5908. Organization of electors—vote to organize—proceedings-when district can not be divided.

The qualified electors of such proposed new district, when assembled, in accordance with the notice above required, shall organize by electing a chairman and secretary. Every legally qualified elector, and none other, shall be entitled to vote at such meeting. After the organization of such meeting, as above mentioned, a vote shall be taken by ballot on the question whether or not the proposed district shall be organized. Those in favor of organization shall vote "Yes," and those opposed "No." If two-thirds of the legal voters so voting are found to be in favor of such organization, and not otherwise, the meeting shall proceed to elect by ballot a board of directors of said district, who shall hold office until the ensuing regular election, as provided in section 44 of this act. The secretary of said meeting shall immediately transmit to the county superintendent a copy of the proceedings of the meeting, upon receipt of which, if the proceedings are found to have been in accordance with law, he shall establish and number such district and enter a record of the same, and of the proceedings of the meetings, as provided in section 24 of this act; Provided, If such organization of a new district works great hardship to any head of a family, a statement of the facts may be submitted to the superintendent and two disinterested persons, one to be named by the superintendent and one by the person affected, and if, in their judgment, good cause be shown for the transfer, he may be transferred to another district; Provided, further, That no district shall hereafter be divided for the purpose of forming a new district, unless it contains an area of more than nine square miles or has an assessed valuation of more than twenty thousand (20,000) dollars and forty children of school age, nor shall a district be divided if by so doing the remainder of the district shall be found to contain less than twenty persons of school age, and when practicable, the district shall conform to government lines; Provided, also, That no city or town shall hereafter be divided into two or more districts, nor shall the districts of the first class be divided, except upon a vote of the electors of the district, submitted at an annual election, a majority of all the votes cast being in favor of such division.

[Sections 24 and 44 above referred to are sections 5885 and 5918.]

5909. Uniting contiguous districts-vote-directors-annexing contiguous territory.

Two or more contiguous districts may be united into one district. For the purpose of effecting such union, each district shall, at a special meeting legally called for the purpose,

determine by ballot whether or not a majority of the legal voters assembled are in favor of such union. Those in favor will vote "Yes" and those opposed "No." If a majority of the voters present in each district vote in favor of a union, a union meeting shall be called by giving at least ten days' public notice, at which meeting the organization shall be perfected by the election of officers and other necessary proceedings, in the same manner as provided for the organization of districts in section twenty-eight (28) of this chapter; Provided, That where a first-class district is joined in such union with a district, or districts, of a lower class, the board of directors of such first-class district shall be held to be the board of directors for the united district, and the members thereof shall be entitled to serve the unexpired portion of their respective terms as such directors of said united district; and the board or boards of directors of the lower class districts included in said united district shall cease and determine upon notice from the county superintendent of schools that such districts have been united under the provisions of this act. Upon receiving notice from the county superintendent of such union of districts, it shall be the duty of the county treasurer to transfer all funds belonging to said districts to the credit of the new district thus formed. A portion of unorganized territory may be annexed to a school district; or a portion of one district may be detached from said district and annexed to a contiguous district, by the county superintendent, upon petition, in either case, of a majority of the legal voters resident within the territory to be so annexed, subject, always, to the limitation provided in section twenty-eight (28).

[Section 28 above referred to is section 5908.]

5910. When new district entitled to portion of school money.

No new district formed, as provided in sections twentyseven (27) and twenty-eight (28) of this chapter, shall be entitled to any portion of the public school money until a school has actually commenced therein, and unless within six (6) months. from the establishment of such district a school be opened and maintained as required by law, the action making such district shall be void and all actions had by such district, acting as a body corporate, shall cease and determine, and all taxes which may have been levied in the old district or districts out of which the new one was formed, shall be valid and binding upon the real and personal property of the new district, the same as if said new district had never been organized; Provided, That the county superintendent may, for good cause, extend the said six (6) months to eight (8) months; said time of limitations shall begin to run from the time of the meeting at which it was voted to

organize the district; whenever any district shall for the period of one year, fail to maintain a school and to keep up its organization of officers, and to make annual report as required by law, the county superintendent may declare such district annulled, and annex its territory to adjoining district or districts. [Sections 27 and 28 above referred to are sections 5907 and 5908.]

