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House File 2415

Partial Bill History

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  282.15  JOINT HIGH SCHOOL
  1  2 AGREEMENTS.
  1  3    1.  The boards of directors of two school districts may
  1  4 enter an agreement providing for establishment of a joint high
  1  5 school, with a combined enrollment encompassing grades nine
  1  6 through twelve of both school districts under the direction of
  1  7 a joint board of directors.
  1  8    An agreement made pursuant to this section shall include,
  1  9 but not be limited to, all of the following provisions:
  1 10    a.  Combining enrollments for grades 9 through 12.
  1 11    b.  Sharing in the costs and expenses of instruction as
  1 12 provided in section 282.16.
  1 13    c.  Sharing in the cost of facilities as provided in
  1 14 section 282.16.
  1 15    d.  Providing for transportation of students.
  1 16    e.  Providing for the authority and liability of the
  1 17 affected boards.
  1 18    2.  Only entire grades may be combined and any joint high
  1 19 school must combine grades nine through twelve.  If an
  1 20 agreement for a joint high school is made, grades nine through
  1 21 twelve in each of the districts participating in the agreement
  1 22 shall be discontinued.  A school district which has
  1 23 discontinued grades nine through twelve under this section
  1 24 shall be considered as complying with the requirements of
  1 25 section 275.1 relating to the maintenance of kindergarten and
  1 26 twelve grades by a school district.
  1 27    3.  School districts that have entered into a joint high
  1 28 school agreement under this section may, for purposes of
  1 29 implementing the agreement, jointly employ and share the
  1 30 services of any school personnel, or acquire and share the use
  1 31 of classrooms, laboratories, equipment, and facilities.
  1 32 School districts that have entered into a joint high school
  1 33 agreement under this section may jointly construct and own
  1 34 facilities constructed for the purpose of providing school
  1 35 services pursuant to a joint high school agreement.
  2  1    4.  A joint high school established pursuant to this
  2  2 section shall be governed by a board of directors composed of
  2  3 members of the boards of directors of the two school districts
  2  4 involved in the agreement.  The school district with the
  2  5 larger general population of the two shall appoint three board
  2  6 members to the joint board and the other school district shall
  2  7 appoint two board members to the joint board.
  2  8    5.  A joint high school agreement shall be signed by the
  2  9 boards of the districts involved in the agreement not later
  2 10 than February 1 of the school year preceding the school year
  2 11 for which the agreement is to take effect.
  2 12    A joint high school agreement shall be for a duration of
  2 13 not less than twenty years.  However, two school districts
  2 14 participating in an agreement may consolidate the districts
  2 15 without regard to the twenty-year duration requirement.
  2 16    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  282.16  FUNDING FOR JOINT HIGH
  2 17 SCHOOLS.
  2 18    1.  The boards of directors entering into an agreement
  2 19 under section 282.15 shall provide for sharing the costs and
  2 20 expenses of the joint high school.  For purposes of receiving
  2 21 state foundation aid under chapter 257, each school district
  2 22 that is a party to a joint high school agreement shall be
  2 23 considered to have a separate high school located in each
  2 24 district.
  2 25    2.  The boards of directors entering into an agreement
  2 26 under section 282.15 shall provide for sharing in the costs of
  2 27 jointly used facilities, including the costs of maintenance of
  2 28 an existing facility or new construction of a facility.  Each
  2 29 board may agree to issue bonds to pay for construction of any
  2 30 facility or may utilize any other type of financing available
  2 31 to the districts for the purposes of this subsection.
  2 32 However, costs shall be allocated on a pro rata basis in the
  2 33 proportion that the number of students from each school
  2 34 district attending the joint high school bears to the total
  2 35 number of students attending the joint high school.  For a
  3  1 bond proposition to be considered approved by the electorate,
  3  2 the vote in favor of the proposition must be equal to at least
  3  3 sixty percent of the total vote cast in each school district
  3  4 at the separate bond elections.
  3  5    Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This bill takes effect July 1,
  3  6 1999.  
  3  7                           EXPLANATION
  3  8    This bill allows two school districts to enter an agreement
  3  9 to establish a joint high school for both districts.  The high
  3 10 school must be for grades nine through 12, and those grades
  3 11 must be discontinued in each of the school districts.
  3 12    The bill allows the school districts to jointly employ and
  3 13 share services of personnel and to jointly acquire, construct,
  3 14 or share facilities for the joint high school.  The school
  3 15 districts may use any funding mechanism currently at their
  3 16 disposal to pay for maintenance or construction of facilities.
  3 17 However, the 60 percent majority required for general
  3 18 obligation bonds is a requirement that must be met separately
  3 19 by each school district in order for a bond issuance to be
  3 20 considered approved.
  3 21    The bill provides that a joint high school would be
  3 22 governed by its own board of directors appointed from the
  3 23 boards of the two school districts.  The district with the
  3 24 larger general population would appoint three of its members
  3 25 to the joint board and the other district would appoint two
  3 26 members.
  3 27    For purposes of receiving state foundation aid, each school
  3 28 district involved in a joint high school agreement would be
  3 29 considered to have a separate high school located in its
  3 30 district.
  3 31    The bill requires that a joint high school agreement have a
  3 32 duration of 20 years unless the two school districts involved
  3 33 in the agreement consolidate during the duration of the
  3 34 agreement.
  3 35    The bill takes effect July 1, 1999.  
  4  1 LSB 4086HH 77
  4  2 sc/sc/14 
     

Text: HF02414                           Text: HF02416
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Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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