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H0286.............................................................by EDUCATION
SCHOOL DISTRICTS - CONSOLIDATION - Adds to and amends existing law to require
consolidation of school districts based upon the population of the county
within which the school districts lie, including those for which the county
has been designated the home county of a joint school district; and to provide
that designation of the home county in a joint school district shall be based
upon the district's total adjusted market value for assessment purposes.
02/20 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/21 Rpt prt - to Educ
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session - 2003
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 286
BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS; AMENDING SECTION 33-304, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE
3 THAT DESIGNATION OF THE HOME COUNTY IN A JOINT SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL BE
4 BASED ON THE DISTRICT'S TOTAL ADJUSTED MARKET VALUE FOR ASSESSMENT PUR-
5 POSES; AMENDING CHAPTER 3, TITLE 33, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW
6 SECTION 33-310C, IDAHO CODE, TO REQUIRE CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS
7 BASED ON THE POPULATION OF THE COUNTY WITHIN WHICH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS
8 LIE INCLUDING THOSE FOR WHICH THE COUNTY HAS BEEN DESIGNATED THE HOME
9 COUNTY OF A JOINT SCHOOL DISTRICT; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
11 SECTION 1. That Section 33-304, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
12 amended to read as follows:
13 33-304. JOINT SCHOOL DISTRICTS. In any joint district, the duties imposed
14 upon, and the records required to be kept by, the county commissioners or any
15 other county officer, in respect to school districts, including the assessment
16 of taxable property and the levying of and collection of taxes, shall be per-
17 formed or kept by the commissioners and other county officers in each county
18 in which the district lies as though the portion of the district in each
19 county were a separate district therein.
20 One (1) of the counties in which a joint district lies shall be the home
21 county of the district, provided however, that any county designated as a
22 joint school district's home county shall contain at least forty-five percent
23 (45%) of the district's total adjusted market value for assessment purposes.
24 When a joint district is created by the division of a county, or through
25 the annexation of any territory by the state board of education, the board of
26 trustees of such district shall designate its home county and give notice
27 thereof to the state board of education and to the board of county commission-
28 ers in each county in which the district lies.
29 SECTION 2. That Chapter 3, Title 33, Idaho Code, be, and the same is
30 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-
31 ignated as Section 33-310C, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:
32 33-310C. CONSOLIDATION BASED ON POPULATION OF THE COUNTY. (1) The number
33 of school districts that shall be based in a county, including for the pur-
34 poses of this section, any joint school district designating a county as its
35 home county, shall be based on the population of the county according to the
36 most recent decennial United States census and is hereby limited to the fol-
37 lowing:
38 (a) Counties with a population of less than ten thousand (10,000) shall
39 have no more than one (1) school district based in the county.
40 (b) Counties with a population of at least ten thousand (10,000) but less
41 than twenty-five thousand (25,000) shall have no more than two (2) school
2
1 districts based in the county.
2 (c) Counties with a population of at least twenty-five thousand (25,000)
3 but less than one hundred thousand (100,000) shall have no more than three
4 (3) school districts based in the county.
5 (d) Counties with a population of at least one hundred thousand (100,000)
6 shall have no more than four (4) school districts based in the county.
7 (2) If the number of school districts based in a county exceeds the
8 amount allowed by the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, school
9 districts shall consolidate as follows:
10 (a) Based on the most recent available figures from the state department
11 of education, the school district with the lowest attendance figures for
12 the fall enrollment shall be consolidated with the next smallest school
13 district within the county with which it shares an adjacent border,
14 including corner borders;
15 (b) If, following the consolidation provided in subsection (2)(a) of this
16 section, the number of school districts in a county still exceeds the
17 amount allowed by subsection (1) of this section, the process provided for
18 in subsection (2)(a) of this section, shall be repeated, as often as nec-
19 essary, with any districts consolidated under subsection (2)(a) of this
20 section now being included in this calculation as a single school district
21 comprised of the combined fall enrollment attendance figures of the two
22 (2) or more previously separate districts.
23 (3) School district consolidations required by the provisions of this
24 section shall be completed and become effective no later than July 1 in the
25 second odd-numbered year after each decennial United States census.
26 (4) School district divisions permitted by this section as a result of
27 new decennial United States census information and divided pursuant to section
28 33-312, Idaho Code, shall be completed and become effective not before July 1
29 in the second odd-numbered year after each decennial United States census.
30 (5) The provisions of sections 33-310B, 33-311, 33-1003 4. and 33-1007A,
31 Idaho Code, shall not apply to school districts consolidated during calendar
32 year 2003, or to any other school district consolidations required by this
33 section. School districts consolidated under the provisions of this section
34 shall follow the procedure for consolidation of school districts as provided
35 in section 33-310, Idaho Code.
36 (6) Any new school district formed through consolidation in calendar year
37 2003 is hereby granted the authority to void any contract signed, prior to
38 consolidation, with any administrative staff by one (1) or more of the consol-
39 idating districts.
40 SECTION 3. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby
41 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its
42 passage and approval.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 13001
The purpose of this legislation is to require the consolidation
of small, inefficient school districts. Consolidation will serve
the dual purposes of saving money through the elimination of
duplicative administrative functions, and providing greater
academic opportunities for students through the pooling of
resources.
FISCAL IMPACT
This legislation would result in a reduction in the number of
school districts in Idaho, from 114 to 75, based on the 2000 U.S.
Census. The exact amount of savings will be difficult to estimate
until the consolidations actually take place. However, based on
previous consolidations, it is estimated that reducing the number
of school districts to 75 would result in approximately $11
million in savings in FY 2004, mostly from the elimination of
superintendents and other duplicative administrative functions.
Contact
Name: Rep. Fred Tilman
Phone: 322-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 286