275.25 Election of directors.

1. a. If the proposition to establish a new school district carries under the method provided in this chapter, the area education agency administrator with whom the petition was filed shall give written notice of a proposed date for a special election for directors of the newly formed school district to the commissioner of elections of the county in the district involved in the reorganization which has the greatest taxable base. The proposed date shall be as soon as possible pursuant to section 39.2, subsections 1 and 2, and section 47.6, subsections 1 and 2, but not later than the third Tuesday in January of the calendar year in which the reorganization takes effect.

b. The election shall be conducted as provided in section 277.3, and nomination petitions shall be filed pursuant to section 277.4, except as otherwise provided in this subsection. Nomination petitions shall be filed with the secretary of the board of the existing school district in which the candidate resides not less than twenty-eight days before the date set for the special school election. The secretary of the board, or the secretary’s designee, shall be present in the secretary’s office until 5:00 p.m. on the final day to file the nomination papers. The nomination papers shall be delivered to the commissioner no later than 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-seventh day before the election.

c. If the special election is held in conjunction with the regular school election, the filing deadlines for the regular school election apply.

2. a. The number of directors of a school district is either five or seven as provided in section 275.12. In school districts that include a city of fifteen thousand or more population as shown by the most recent decennial federal census, the board shall consist of seven members elected in the manner provided in subsection 3. If it becomes necessary to increase the membership of a board, two directors shall be added according to the procedure described in section 277.23.

b. The county board of supervisors shall canvass the votes and the county commissioner of elections shall report the results to the area education agency administrator who shall notify the persons who are elected directors.

3. The directors who are elected and qualify to serve shall serve until their successors are elected and qualify. At the special election, the three newly elected directors receiving the most votes shall be elected to serve until their successors qualify after the third regular school election date occurring after the effective date of the reorganization and the two newly elected directors receiving the next largest number of votes shall be elected to serve until the directors’ successors qualify after the second regular school election date occurring after the effective date of the reorganization. However, in districts that include all or a part of a city of fifteen thousand or more population and in districts in which the proposition to establish a new corporation provides for the election of seven directors, the timelines specified in this subsection for the terms of office apply to the four newly elected directors receiving the most votes and then to the three newly elected directors receiving the next largest number of votes.

4. The board of the newly formed district shall organize within fifteen days after the special election upon the call of the area education agency administrator. The new board shall have control of the employment of personnel for the newly formed district for the next following school year under section 275.33. Following the first organizational meeting of the board of the newly formed district, the board may establish policy, organize curriculum, enter into contracts, complete planning, and take action as necessary for the efficient management of the newly formed community school district.

5. Section 49.8, subsection 5, does not permit a director to remain on the board of a school district after the effective date of a boundary change which places the director’s residence outside the boundaries of the district. Vacancies caused by this occurrence on a board shall be filled in the manner provided in sections 279.6 and 279.7.

6. The board of the newly formed district shall appoint an acting superintendent and an acting board secretary. The appointment of the acting superintendent shall not be subject to the continuing contract provisions of sections 279.20, 279.23, and 279.24.

[R60, §2099, 2100, 2106; C73, §1801; C97, §2795; S13, §2820-f; SS15, §2794-a; C24, §4144, 4145, 4148; C27, 31, 35, §4144-a1, 4145, 4148; C39, §4144.2, 4144.3, 4145, 4148; C46, 50, §274.28 – 274.30, 275.5, 276.18; C54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §275.25]

83 Acts, ch 53, §4; 85 Acts, ch 221, §5; 86 Acts, ch 1239, §2; 88 Acts, ch 1038, §1; 93 Acts, ch 143, §43; 2002 Acts, ch 1134, §82, 115; 2008 Acts, ch 1115, §13, 21; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §263

Referred to in §275.1, 275.41, 331.383