Section 275.12. Petition — method of election.

  1.  A petition describing the boundaries, or accurately describing the area included therein by legal descriptions, of the proposed district, which boundaries or area described shall conform to plans developed or the petition shall request change of the plan, shall be filed with the area education agency administrator of the area education agency in which the greatest number of registered voters reside. However, the area education agency administrator shall not accept a petition if any of the school districts affected have approved the issuance of general obligation bonds at an election pursuant to section 296.6 during the preceding six-month period. The petition shall be signed by eligible electors residing in each existing school district or portion affected equal in number to at least twenty percent of the number of registered voters in the school district or portion affected, or four hundred eligible electors, whichever is the smaller number.

  2.  The petition filed under subsection 1 shall also state the name of the proposed school district and the number of directors which may be either five or seven and the method of election of the school directors of the proposed district. The method of election of the directors shall be one of the following optional plans:

  a.  Election at large from the entire district by the electors of the entire district.

  b.  Division of the entire school district into designated geographical single director or multi-director subdistricts on the basis of population for each director, to be known as director districts, each of which shall be represented on the school board by one or more directors who shall be residents of the director district but who shall be elected by the vote of the electors of the entire school district. The boundaries of the director districts and the area and population included within each district shall be such as justice, equity, and the interests of the people may require. Changes in the boundaries of director districts shall not be made during a period commencing sixty days prior to the date of the regular school election. As far as practicable, the boundaries of the districts shall follow established political or natural geographical divisions.

  c.  Election of not more than one-half of the total number of school directors at large from the entire district and the remaining directors from and as residents of designated single-member or multimember director districts into which the entire school district shall be divided on the basis of population for each director. In such case, all directors shall be elected by the electors of the entire school district. Changes in the boundaries of director districts shall not be made during a period commencing sixty days prior to the date of the regular school election.

  d.  Division of the entire school district into designated geographical single director or multi-director subdistricts on the basis of population for each director, to be known as director districts, each of which shall be represented on the school board by one or more directors who shall be residents of the director district and who shall be elected by the voters of the director district. Place of voting in the director districts shall be designated by the commissioner of elections. Changes in the boundaries of director districts shall not be made during a period commencing sixty days prior to the date of the regular school election.

  e.  In districts having seven directors, election of three directors at large by the electors of the entire district, no more than two at each regular school election, and election of the remaining directors as residents of and by the electors of individual geographic subdistricts established on the basis of population and identified as director districts, no more than two at each regular school election. Boundaries of the subdistricts shall follow precinct boundaries, as far as practicable, and shall not be changed less than sixty days prior to the regular school election.

  3.  If the petition proposes the division of the school district into director districts, the boundaries of the proposed director districts shall not be drawn until the question is approved by the voters. If the question is approved by the voters, the directors of the new school district shall draw the boundaries of the director districts according to the standards described in section 275.23A, subsection 1. Following adoption by the school board, the plan shall be submitted to the state commissioner of elections for approval.

  4.  The area education agency board in reviewing the petition as provided in sections 275.15 and 275.16 shall review the proposed method of election of school directors and may change or amend the plan in any manner, including to specify a different method of electing school directors as may be required by law, justice, equity, and the interest of the people. In the action, the area education agency board shall follow the same procedure as is required by sections 275.15 and 275.16 for other action on the petition by the area education agency board.

  5.  a.  The area education agency board in reviewing a petition as provided in sections 275.15 and 275.16 that is not subject to the division of assets and liabilities provisions in sections 275.29 through 275.31 shall review the proposal for dividing liability for payment of outstanding bonds issued under section 423E.5 or 423F.4, required to be included under section 275.28, and may change or amend the proposal in any manner, including to specify a different division for the reorganized districts or a different method of payment or retirement of the bonds as may be required by law, justice, equity, and the interest of the people. The review conducted by the area education agency, including any resulting change to the proposal, shall ensure that the reorganized district’s estimated revenue under section 423F.2 is sufficient for the payment of principal and interest on the outstanding bonds required to be paid in the budget year following the reorganization.

  b.  For bonds issued under section 423E.5 or 423F.4, the approval of the reorganization at election creates a lien on the revenues from the secure an advanced vision for education fund received by the reorganized district designated in the proposal approved by the area education agency, subject to the same priority as provided by the affected school district that issued the bonds.

  6.  The petition may include a provision that the voter-approved physical plant and equipment levy provided in section 298.2 will be voted upon at the election conducted under section 275.18. The petition may also include a provision that the revenue purpose statement provided in section 423F.3 will be voted upon at the election conducted under section 275.18.

[R60, §2097, 2105; C73, §1800, 1801, 1811; C97, §2794, 2799; S13, §2793, 2820-e, -f; SS15, §2793, 2794, 2794-a; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §4133, 4134, 4141, 4153, 4155, 4174; C46, 50, §274.16, 274.17, 274.23, 274.38, 276.2, 276.21; C54, 58, 62, §275.10, 275.12; C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §275.12]

83 Acts, ch 53, §1

; 83 Acts, ch 91, §1

; 84 Acts, ch 1078, §6 – 8

; 86 Acts, ch 1226, §1

; 89 Acts, ch 135, §64

; 93 Acts, ch 160, §5

; 94 Acts, ch 1179, §16

; 95 Acts, ch 49, §5

; 2001 Acts, ch 56, §12

; 2002 Acts, ch 1134, §81, 115

; 2008 Acts, ch 1115, §12, 21

; 2014 Acts, ch 1013, §18

; 2015 Acts, ch 93, §1, 8

Subsection 5 applies to reorganization petitions and dissolution proposals filed under this chapter on or after July 1, 2015; 2015 Acts, ch 93, §8

NEW subsection 5 and former subsection 5 renumbered as 6