15-455. Formation of joint common school district; petition; election; notice; canvass

A. A petition for the creation of a joint common school district shall include the following:

1. A description of the territory comprising the proposed district.

2. A request that the question of the creation of the proposed district be submitted to the qualified electors residing within each of the affected districts.

3. The signatures of not less than ten per cent of the qualified electors residing within the portion of the proposed district within the respective county involved. The county school superintendent of each county whose territory, or a portion thereof, will be included in the proposed district shall receive the petitions containing signatures of residents of his county.

B. Each county school superintendent with whom a petition for the creation of a joint common school district is filed shall, within fifteen days of the date of receipt, examine the petition to determine its sufficiency including the adequacy of the signatures from the portion of the proposed district within his county. If the petition is found sufficient, the county school superintendent shall transmit the petition to the state board of education.

C. If the petitions for the creation of the proposed joint common school district are found sufficient by the county school superintendent of each county whose territory or a portion thereof is to be included in the proposed district, the state board of education shall promptly schedule a review of the issue of the creation of the proposed joint common school district. Such review and the board determination on the issue of the creation of the proposed joint common school district shall be completed within sixty days of the date of receipt of the final petition.

D. The review of the issue of the creation of a proposed joint common school district shall include consideration of the following factors:

1. Operational costs.

2. Travel times and distances.

3. Climatic conditions.

4. Local terrain.

5. Number of pupils.

6. The fairness and appropriateness of any redistribution of taxable wealth from an existing school district to a proposed joint common school district. If the state board after considering all such factors determines that the proposed new district will not cause an undue adverse effect on the operations of any existing school district or jeopardize the operation of the proposed joint common school district or cause a disproportionate amount of taxable wealth to be redistributed, it shall approve the petitions and return them to the respective county school superintendents.

E. Upon receipt of the approved petitions the county school superintendent of each county whose territory, or a portion thereof, will be included in the proposed joint common school district shall submit the question of the formation of the proposed joint common school district at a general election, or at a special election to be held for that purpose. If no general election will be held within sixty days after the date the county school superintendent receives the approved petition from the state board of education, he shall promptly call a special election to be held within forty-five days after receipt of the approved petition. Notice of such election shall be given by the county school superintendent to the boards of supervisors.

F. The county school superintendent shall cause notice of the proposed election to be posted in not less than three public places in the area within each of the affected districts and to be published one time in a newspaper of general circulation in each county, such posting and publication to be made at least ten days before the election. Such notice shall state the following:

1. The question to be voted on and the boundaries of the proposed joint common school district with sufficient definiteness to make them readily ascertainable.

2. Voter qualifications.

3. The voting places within each of the affected districts. There shall be at least one voting place in each county. The election shall be called and held, and voters shall possess qualifications as prescribed for the election of governing boards and shall be residents of the territory within each of the affected districts. Ballots shall be prepared and the officers of election appointed by the county school superintendent.

G. On the fifth day after the election the county school superintendent and the chairman of the board of supervisors of each county shall canvass the vote. If a majority of the votes cast in each county of persons who reside within each of the affected districts is in favor of creation of the proposed joint common school district, the boards of supervisors shall jointly declare the election and the joint common school district is established. For the purpose of this subsection a majority of the votes cast in each county of persons who reside within each of the affected districts means a majority vote of the qualified electors voting in each county in each part of an affected existing school district or affected area to be included in the proposed joint common school district and a majority vote of the qualified electors voting in each county in each part, if any, of an affected school district not to be included in the proposed joint common school district.