N.Y. Education Law § 1526: Enlarged city school districts

§ 1526. Enlarged city school districts. 1. The commissioner of

education is hereby authorized and empowered to create enlarged city

school districts by consolidation of city school districts of cities of

less than one hundred twenty-five thousand inhabitants with such area or

areas contiguous to such city school districts as, in his discretion,

are suitable for the establishment of enlarged city school systems, and

to fix, determine and define the boundaries of such enlarged districts

as provided in this section.

2. The commissioner is hereby authorized and empowered to make and

enter in his office orders laying out such area or areas contiguous to a

city school district of a city of less than one hundred twenty-five

thousand inhabitants, provided, however, that no school district which

has an outstanding bonded indebtedness shall be divided by such order in

such manner that only a part of such district is included in such an

area.

3. Within ten days after the making and entry of an order pursuant to

this section, the commissioner shall transmit a certified copy thereof

to the board of education of the city school district and the clerk, or

in the event there is no clerk, to the trustee or trustees of each

school district wholly or partly included in such area or areas. Such

clerk, trustee or trustees, as the case may be, shall, within five days

after receipt of such order, post a copy thereof in five conspicuous

places in such district.

4. No such area or areas laid out by order of the commissioner shall

be consolidated with such city school district until a majority of the

qualified voters of such area or areas have adopted a proposition to

consolidate such area or areas with the city school district, as

provided in this section, and until the board of education of the city

school district has consented to such consolidation by resolution duly

adopted and has transmitted a certified copy of such resolution to the

commissioner.

5. When the order laying out such area or areas has been made and

entered as provided in this section, a petition may be presented by

persons qualified to vote at school meetings, asking for the

establishment of an enlarged city school district by the consolidation

of such area or areas with the city school district. Such petition shall

be signed by a number of qualified voters equal to at least ten per

centum of the children in the area or areas according to the latest

school census for the area or areas laid out by the commissioner. Such

petition shall be filed with the commissioner and shall request that an

election of the qualified voters within such area or areas be called for

the purpose of determining whether or not such area or areas shall be

consolidated with the city school district. If the commissioner is

satisfied that the petition has been duly signed as provided in this

section, he shall fix a time and place or places for an election of the

qualified voters within each such area, which election shall be held not

more than thirty days after the filing of such petition.

6. The commissioner of education shall divide the area into a school

election district or districts. The area shall be so divided that if

circumstances will permit, the school election district will be

coterminous with one or more school districts, or parts or combinations

thereof, and that, if practicable, there shall be a schoolhouse in each

school election district. The commissioner shall describe each of such

election districts. If there is no public schoolhouse in a school

election district, the commissioner shall designate the place where the

election in such district shall be had.

7. The commissioner shall cause notice of such election to be posted

at least ten days before the election in three conspicuous places in

each school district wholly or partly within such area. In addition to

the posting of such notice a copy thereof shall be published at least

seven days before the election in a daily or weekly newspaper published

within the area or in a newspaper having general circulation therein.

Such notice shall state the day of election and the hours the polls are

to be open, shall describe the school election district or districts

into which the area is divided, shall specify the schoolhouses or other

places therein where such election will be held and where the ballots

will be canvassed.

8. The election shall take place during at least four consecutive

hours between the hours of seven o'clock in the forenoon and ten o'clock

in the evening, as determined by the commissioner of education.

9. Any person qualified to vote in any school district wholly or

partly within the area laid out by the commissioner and who resides

within such area shall be qualified to vote at the election. Before each

person casts his ballot he shall be required to sign a statement

contained in a poll book provided for the purpose, declaring that he is

a qualified voter within the area.

