§ 721. Joining an existing union school district
(a) Action initiated by district outside the union school district.
(1) After preliminary study, if the board of a school district determines that it would be advisable to join an existing union school district, then the board of the interested school district shall request approval of the State Board to pursue this possibility.
(2) If the State Board determines that it is in the best interests of the State, the students, and the districts involved and aligns with the policy set- forth in section 701 of this title for the interested school district to join the existing union school district, then at a meeting of the interested school district warned for the purpose, the voters shall vote whether to apply to the existing union school district for admission.
(3) If the voters of the interested school district approve the proposal to apply to the union school district for admission, then the clerk of the interested school district shall certify the results of the vote to the Secretary and to the clerk of the union school district.
(4) If the voters of the union school district approve the application of the school district within two years after the vote in subdivision (2) of this subsection, then the clerk of the union school district shall certify the results of the vote to the Secretary.
(b) Action initiated by union school district.
(1) After preliminary study, if the board of a union school district determines that it would be advisable to enlarge the district, then the board of the union school district shall submit a plan to the State Board requesting approval to incorporate a distinct school district into the union school district.
(2) If the State Board determines that it is in the best interests of the State, the students, and the districts involved and aligns with the policy set- forth in section 701 of this title for the school district to join the existing union school district, then at a union school district meeting warned for the purpose, the voters shall vote whether to enlarge the union school district to include the school district.
(3) If the voters of the union school district approve the proposal to include the school district, then the clerk of the union school district shall certify the results of that vote to the Secretary and to the clerk of the school district.
(4) If the voters of the school district approve the offer to join the union school district within two years after the vote in subdivision (2) of this subsection, then the clerk of the school district shall certify the results of the vote to the Secretary.
(c) Certification; Secretary of State. Upon receipt of the clerk’s certification pursuant to subdivision (a)(4) (school district application approval) or (b)(5) (school district approval of offer to join the union school district) of this section, the Secretary of Education shall designate the existing union school district to be enlarged pursuant to the votes and shall certify the enlargement to the Secretary of State. When the Secretary of State records the certification of the Secretary of Education, the union school district shall be enlarged accordingly, although the union school district and the school district that will join it may decide in advance of the votes that the enlarged union school district shall have a later operational date. The Secretary of State shall file a certified copy of the recorded certification with the clerks of the union school district and of the district that is joining it. The Secretary of State shall file the certified copies not later than 14 days after the date the Secretary of Education certifies the designation to the Secretary of State. Filing a certified copy with each clerk shall be prima facie evidence of full compliance with the requirements for enlarging an existing union school district as set forth in this section.
(d) Powers and responsibilities. A union school district enlarged pursuant to this section shall have all the powers and responsibilities given to a union school district by this title. Unless otherwise approved by the voters of the union school district and the school district that will join it, if the operational date is delayed pursuant to an agreement under subsection (c) of this section, then the joining school district shall share in the expenses of the union school district beginning on the date the Secretary of State records the certification of the Secretary of Education.
(e) Australian ballot. All votes of the electorate under this section shall occur by Australian ballot. (Added 2021, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 7, 2022.)