpose of the elections by publication in some newspaper in the county, if any is published therein and, if not, by writing posted at the courthouse and at three other public places in each school system concerned.

(4) APPOINTMENT, COMPENSATION AND DUTIES OF ELECTION OFFICERS. The officers of the elections shall be appointed, the elections shall be held and the results shall be declared as in regular elections for county or city officers; provided, that the elections may be held at the time of any regular election and, in that event, the officers of the general election shall serve without extra compensation. If the elections are held at a time other than that fixed for a regular election, the officers shall receive the same pay for a general election.

(5) BALLOTS FOR ELECTION. The ballots shall have printed at the top a statement of the purpose of the elections and directly underneath, in plain type and on different lines, the words, "For Consolidation," "Against Consolidation." The voter favoring the proposed consolidation will make a cross mark directly to the left of the words "For Consolidation," and the voter not in favor of the proposed consolidation will make a cross mark directly to the left of the words "Against Consolidation."

(6) WHO MAY VOTE; RESULT OF ELECTION. All qualified electors residing in the territories concerned shall have the right to vote and, if a majority of the qualified electors voting in the combined territories concerned shall vote in favor of the consolidation, the city board or boards of education shall stand abolished and thereafter the schools of the county and the schools of the city or cities involved shall be administered by the county board of education.

(b) The consolidation shall not operate to relieve any board of education, or other governing body, of liability for obligations previously incurred, or to impair rights existing prior to the consolidation. On the contrary, the agreement as to indebtedness shall be binding on both the county board of education and the board or boards of education of the city or cities whose school systems are consolidated; provided, that in the event of a consolidation, the county board of education shall have the right to compel the execution of contractual obligations made to either of the boards prior to consolidation.