House File 118 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY GRANZOW
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to school reorganization by allowing certain
2 landowners in a reorganizing school district to petition to
3 join a contiguous school district.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
5 TLSB 1795HH 81
6 kh/gg/14
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 275.17A PETITION TO JOIN
1 2 CONTIGUOUS SCHOOL DISTRICT.
1 3 1. For the school year commencing July 1, 2006, and each
1 4 succeeding school year, a person owning land within the
1 5 territory described in a petition filed in accordance with
1 6 section 275.12 may, within twenty days after the publication
1 7 of a board decision under section 275.15 or 275.16 or, if a
1 8 controversy arises and a party brings the controversy to the
1 9 department of education under section 275.16, within twenty
1 10 days after the decision of the department of education under
1 11 section 275.16, petition the appropriate area education agency
1 12 administrator to join a school district that is contiguous to
1 13 the person's land.
1 14 2. Any person owning land that is contiguous to the land
1 15 owned by a person who is eligible to file a petition to join a
1 16 contiguous school district in accordance with subsection 1 may
1 17 also file a petition to join the same school district within
1 18 the same time period specified in subsection 1.
1 19 3. The board of directors of a school district that
1 20 receives a petition to join the school district in accordance
1 21 with subsections 1 and 2 shall take action on the petition
1 22 within thirty days of the filing. Petitions shall be reviewed
1 23 on a first come, first served basis. Petitions may only be
1 24 approved until the property tax valuation of the land
1 25 described in the petitions exceeds ten percent of the property
1 26 tax valuation of the proposed reorganized area. If a petition
1 27 is approved by the board, the board shall notify the secretary
1 28 of state and the area education agency in the proposed
1 29 reorganized area of its approval within ten days of its action
1 30 and the secretary of state shall redraw the boundaries
1 31 specified for the proposed reorganized area to remove the land
1 32 area specified in the petition.
1 33 4. If the property tax valuation of the land excluded from
1 34 the proposed reorganized area in accordance with this section
1 35 reaches ten percent of the property tax valuation of the
2 1 proposed reorganized area, the area education agency in the
2 2 proposed reorganized area shall notify the board of directors
2 3 of the school district that the property tax valuation limit
2 4 specified in subsection 3 has been reached.
2 5 5. If the proposed reorganized area as redrawn by the
2 6 secretary of state is determined by the area education agency
2 7 board to comply with the plans which were adopted by the board
2 8 in accordance with section 275.5, the area education
2 9 administrator shall proceed as provided under section 275.18.
2 10 EXPLANATION
2 11 This bill provides a process by which a landowner may
2 12 petition to join a contiguous school district when the
2 13 person's land is located within the boundaries of a school
2 14 district that is reorganizing.
2 15 Beginning July 1, 2006, a person owning land within the
2 16 territory described for a proposed reorganized area may file a
2 17 petition to join a school district that is contiguous to the
2 18 person's land and if the school district approves the request,
2 19 the land is excluded from the proposed reorganized area.
2 20 Further, the bill allows any other person whose land is
2 21 contiguous to that of the landowner whose land is contiguous
2 22 to the school district and who is eligible to file a petition
2 23 to join the contiguous school district, to file a petition to
2 24 join the same school district. A petition to join a
2 25 contiguous school district must be filed by the landowner
2 26 within 20 days after an area education agency board has held
2 27 hearings and issued a decision regarding any objections to the
2 28 reorganization or, if the decision of the board is appealed to
2 29 the department of education, within 20 days after the decision
2 30 of the department.
2 31 If the petition to join is approved by the school board,
2 32 the board shall notify the area education agency for the
2 33 reorganized area and the secretary of state of its approval
2 34 and the secretary of state shall redraw the boundaries
2 35 specified for the proposed reorganized area to remove the land
3 1 area specified in the petition to join and, if the redrawn
3 2 proposed reorganized area is determined by the area education
3 3 agency board to comply with the reorganization plans, the
3 4 administrator is directed to proceed with the reorganization
3 5 process.
3 6 However, the property tax valuation of the land excluded
3 7 from the proposed reorganized area in accordance with the bill
3 8 shall not exceed 10 percent of the property tax valuation of
3 9 the proposed reorganized area.
3 10 LSB 1795HH 81
3 11 kh:rj/gg/14.2