§ 20-23-7-2 — Metropolitan school district; consolidation procedure

(a) In any county or adjoining counties at least
two (2) school corporations, including school towns, school cities,
consolidated school corporations, joint schools, metropolitan school
districts, township school districts, or community school corporations,
regardless of whether the consolidating school corporations are of the
same or of a different character, may consolidate into one (1)
metropolitan school district. Subject to subsection (h), the
consolidation must be initiated by following either of the following
procedures:
(1) The board of school trustees, board of education, or other
governing body (the board or other governing body is referred to
elsewhere in this section as the "governing body") of each school
corporation to be consolidated shall:
(A) adopt substantially identical resolutions providing for the
consolidation; and
(B) publish a notice setting out the text of the resolution one (1)
time under IC 5-3-1.
The resolution must set forth any provision for staggering the
terms of the board members of the metropolitan school district
elected under this chapter. If, not more than thirty (30) days after
publication of the resolution, a petition of protest, signed by at
least twenty percent (20%) of the registered voters residing in the
school corporation is filed with the clerk of the circuit court of
each county where the voters who are eligible to sign the petition
reside, a referendum election shall be held as provided in
subsection (c).
(2) Instead of the adoption of substantially identical resolutions in
each of the proposed consolidating school corporations under
subdivision (1), a referendum election under subsection (c) shall
be held on the occurrence of all of the following:
(A) At least twenty percent (20%) of the registered voters
residing in a particular school corporation sign a petition
requesting that the school corporation consolidate with another
school corporation (referred to in this subsection as "the
responding school corporation").
(B) The petition described in clause (A) is filed with the clerk
of the circuit court of each county where the voters who are
eligible to sign the petition reside.
(C) Not more than thirty (30) days after the service of the
petition by the clerk of the circuit court to the governing body
of the responding school corporation under subsection (b) and
the certification of signatures on the petition occurs under
subsection (b), the governing body of the responding school
corporation adopts a resolution approving the petition and
providing for the consolidation.
(D) An approving resolution has the same effect as the
substantially identical resolutions adopted by the governing
bodies under subdivision (1), and the governing bodies shall
publish the notice provided under subdivision (1) not more than
fifteen (15) days after the approving resolution is adopted.
However, if a governing body that is a party to the
consolidation fails to publish notice within the required fifteen
(15) day time period, a referendum election still must be held
as provided in subsection (c).
If the governing body of the responding school corporation does
not act on the petition within the thirty (30) day period described
in clause (C), the governing body's inaction constitutes a
disapproval of the petition request. If the governing body of the
responding school corporation adopts a resolution disapproving
the petition or fails to act within the thirty (30) day period, a
referendum election as described in subsection (c) may not be
held and the petition requesting the consolidation is defeated.
(b) Any petition of protest under subsection (a)(1) or a petition
requesting consolidation under subsection (a)(2) must show in the
petition the date on which each person has signed the petition and the
person's residence on that date. The petition may be executed in several
counterparts, the total of which constitutes the petition. Each
counterpart must contain the names of voters residing within a single
county and shall be filed with the clerk of the circuit court of the
county. Each counterpart must have attached to it the affidavit of the
person circulating the counterpart that each signature appearing on the
counterpart was affixed in that person's presence and is the true and
lawful signature of each person who made the signature. Any signer
may file the petition or any counterpart of the petition. Each signer on
the petition may before and may not after the filing with the clerk
withdraw the signer's name from the petition. A name may not be
added to the petition after the petition has been filed with the clerk.
After the receipt of any counterpart of the petition, each circuit court
clerk shall certify:
(1) the number of persons signing the counterpart;
(2) the number of persons who are registered voters residing
within that part of the school corporation located within the
clerk's county, as disclosed by the voter registration records in the
office of the clerk or the board of registration of the county, or
wherever registration records may be kept;
(3) the total number of registered voters residing within the
boundaries of that part of the school corporation located within
the county, as disclosed in the voter registration records; and
(4) the date of the filing of the petition.
Certification shall be made by each clerk of the circuit court not more
than thirty (30) days after the filing of the petition, excluding from the
