A. The school board of a school district, group of school districts within a county or school districts in an adjoining county, not included in the community college district as originally formed, may by resolution petition the higher education department to be added to the community college district. The resolution may be initiated by the school board or upon presentation to the school board of a petition signed by ten percent of the qualified electors of the district.

B. In reviewing the resolution, the higher education department shall ascertain the attitude of the community college board and ensure that the petitioning district is not already within another institution's service area. If the department finds that the proposed addition of the petitioning district is not within another institution's service area and the proposed addition is acceptable to the community college district, it shall approve the resolution. Thereafter, the petitioning district and the established community college district shall call an election pursuant to the provisions of the Local Election Act [Chapter 1, Article 22 NMSA 1978] on the question of the inclusion of the area in the community college district.

C. If it appears on canvass of the results of the election a majority of the votes cast in each of the petitioning areas and within the established community college district was in favor of the addition of the petitioning area, the secretary of higher education shall declare the extension of the boundaries of the community college district to include the petitioning area in which the proposed addition referendum carried by a majority vote. The addition shall take effect on the next succeeding July 1.

D. The territory within each school district added to any existing community college district shall automatically be subject to any special levy on taxable property approved for the community college district for the maintenance of facilities and services and for support of bond issues.

History: 1953 Comp., § 73-33-16, enacted by Laws 1963, ch. 17, § 16; 1964 (1st S.S.), ch. 16, § 11; 1980, ch. 53, § 13; 1985, ch. 238, § 21; 1999, ch. 219, § 5; 2019, ch. 212, § 216.

Cross references. — For executive director of the commission on higher education, see 21-1-30 NMSA 1978.

The 2019 amendment, effective April 3, 2019, revised certain notice provisions, and provided that all elections held under the College District Tax Act shall be conducted pursuant to the Local Election Act; in Subsection A, deleted the last sentence of the subsection, which provided "The board shall publish the resolution in a newspaper of general circulation in the college district at least once a week for three consecutive weeks, the last insertion to be not less than thirty days prior to the proposed election."; and in Subsection B, after "conducted and canvassed" deleted "in the same manner as municipal school elections, unless otherwise specifically provided in the College District Tax Act" and added "pursuant to the provisions of the Local Election Act".

The 1999 amendment, effective July 1, 1999, substituted references to the commission on higher education for "board of educational finance" throughout; substituted "district" for "area" in the second and third sentences in Subsection B; and substituted "executive director" for "executive secretary" in two places in Subsection C.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 68 Am. Jur. 2d Schools §§ 29 to 43.

Unionization, centralization or consolidation of school districts as affecting indebtedness and property of the individual districts, 121 A.L.R. 826.

78 C.J.S. Schools and School Districts § 18 et seq.