A joint school district may be formed from territory belonging to two or more contiguous counties. For the purpose of organizing a joint district, the same preliminary steps. shall be taken, and the same course pursued as is provided for the organization of other districts in sections twenty-seven (27) and twenty-eight (28). Such district shall be designated as "Joint District No..... of the Counties of..... and

," and shall be so numbered that it shall have the same number in all the counties from which it is formed. The petition required by section twenty-seven (27) shall be made to each county superintendent interested, who shall unite in forming such districts; Provided, That the school census, the record of attendance at school, the assessing of property, the collection of taxes, and all other acts which from their nature should be separately kept or done, shall be kept and done, and the reports thereof made, as if each portion of said joint district belonging to each county were an entire district in the respective counties. The teachers of such joint district shall have a certificate from the superintendent of the county in which the school house is located. No joint district shall be annulled except by the consent of the county superintendents of the counties in which such district is located; Provided, That when any joint district desires to be annulled for the purpose of forming separate districts, it shall require a majority vote of the voters constituting said joint district, at a meeting called for such purpose.

[Sections 27 and 28 above referred to are sections 5907 and 5908.]

For the purpose of this act the word "consolidation" is hereby defined as providing for the abolishment of certain adjoining school districts and their organization into one special school district, and for the conveyance of pupils to one consolidated school. [L. '09, p. 492, §1.

5911b. School boards may submit question.

The school boards of two or more adjoining school districts may submit the question of consolidation, and upon the petition

of not less than one-fourth of the qualified electors of such school districts, must submit such question to a vote of the qualified electors of such districts. For the purpose of determining the question, the secretary of the school board in each district affected shall, by giving legal notice, call a special meeting to be held at the usual place of holding school district elections. The legally qualified electors when assembled in accordance with the notice above specified shall vote by ballot for or against such consolidation. Those in favor will vote "For consolidation"-Yes; those opposed, "For consolidation"-No.

If

at said election more votes are cast against the proposition for consolidation than for it the question shall not be again submitted to the electors of said adjoining districts for a period of one year. [L. '09, p. 492, §2.

5911c. Call meeting to organize district.

If a majority of the electors vote in favor of consolidation it shall then be the duty of the school board in the district affected which has the largest school enumeration to call a union meeting by giving at least twenty days' public notice in each district affected, at which meeting the organization of the consolidated district shall be perfected by the election of officers and other necessary procedure. After the organization of the union meeting is completed by the election of a chairman and secretary it shall proceed to elect, by ballot, a board of directors for such consolidated district, consisting of a president, a secretary and a treasurer, who shall be held to constitute the board of directors of such consolidated district until the next annual school election, at which election one president shall be elected for a term of three years, one secretary for two years and one treasurer for one year, and annually thereafter a person to fill the vacancy occurring. Provided, That when a district of the first class is joined with a district or districts of a lower class the board of directors of said first-class district shall be held to be the board of directors of the consolidated district and shall serve out the term for which they were elected. [L. '09, pp. 492, 493, §3.

5911d. If necessary erect buildings, etc.

As soon as the organization for a special school district as herein contemplated shall have been perfected and its officers elected, it shall be the duty of the school board of such consolidated school district, if necessary, to purchase a site and erect a suitable building thereon, and said school board is hereby required to maintain and support a graded course of instruction,

and may include a high school course of not less than two years, and are also required to furnish transportation to and from school to all pupils living one mile or more from the consolidated school or building, said distance to be measured from the enclosure immediately surrounding their residence to the school house property along the public highway; Provided, That the person or persons employed for the purpose of transporting the pupils to and from school shall be required to give a reasonable bond for the faithful performance of duties as prescribed by the school board. [L. '09, p. 493, §4.

5912. Division of funds in case of consolidation or division of districts.

When a new district is formed from one or more old ones, the school funds remaining to the credit of the district, after providing for all outstanding debts, excepting debts incurred for building and furnishing school houses, shall be divided as follows: The basis of division for the school fund shall be the school population, as shown by the last school census before the division of the district or districts occurred, and shall apply such funds as remain to the credit of said old district or districts at the time of the organization of said new district, and each district shall receive funds in proportion to its per cent. of the said census. In case of division, each district shall own and hold all permanent property, such as sites, school houses and furniture, situated within its boundaries. All division of funds under this provision shall be made by the county superintendent, and when there are unpaid special taxes on the county tax book, belonging to a district at the date of its division, the county treasurer, upon being notified of such division by the county superintendent, shall retain all money received in payment of said special tax until the same shall be apportioned by the county superintendent, whose duty it shall be to apportion said money monthly, between the fractions of the divided district, according to the location of the property on which said tax was levied. At the first apportionment after the organization of a new district the county superintendent shall apportion to such district its per capita proportion of the general fund, but no money, either from the general or special fund, shall be paid out of the county treasury on account of such district until a school house shall have been begun therein in good faith.

SCHOOL GOVERNMENT.

5913. School districts to be bodies corporate.

Each regularly organized school district heretofore formed, or that may be formed, as provided in this chapter, is