10. The commissioner of education shall appoint a board of canvass for

the entire area. Such board shall organize by naming one of its members

as chairman and shall, as soon as the ballot boxes and books containing

the names of the voters have been delivered to the board of canvass in

the place designated by the commissioner of education, count all the

ballots. Prior to ascertaining the manner in which any voter has marked

his ballot, the number of ballots from each school election district

shall be counted separately without opening them and if the number does

not correspond with the number of names contained in the poll book of

such school election district, the board before canvassing the ballots,

shall withdraw therefrom a number sufficient to make the number of

ballots correspond with the number of names in the poll book.

Thereafter, and before ascertaining the manner in which any voter has

voted, the board of canvass shall cause the ballots cast at each school

election district to be thoroughly intermingled with each other in a

single ballot box large enough to contain the aggregate number of votes

cast. A majority of the valid votes cast shall be necessary to adopt the

resolution. Such board shall certify to the commissioner of education

the total number of votes cast, the number of valid votes cast for the

proposition to consolidate the area with the city school district, the

number of valid votes cast against the proposition, the number of void

ballots and the number of blank ballots. The board of canvass shall file

a copy of such certificate with each superintendent of schools in whose

jurisdiction such area is located and shall also file a copy thereof

with the town clerk of each town in which any part of such area is

located. The board of canvass shall seal the books and ballots

immediately upon completion of the certificate setting forth the result,

and shall file such sealed books and ballots with the board of education

of the city school district, which board of education shall retain and

dispose of such books and ballots as provided by law. If an appeal is

brought from the election, the ballots shall be available for the

inspection of the commissioner of education.

11. The commissioner of education shall designate a member or members

of the board of canvass to act as an election board for the conduct of

the election in each school election district. The election board shall

administer the challenges.

12. The board of canvass shall furnish poll books, ballots and locked

ballot boxes for each school election district.

13. After the polls are closed, and after all persons within the

polling place have voted, the election board shall forthwith proceed to

deliver to the board of canvass at the place designated by the

commissioner of education, the ballot box and the book containing the

names of the voters. Any wilful violation of this paragraph shall be a

misdemeanor.

14. Upon an appeal to the commissioner of education, substantial

compliance with the procedures herein required shall be sufficient to

meet the intent of this section.

15. If the proposition to consolidate such area with such city school

district is adopted, the commissioner may by order consolidate such area

or areas, and all school districts and parts of school districts

included therein, with such city school district. Such order shall

specify a date on which the same shall take effect, and the provisions

of sections fifteen hundred fourteen, fifteen hundred seventeen and

fifteen hundred eighteen shall be applicable to such consolidation. A

copy of such order shall be filed with the clerk of each school district

affected thereby.

16. If at any such election the proposition to consolidate shall not

be adopted, no such election shall again be called within one year after

such original election. If no election shall be called to reconsider the

question within two years after such original election or if at any such

election called within two years after such original election the

proposition shall again fail of adoption, the order of the commissioner

laying out such area or areas shall be deemed null and void and of no

further force and effect.

17. Unless the effective date of such order of consolidation shall

coincide with the beginning of the fiscal year of the city school

district, the board of education of the city school district upon the

effective date of the order of consolidation, shall levy a tax upon the

area so consolidated with the city school district, to defray the

expenses of educating the pupils of such area from the effective date of

the consolidation to the beginning of the next ensuing fiscal year of

the city school district. For this purpose, the school tax rate used for

the fiscal year of the city school district in progress on the effective

date of such order shall be used, except that such rate shall be divided

by twelve and multiplied by the number of months intervening between the

effective date of such order and the beginning of the next ensuing

fiscal year of the city school district. The tax list for this purpose

shall be prepared and confirmed within thirty days after the effective

date of such consolidation.

18. In any enlarged city school district created pursuant to this

section, the proper equalization rate or rates shall be fixed and

determined annually pursuant to the provisions of section thirty-five

hundred five of this chapter.

19. The expense of posting and publishing of the notices and of

furnishing the poll books, ballots and ballot boxes shall be borne

equally by the several school districts wholly or partly included within

such area, unless a consolidation order is made, in which event such

expense shall become a charge upon the enlarged city school district.