(2)(a) The board of directors of an education service district may, by resolution, classify and designate an area within the district as a county education bond district. The boundaries of the county education bond district shall be coterminous with the boundaries of the school districts that have administrative offices that lie within the boundaries of one county within the education service district.

(b) Once so classified and designated, the county education bond district is a body corporate of this state and may:

(A) Acquire by purchase, gift, devise, condemnation proceedings or any other means such real and personal property and rights of way, within the bond district, as in the judgment of the board are necessary or proper in the exercise of the powers of the education service district.

(B) Employ and pay necessary agents, employees and assistants.

(C) Engage in capital construction and capital improvement activities.

(D) Make and accept contracts, deeds, releases and documents that, in the judgment of the board, are necessary or proper in the exercise of the powers of the bond district.

(E) Perform any act necessary or proper to the complete exercise and effect of any of the powers of the county education bond district under ORS 328.205 to 328.304.

(F) Contract a bonded indebtedness and levy direct ad valorem taxes on all taxable property within the county education bond district in the manner that component school districts and education service districts are authorized to issue bonds and levy taxes under ORS 328.205 to 328.304 and other laws applicable to the issuance of bonds and levying of taxes by school districts.

(c) The board of directors of the education service district shall be the governing body of the county education bond district. The chairperson of the board of directors of the education service district shall be the chairperson of the county education bond district board. The county education bond district board is authorized to transact all business coming within the jurisdiction of the county education bond district and to sue and be sued.

(d) The county education bond district shall exist for one year from the date of the resolution creating the district or until any bonded indebtedness contracted by the county education bond district for which the district was created has been paid. The existence of a county education bond district may not extend beyond the time period necessary for payment of the bonded indebtedness for which the district was originally created. The board of directors of an education service district may designate an area as a county education bond district that was previously designated as such by proceeding under subsections (1) and (2) of this section.

(3) When authorized by a majority of the electors of the county education bond district and subject to ORS 328.245, a county education bond district may contract a bonded indebtedness for any of the following purposes:

(a) To acquire, construct, reconstruct, improve, repair, equip or furnish a school building or school buildings or additions thereto;

(b) To fund or refund the removal or containment of asbestos substances in school buildings and to make repairs necessary because of such removal or containment;

(c) To acquire or to improve all property, real and personal, appurtenant thereto or connected therewith, including school buses;

(d) To fund or refund outstanding indebtedness; and

(e) To provide for the payment of the debt.

(4) The county education bond district board shall call an election on a date specified in ORS 255.345 for the purpose of submitting to the electors of the county education bond district a question of contracting bonded indebtedness referred to in subsection (3) of this section. The requirements for preparing, circulating and filing a petition under this subsection shall be as provided for an initiative petition in ORS 255.135 to 255.205. The petition shall specify the proposed amount of bonded indebtedness. If the electors of the county education bond district approve the contracting of bonded indebtedness, the county education bond district board, without further vote of the electors, shall issue negotiable coupon bonds of the county education bond district, at the time or times that the county education bond district board directs.

(5) As used in ORS 328.205 to 328.304, "school district" or "district" includes a county education bond district as described in this section. [1997 c.600 §2]