15-459

15-459. Consolidation of districts; petition;
election; notice; report; ballots; canvass of votes; governing
board

A. On the request of the governing boards of two or more school districts in the
same county or in adjacent counties or on receipt of petitions bearing the signatures of
ten per cent or more of the number of qualified electors who voted in whichever of the
last two general elections resulted in the higher number of ballots cast and who reside
in each of two or more school districts in the same county or in adjacent counties to
consolidate the school districts or parts of the districts, the county school
superintendent of each of the counties affected, within ten days, shall call an election
to determine the question on consolidation.

B. Consolidations allowed pursuant to subsection A of this section include:

1. To change the boundaries of a school district to include any part of an adjacent
school district.

2. If all the common school districts within the boundaries of an existing union
high school district desire to consolidate into one common school district.

3. If two or more adjacent school districts of like character, either common, high
or unified school districts, desire to consolidate into one common, high or unified
school district.

4. If a common school district that is not a part of a union high school district
desires to consolidate with an adjacent unified school district.

5. If two or more common school districts desire to consolidate into one school
district and unify the consolidated district with a union high school district to form
one unified school district.

C. Notice of the election to determine consolidation of school districts shall be
posted in not less than three public places in each of the school districts proposed to
be consolidated at least twenty-five days before the election.

D. The county school superintendent shall prepare and the governing board shall
distribute a report on the proposed boundary changes in a manner similar to that
prescribed in section 15-481, subsection B. The report shall contain the following
information:

1. The date of the election.

2. The polling places and times they are open.

3. The full cash value, the assessed valuation and the estimated amount of the
primary property taxes and the estimated amount of the secondary property taxes under the
proposed boundary changes for each of the following:

(a) An owner occupied residence whose assessed valuation is the average assessed
valuation of property classified as class three, as prescribed by section 42-12003 for
the current year in the school district.

(b) An owner occupied residence whose assessed valuation is one-half of the
assessed valuation of the residence in subdivision (a) of this paragraph.

(c) An owner occupied residence whose assessed valuation is twice the assessed
valuation of the residence in subdivision (a) of this paragraph.

(d) A business whose assessed valuation is the average of the assessed valuation of
property classified as class one, as prescribed by section 42-12001, paragraphs 12 and 13
for the current year in the school district.

4. A consolidation plan to include:

(a) The proposed boundary changes.

(b) The impact of the proposed boundary changes, including where pupils will attend
school, changes in pupil transportation services, changes in availability of special
education services, changes in pupil-teacher ratio and operational costs.

(c) If subsection P of this section applies to one or more of the existing school
districts, a detailed description of desegregation funding and expenses for the resulting
school district as set forth in subsection P of this section.

(d) Any other information the county school superintendent deems appropriate to
include.

E. Ballots shall be prepared by the county school superintendent, shall be
delivered to the inspector at least forty-eight hours before the opening of the polls as
prescribed in section 16-509 and shall contain the information prescribed in subsection
D, paragraph 3 of this section and the following statement: "Consolidation includes the
assumption of liability by the resulting school district for all indebtedness of existing
school districts or those parts of school districts proposed for consolidation. Do you
support consolidation under the specified provisions of the consolidation plan? Yes ( )
No ( )." If the election is to simultaneously consolidate and unify two or more common
school districts, the ballot shall contain: "Do you support the consolidation of the
(insert names of common school districts) and the subsequent unification of the
consolidated districts with the (insert name of union high school district) to form one
unified school district under the consolidation and unification plan? Yes ( ) No ( )."

F. The county school superintendent shall hold the election during the fiscal year
preceding the fiscal year consolidation is proposed to be effective on a date prescribed
by section 16-204. The election shall be held in the manner and electors shall possess
qualifications as prescribed for the election of governing board members. The results of
the election shall be reported to the county school superintendent.

G. The county school superintendent and the chairman of the board of supervisors,
on the seventh day after the election, shall canvass the vote. If a majority of the
votes cast in each district favors consolidation, the districts are consolidated and
become one district from and after June 30 next following the election. If parts of two
or more school districts are proposed to be consolidated, a majority of the voters in the
part of a school district or districts not affected by the proposed consolidation and a
majority of the voters in the part of the school district or districts proposed for
consolidation must approve the consolidation.

H. If a school district provides only financing for pupils who are instructed by
another school district in the same county or in an adjacent county, the school district
or any part of the school district may be consolidated with the school district providing
the instructional program as follows:

1. The governing board of the financing school district approves the consolidation
or ten per cent of the qualified electors residing in the school district, or that part
of the school district proposed for consolidation, petitions the county school
superintendent to call an election to approve the proposed consolidation.

