275.16 Hearing when territory in different area education agencies.

1. If the territory described in the petition for the proposed corporation lies in more than one area education agency, the agency administrator with whom the petition is filed shall fix the time and place for a hearing and call a joint meeting of the members of all the agency boards in which territory of the proposed school corporation lies, to act as a single board for the hearing of the objections, and a majority of members of each of the agency boards of the different agencies in which any part of the proposed corporation lies, constitutes a quorum. The president of the board of directors of the area education agency in which the petition has been filed, or a member of the board designated by the president, shall preside at the joint meeting. The joint boards acting as a single board shall determine whether the petition conforms to plans or, if the petition requests a change in plans, whether a change should be made, and may change the plans of any or all the area education agency boards affected by the petition. The joint board shall determine and fix boundaries for the proposed corporation as provided in section 275.15 or dismiss the petition. The joint board may continue the hearing as provided in section 275.15.

2. Votes of each member of an area education agency board in attendance shall be weighted so that the total number of votes eligible to be cast by members of each board in attendance shall be equal. However, if the joint boards cast a tie vote and are unable to agree to a decision fixing the boundaries for the proposed school corporation or to a decision to dismiss the petition, the time during which actions must be taken under section 275.15 shall be extended from ten days to fifteen days after the conclusion of the hearing under section 275.15, and the joint board shall reconvene not less than ten and not more than fifteen days after the conclusion of the hearing. At the hearing the joint board shall reconsider its action and if a tie vote is again cast it is a decision granting the petition and changing the plans of any and all of the agency boards affected by the petition and fixing the boundaries for the proposed school corporation. The agency administrator shall at once publish the decision in the same newspaper in which the original notice was published.

3. In case a controversy arises from such meeting, the area education agency board or boards or any school district aggrieved may bring the controversy to the department of education, as provided in section 275.8, within twenty days from the publication of this order, and if said controversy is taken to the department of education, a ten-day notice in writing shall be given to all agency boards and school districts affected or portions thereof. The department shall have the authority to affirm the action of the joint boards, to vacate, to dismiss all proceedings or to make such modification of the action of the joint boards as in their judgment would serve the best interest of all the agencies.

4. Judicial review of the actions of the department may be sought in accordance with the terms of the Iowa administrative procedure Act, chapter 17A. Notwithstanding the terms of said Act, petitions for judicial review must be filed within thirty days after the decision of the department of education.

[C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §4162; C46, 50, §276.9; C54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §275.16]

84 Acts, ch 1078, §10; 85 Acts, ch 212, §24; 85 Acts, ch 221, §3; 86 Acts, ch 1237, §17; 2003 Acts, ch 44, §114; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §180

Referred to in §275.8, 275.11, 275.12, 275.15, 275.18, 275.23, 275.23A, 275.24