§ 15.1-12-05 — Annexation of property to school district - Hearing

1. Upon receiving a petition for the annexation of property to a school district, the county
superintendent shall schedule and give notice of a public hearing regarding the
annexation.
2. At least twenty-one days before the date of the public hearing, the county
superintendent shall provide notice by certified mail with return receipt regarding the
annexation to each owner of real property to be annexed and publish notice of the
public hearing in the official newspaper of the county in which the major portion of
each affected school district's real property is situated. If no newspaper is published in
the county, the county superintendent shall publish the notice in a newspaper in an
adjoining county in this state.
3. Before the hearing, the county committee shall:
a. Determine the number of qualified electors residing on the property to be
annexed;
b. Ensure that two-thirds of such qualified electors have signed the petition; and
c. Ensure that all other statutory requirements regarding the petition have been met.
4. At the hearing, the county committee shall accept testimony and documentary
evidence regarding:
a. The value and amount of property held by each affected school district;
b. The amount of all outstanding bonded and other indebtedness of each affected
district;
c. The levies for bonded indebtedness to which the property will be subjected or
from which the property will be exempted, as provided for in section 15.1-12-08;
d. The taxable valuation of each affected district and the taxable valuation under the
proposed annexation;
e. The size, geographical features, and boundaries of each affected district;
f. The number of students enrolled in each affected district;
g. Each school in the district, including its name, location, condition, the grade levels
it offers, and the distance that students living in the petitioned area would have to
travel to attend school;
h. The location and condition of roads, highways, and natural barriers in each
affected district;
i. Conditions affecting the welfare of students residing on the property to be
annexed;
j. The boundaries of other governmental entities;
k. The educational needs of communities in each affected district;
l. Potential savings in school district transportation and administrative services;
m. The potential for a reduction in per student valuation disparity between the
affected districts;
n. The potential to equalize or increase the educational opportunities for students in
each affected district;
o. The potential modification to the property tax obligation of the owners of the
property to be annexed and the concerns of the owners of the property to be
annexed; and
p. All other relevant factors.

5. Following consideration of the testimony and documentary evidence presented at the
hearing, the committee shall make specific findings of fact and approve or deny the
annexation. If the annexation is approved, the county superintendent shall forward all
minutes, records, documentary evidence, and other information regarding the
proceeding and the county committee's decision to the state board for final approval of
the annexation.
6. a. Except as provided in this subsection, the state board shall conduct a hearing
after publication of a notice in the manner required in subsection 2, accept and
consider testimony and documentary evidence regarding the proposed
annexation, make specific findings, and approve or deny the annexation.
b. If no opposition is presented to the county committee at the hearing and the
county committee approves the annexation, the state board may review the
record of the county committee and give final approval to the annexation without
holding its own hearing.
7. If the school districts involved in a proposed annexation include property in more than
one county, but the major portion of each district's property is in the same county, the
county committee of that county shall consider the annexation petition.
8. If the school districts involved in a proposed annexation are situated in more than one
county and the major portion of each district's property is not in the same county, the
county committees of those counties encompassing the major portion of each school
district shall jointly consider the annexation petition. The county committees shall vote
separately on whether to approve the annexation.
9. If the state board denies the annexation, another petition involving any of the same
property may not be submitted to the county committee for a period of three months
after the state board's denial. A petition involving any of the same property cited in the
original petition may not be considered by the state board more than twice in a
twelve-month period.
10. Regardless of how many county committees consider the annexation, the decision
may be appealed to the state board.
11. Each annexation must receive final approval from the state board.
12. The county superintendent with whom the petition has been filed shall forward all
minutes, records, documentary evidence, and other information regarding the
annexation, and the county committee's decision to the state board for final approval
or for consideration of an appeal.
13. A decision of the state board with respect to an annexation petition may be appealed
to the district court of the judicial district in which the property to be annexed is located.