§ 275.54 — Hearing

Iowa § 275.54

• Jurisdiction: Iowa
• Title VII: EDUCATION, HISTORY, AND CULTURE
• Ch. 275: REORGANIZATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Text

1. Withintendaysfollowingthefilingofthedissolutionproposalwiththeboard,theboard
shall fix a date for a hearing on the proposal which shall not be more than sixty days after
the dissolution petition was filed with the board. The board shall publish notice of the date,
time, and location of the hearing at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing by one
publication in a newspaper in general circulation in the district. The notice shall include the
content of the dissolution proposal. A person residing or owning land in the school district
may present evidence and arguments at the hearing. The president of the board shall preside
at the hearing. The board shall review testimony from the hearing and shall adopt or amend
and adopt the dissolution proposal.
2. The board shall notify the boards of directors of all school districts to which area of the
affected school district will be attached and the director of the department of education of the
contents of the dissolution proposal adopted by the board. The notification shall be delivered
using one of the following methods:
a. Mail bearing a United States postal service postmark.
b. Hand delivery.
c. Facsimile transmission.
d. Electronic delivery.
3. If the board of a district to which area of the affected school district will be attached
objects to the attachment, that portion of the dissolution proposal will not be included in the
proposal voted upon under section 275.55 and the director of the department of education
shall attach the area to a contiguous school district.
4. a. If the board of a district to which area of the dissolving school district will be
attached objects to the division of assets and liabilities contained in the dissolution proposal,
the matter shall be decided by a panel of disinterested arbitrators. The panel shall consist
of one arbitrator selected jointly by affected districts objecting to the provisions of the
dissolution proposal, one selected jointly by the affected districts in favor of the provisions
of the dissolution proposal, and one selected by the dissolving district. If the number of
arbitrators selected is even, a disinterested arbitrator shall be selected by the administrator
of the area education agency to which the dissolving district belongs. The decision of the
arbitrators shall be made in writing and filed with the secretary of each affected school
district. A party to the proceedings may appeal the decision to the district court by serving
notice on the secretary of each affected school district within twenty days after the decision
is filed. The appeal shall be tried in equity and a decree entered determining the entire
matter, including the levy, collection, and distribution of any necessary taxes.
b. If the dissolving district has outstanding bonds issued under section 423E.5* or 423F.4,
the arbitrators’ decision and any decision of the court on appeal shall require each school
district receiving territory from the dissolving district to assume liability for the payment of
a portion of such bonds that is equal to the percentage of the total number of resident pupils
from the dissolving district who lived in the territory received during the last year of the
dissolving district’s existence.
5. Ifadissolutionproposaladoptedbyaboardcontainsprovisionsthatninety-fivepercent
or more of the taxable valuation of the dissolving district would be assumed and attached to a
single school district, the dissolving school district shall cease further proceedings to dissolve
and shall comply with reorganization procedures specified in this chapter.

Legislative History

[C81, §275.54]