20-6-213. Transfer of territory from one elementary district to another. (1) A majority of the registered electors of an elementary district who reside in territory that is a part of an elementary district may petition the county superintendent to transfer the territory in which they reside to another elementary district if:
     (a) the territory to be transferred is contiguous to the district to which it is to be attached;
     (b) the territory to be transferred is not located within 3 miles, over the shortest practical route, of an operating school of the district from which it is to be detached;
     (c) the transfer of the territory will not reduce the taxable value of the district to less than $100,000 unless the remaining territory of the district will contain not less than 50,000 acres of nontaxable Indian land;
     (d) the board of trustees of the school district that would receive the territory has approved in writing the transfer; and
     (e) the territory proposed to be transferred to another elementary district has not been included in a petition filed under this section in the previous 3 years.
     (2) The petition must be addressed to the county superintendent and must:
     (a) provide a legal description of the territory that is requested to be transferred and a description of the elementary district to which it is to be transferred;
     (b) state the reasons why the transfer is requested;
     (c) state the number of elementary school-age children residing in the territory; and
     (d) be accompanied by a $50 nonrefundable filing fee.
     (3) A petition that meets the criteria specified in subsection (1) and that contains all the information required by subsection (2) is considered a valid petition. On receipt of a valid petition for a territory transfer, the county superintendent shall:
     (a) file the petition;
     (b) set a hearing place, date, and time for consideration of the petition that is not more than 40 days after receipt of the petition; and
     (c) give notice of the place, date, and time of the hearing. The notices must be posted in the districts affected by the petition for the transfer of territory in the manner prescribed in this title for school elections, with at least one notice posted in the territory to be transferred. Notice must also be delivered to the board of trustees of the school district from which the territory is to be transferred.
     (4) The county superintendent shall conduct the hearing as scheduled in accordance with the rules of procedure adopted by the superintendent of public instruction pursuant to 20-3-107(3), and any resident, taxpayer, or representative of the affected districts must, upon request, be heard.
     (5) Within 30 days after the hearing, the county superintendent shall, after considering the testimony and exhibits presented at the hearing, issue findings of fact, conclusions of law, and an order. The county superintendent shall grant or deny the requested transfer of territory. The decision must be based on the effects that the transfer would have on those residing in the territory proposed for transfer as well as those residing in the remaining territory of the elementary district.
     (6) The decision of the county superintendent is final 30 days after its date unless it is appealed to the board of county commissioners by a resident, taxpayer, or representative of the elementary districts affected by the territory transfer.
     (7) The decision of the board of county commissioners, after a hearing on the matter and consideration of the record from the county superintendent's hearing, is final 30 days after its date unless prior to that time it has been contested through the filing of a valid petition to submit the question to a vote of the people in the elementary district from which the land is to be transferred. In order for a petition to be valid, the petition must be signed by 20% of the electors of the elementary district who are qualified to vote in elections for that district under 20-20-301. When a valid petition is submitted under this subsection, the question of whether the territory must be transferred to another district must be put before the voters at the next regular school election in the affected elementary district. The results of the vote must be the final decision on the petition for transfer of territory.
     (8) Whenever a petition to transfer territory from one elementary district to another elementary district creates a joint elementary district or affects the boundary of an existing joint elementary district, the petition to transfer territory must be presented to the county superintendent of the county where the territory is located. The county superintendent shall notify any other county superintendents of counties with elementary districts affected by the petition, and the duties prescribed in this section for the county superintendent and the board of county commissioners must be performed jointly by the county officials.

     History: En. 75-6516 by Sec. 175, Ch. 5, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 83, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 256, L. 1975; R.C.M. 1947, 75-6516; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 287, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 145, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 517, L. 1991.