2. The governing board of the school district providing instruction approves the
consolidation.

3. At an election called by the county school superintendent of each of the
counties affected, a majority of the persons voting in the school district, or that part
of the school district providing financing, approves the proposed consolidation and a
majority of the persons voting in the district providing instruction approves the
proposed consolidation.

I. Elections held as provided in subsection H of this section shall be conducted in
the same manner as elections prescribed in subsections C through G of this section and
shall be held concurrently as prescribed in section 15-458.

J. If the consolidated district includes territory located in two or more counties,
the county of jurisdiction is the county in which the largest number of qualified
electors of the consolidated school district resides, except that if all of the existing
school buildings are in one county, that county is the county of jurisdiction. The
county school superintendent of the jurisdictional county shall perform all duties for
and with respect to the consolidated school district as required to be performed by
county school superintendents. The board of supervisors of the jurisdictional county
shall perform all duties for and with respect to the consolidated school district as
required to be performed by boards of supervisors, except that school district taxes to
be levied on property in the portion of the consolidated school district lying in another
county shall be levied by the board of supervisors of the other county or counties and on
receipt shall be transferred to the county of jurisdiction. All school buildings located
within the consolidated school district, together with all equipment and furnishings,
become the property of the consolidated school district. Any assumed indebtedness is an
indebtedness of the consolidated school district for the purpose of determining the debt
incurring authority of the consolidated school district.

K. Sections 15-457, 15-975 and 15-997 apply to school districts which are
consolidated as provided in subsection H of this section.

L. Consolidation pursuant to this section is not allowed if the resulting school
district would have a student count for the current year of more than ten per cent of the
total student count of all school districts in this state.

M. The governing board shall prepare policies, curricula and budgets for the new
school district. These policies shall require that:

1. The base salary and benefits of each employee for the first year of operation of
the new school district shall not be lower than the employee's base salary and benefits
for the prior year in the previously existing school district.

2. The employee's years of employment in the previously existing school district
shall be included in determining the employee's years of employment in the new school
district. An employee who was entitled to continuing employment contract status in the
previously existing school district is entitled to continuing employment contract status
in the new school district.

3. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2 of this subsection and pursuant to section
15-544, nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict the ability of the
governing board to implement a reduction in force or to scale back salaries of certified
teachers, administrators or noncertificated employees for reasons of economy or to
improve the efficient conduct of schools within the district following a school district
consolidation.

N. If all of the districts to be consolidated have authorization for an override as
provided in section 15-481 that would have continued after the consolidation, the
override authorization continues for the new district and expires at the time that the
earliest override would have expired.

O. If one or more, but not all, of the districts to be consolidated have
authorization for an override as provided in section 15-481 that would have continued
after the consolidation, the override authorization shall only apply to the schools
included under the terms of the prior override authorization. Consolidation of school
districts does not consolidate or pool the liability to be taxed for the override, and
only property that was located within the boundaries of the district that approved the
override prior to consolidation is to pay taxes to support the override. This subsection
also applies if all of the districts to be consolidated have authorization for overrides,
but the authorizations are pursuant to different subsections of section 15-481 or the
override amounts are not the same percentage of the revenue control limit.

P. Notwithstanding section 15-457, consolidation of school districts does not
consolidate or pool the liability of the former school districts into the resulting
school district. Outstanding indebtedness incurred by a school district before
consolidation shall be repaid without interruption according to existing debt schedules
as determined by the county board of supervisors. If a school district consolidates after
July 1, 2004, the new school district may pay tuition to the district of attendance when
a pupil is precluded by distance or lack of transportation from attending school in the
district of a pupil's residence.

Q. If one or more of the previously existing school districts was authorized to
budget for expenses of complying with or continuing to implement activities that were
required or permitted by court order of desegregation or administrative agreement with
the United States department of education office for civil rights directed toward
remediating alleged or proven racial discrimination pursuant to section 15-910, this
authorization does not expire on the effective date of consolidation but only applies to
schools included in the court order or administrative agreement.

R. If one or more of the previously existing school districts was participating in
a career ladder program pursuant to chapter 9, article 1.1 of this title before
consolidation, notwithstanding any other law the state board shall expedite the
processing of and may approve an updated application for program reapproval that
incorporates the geographic boundaries of the resulting school district and the inclusion
of the additional staff in the career ladder program.

S. If the formation of a new consolidated and unified school district is
authorized, the terms of the governing board members of the common and union high school
districts do not expire on the effective date of the unification. The governing board
members of the previously existing school districts shall serve as provided in section
15-430, except that the power of the governing board members of the previously existing
school districts acting as the governing board of the unified school district is limited
to the maintenance and operation of the previously existing school districts and
compliance with the consolidation and unification plan.