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 director districts 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 annual school election. Insofar as may be 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 multi-member 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 annual 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 director districts 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 annual school election.
e. In districts having seven directors, election of three directors at large by the electors of the entire district, one at each annual 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. Boundaries of the subdistricts shall follow precinct boundaries, insofar as practicable, and shall not be changed less than sixty days prior to the annual school election.
3. If the petition proposes the division of the school district into director districts, the boundaries of the proposed director districts shall be described in the petition and shall be drawn according to the standards described in section 275.23A, subsection 1.
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 the changing of boundaries of director districts if proposed, or 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. The area education agency shall ascertain that director district boundary lines comply with the provisions of section 275.23A, subsection 1, and shall make adjustments as necessary.
5. The petition may also 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.
[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
Referred to in § 275.5, 275.11, 275.23, 275.23A, 275.24, 275.25, 275.35, 275.38, 275.41, 278.1
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