N.Y. Education Law § 1522: Notice of meeting for establishment of union free school district

§ 1522. Notice of meeting for establishment of union free school

district. 1. Whenever fifteen persons entitled to vote at any meeting of

the inhabitants of any common school district in this state, shall sign

a request for a meeting, to be held for the purpose of determining

whether a union free school district shall be established therein in

conformity with the provisions of this article, it shall be the duty of

the trustees of such district, within ten days after such request shall

have been presented to them, to give public notice that a meeting of the

inhabitants of such district entitled to vote thereat will be held for

such purpose as aforesaid, at the schoolhouse, or other more suitable

place in such district, on a day and at an hour to be specified in such

notice not less than twenty nor more than thirty days after the

publication of such notice.

2. If the trustees shall refuse to give such notice, or shall neglect

to give the same for twenty days, the commissioner of education may

authorize and direct any inhabitant of such district to give the same.

3. Whenever such district shall correspond wholly or in part with an

incorporated village, in which there shall be published a daily or

weekly newspaper, the notice required in this section shall be given by

posting the same in five conspicuous places in said district, at least

twenty days prior to such meeting, and by causing the same to be

published once a week for three consecutive weeks before such meeting,

in all the newspapers published in said district.

4. In other such districts the said notice shall be given by posting

the same as aforesaid, and in addition thereto, the trustees of such

district shall authorize and require any taxable inhabitant thereof to

notify every other qualified voter in such district of such meeting by

delivering to him a copy of such notice or in case of his absence from

home, by leaving a copy thereof, or so much thereof as relates to the

time, place and object of the meeting, at the place of his abode at

least twenty days prior to the time of such meeting.

5. Whenever fifteen persons, entitled as aforesaid, from each of two

or more adjoining districts, shall unite in a request for a meeting of

the inhabitants of such districts, to determine whether such districts

shall be consolidated by the establishment of a union free school

district therein, it shall be the duty of the trustees of such

districts, or a majority of them, to submit such proposed consolidation

to the commissioner of education for approval. If the commissioner

approve such proposed consolidation, it shall be the duty of such

trustees, or a majority of them, to give public notice of such meeting,

at some convenient place within such districts, and as central as may

be, within the time and to be published and served in the manner set

forth in this section, in each of such districts and to provide for the

use of absentee ballots as provided under section two thousand

eighteen-a or two thousand eighteen-b of this title, whichever shall

apply, and early mail ballots as provided in section two thousand

eighteen-e or two thousand eighteen-f of this title, whichever shall

apply.

6. The commissioner of education may order such meeting under the

conditions and in the manner prescribed in this section.

7. The reasonable expense of the publication and service of such

notice shall be chargeable upon the district, in case a union free

school district is established by the meeting so convened, to be levied

and collected by the trustees, as in case of taxes levied for school

purposes; but in the event that such union free school district shall

not be established, then the said expense shall be chargeable upon the

inhabitants signing the request, jointly and severally, to be sued for,

if necessary, in any court having jurisdiction of the same.