KRS 160.210: Election of board members -- Divisions in districts -- Change in boundary

lines of divisions -- Boards in large school districts.

(1) In independent school districts, the members of the school board shall be elected from the district at large . In county school districts, members shall be elected from divisions.

(2) The board of education of each county school district shall divide its district into five (5) divisions containing integral voting precincts and as equal in population insofar as is practicable. In dividing the county district into divisions the board shall, if more than one (1) of its members reside in one (1) division, determine by lot which member from that division shall represent that division, and which members shall represent the divisions in which no member resides. The members so determined to represent divisions in which no member resides shall be considered the members from those divisions until their terms expire, and thereafter the members from those divisions shall be no minated and elected as provided in KRS 160.200 and 160.220 to 160.250.

(3) Any changes made in division boundary lines shall be to make divisions as equal in population and containing integral voting precincts insofar as is practical. No change may be made in division boundary lines less than five (5) years after the last change in any division lines, except in case of merger of districts, a change in territory due to annexation, or to allow compliance with KRS 117.055(2).

(4) (a) Notwithstanding the provis ions of subsection (3) of this section, if one hundred (100) residents of a county school district division petition the Kentucky Board of Education stating that the school district divisions are not divided as nearly equal in population as can reasonably be expected, the chief state school officer shall cause an investigation to determine the validity of the petition, the investigation to be completed within thirty (30) days after receipt of the petition.

(b) If the investigation reveals the school distric t to be unequally divided according to population, the Kentucky Board of Education, upon the recommendation of the chief state school officer, shall order the local board of education to make changes in school district divisions as are necessary to equalize population within the five (5) school divisions.

(c) If any board fails to comply with the order of the Kentucky Board of Education within thirty (30) days or prior to August 1 in any year in which any members of the board are to be elected, members shal l be elected from the district at large until the order of the Kentucky Board of Education has been complied with.

(d) No change shall be made in the boundary of any division under the provisions of this subsection after June 1 in the year in which a membe r of the school board is to be elected from any division.

(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) of this section:

(a) In large school districts, there shall be five (5) divisions as equal in population as is practicable, with members elected from divisions. To be eligible to be elected from a division, a candidate shall reside in that division. The county school district divisions for Jefferson County, Kentucky, shall be as provided in KRS 160.211; and

(b) The terms of the members, KRS 160.044 notwithstanding, shall be four (4) years.

(6) Responsibility for the establishment and the changing of school board division boundaries of large school districts shall be with the county board of education, subject to the review and approval of the county board of elections. Where division and census tract boundaries do not coincide with existing election precinct boundaries, school b oard divisions shall be redrawn to comply with precinct boundaries. In no instance shall precinct boundaries be redrawn nor shall a precinct be divided to accommodate the drawing of school board division lines. All changes under this section shall be compl eted on or before January 1 in any year in which a member of the board is to be elected from any division. A record of all changes in division lines shall be kept in the offices of the county board of education and the county board of elections. The board of education shall publish all changes pursuant to KRS Chapter 424. A copy of the newspaper in which the notice is published shall be filed with the chief state school officer within ten (10) days following its publication.