calculation of the period any time during which the registration records
are unavailable to the clerk, or within any additional time as is
reasonably necessary to permit the clerk to make the certification. In
certifying the number of registered voters, the clerk of the circuit court
shall disregard any signature on the petition not made within the ninety
(90) days immediately before the filing of the petition with the clerk as
shown by the dates set out in the petition. The clerk of the circuit court
shall establish a record of the certification in the clerk's office and shall
serve the original petition and a copy of the certification on the county
election board under IC 3-10-9-3 and the governing bodies of each
affected school corporation. Service shall be made by mail or manual
delivery to the governing bodies, to any officer of the governing bodies,
or to the administrative office of the governing bodies, if any, and shall
be made for all purposes of this section on the day of the mailing or the
date of the manual delivery.
(c) The county election board in each county where the proposed
metropolitan school district is located, acting jointly where the
proposed metropolitan school district is created and where it is located
in more than one (1) county, shall cause any referendum election
required under either subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) to be held in the entire
proposed metropolitan district at a special election. The special election
shall be not less than sixty (60) days and not more than ninety (90) days
after the service of the petition of protest and certification by each clerk
of the circuit court under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) or after the
occurrence of the first action requiring a referendum under subsection
(a)(2). However, if a primary or general election at which county
officials are to be nominated or elected, or at which city or town
officials are to be elected in those areas of the proposed metropolitan
school district that are within the city or town, is to be held after the
sixty (60) days and not more than six (6) months after the service or the
occurrence of the first action, each election board may hold the
referendum election with the primary or general election.
(d) Notice of the special election shall be given by each election
board by publication under IC 5-3-1.
(e) Except where it conflicts with this section or cannot be
practicably applied, IC 3 applies to the conduct of the referendum
election. If the referendum election is not conducted at a primary or
general election, the cost of conducting the election shall be charged to
each component school corporation included in the proposed
metropolitan school district in the same proportion as its assessed
valuation bears to the total assessed valuation of the proposed
metropolitan school district and shall be paid from the operations fund
of each component school corporation not otherwise appropriated,
without appropriation.
(f) The question in the referendum election shall be placed on the
ballot in the form prescribed by IC 3-10-9-4 and must state "Shall the
school corporations of _________ be formed into one (1) metropolitan
school district under IC 20-23-7?" (in which blanks the respective
name of the school districts concerned will be inserted).
(g) If:
(1) a protest petition with the required signatures is not filed after
the adoption of substantially identical resolutions of the governing
bodies providing for or approving the consolidation as described
in subsection (a)(1); or
(2) a referendum election occurs in the entire proposed
metropolitan district and a majority of the voters in each proposed
consolidating school corporation vote in the affirmative;
a metropolitan school district is created and comes into existence in the
territory subject to the provisions and under the conditions described
in this chapter. The boundaries include all of the territory within the
school corporations, and it shall be known as "Metropolitan School
District of _______, Indiana" (the name of the district concerned will
be inserted in the blank). The name of the district shall be decided by
a majority vote of the metropolitan governing board of the metropolitan
school district at the first meeting. The metropolitan governing board
of the new metropolitan school district shall be composed and elected
under this chapter. The failure of any public official or body to perform
any duty within the time provided in this chapter does not invalidate
any proceedings taken by that official or body, but this provision shall
not be construed to authorize a delay in the holding of a referendum
election under this chapter.
(h) If the governing body of a school corporation is involved in a
consolidation proposal under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) that fails to
result in a consolidation, the:
(1) governing body of the school corporation may not initiate a
subsequent consolidation with another school corporation under
subsection (a)(1); and
(2) residents of the school corporation may not file a petition
requesting a consolidation with another school corporation under
subsection (a)(2);
for one (1) year after the date on which the prior consolidation proposal
failed.
[Pre-2005 Elementary and Secondary Education
Recodification Citation: 20-4-8-12.]

Legislative History

As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.7. Amended by P.L.233-2015, SEC.66; P.L.244-2017, SEC.26.