§ 416 — School taxes and school bonds

§ 416. School taxes and school bonds. 1. A majority of the voters of\nany school district, present and voting at any annual or special\ndistrict meeting, duly convened, may authorize such acts and vote such\ntaxes as they shall deem expedient for making additions, alterations,\nrepairs or improvements, to the sites or buildings belonging to the\ndistrict, or for altering and equipping for library use any former\nschoolhouse belonging to the district, or for the purchase of other\nsites or buildings, or for a change of sites, or for the purchase of\nland and buildings for agricultural, athletic, playground or social\ncenter purposes, or for the erection of new buildings, or for building a\nbus garage, or for buying apparatus, implements, or fixtures, or for\npaying the wages of teachers, and the necessary expenses of the school,\nor for the purpose of paying any judgment, or for the payment or\nrefunding of an outstanding bonded indebtedness, or for such other\npurpose relating to the support and welfare of the school as they may,\nby resolution, approve.\n 2. On all propositions arising at said meetings involving the\nexpenditure of money, or authorizing the levy of a tax in one sum or by\ninstallments, the vote thereon shall be by ballot, or ascertained by\ntaking and recording the ayes and noes of such qualified voters\nattending and voting at such meetings; and they may direct the moneys so\nvoted to be levied in one sum, or by installments, which shall be of\nsuch amounts and levied in such years as may be determined, within such\nlimitations as may be fixed by the voters, by the trustees or board of\neducation. No such tax shall be authorized to be levied by installments\nas a condition precedent to the issuance of bonds or capital notes\nunless the notice of the meeting shall state that such tax will be\nproposed and the object or purpose thereof. Such notice shall comply\nwith the requirements of section 41.10 of the local finance law.\n 3. No addition to or change of site or purchase of a new site or tax\nfor the purchase of any new site or structure, or for grading or\nimproving a school site, or for the purchase of an addition to the site\nof any schoolhouse, or for the purchase of lands and buildings for\nagricultural, athletic, playground or social center purposes, or for\nbuilding any new schoolhouse or for the erection of an addition to any\nschoolhouse already built, or for the payment or refunding of an\noutstanding bonded indebtedness, shall be voted at any such meeting in a\nunion free school district or a city school district which conducts\nannual budget votes in accordance with article forty-one of this chapter\npursuant to section twenty-six hundred one-a of this chapter, unless a\nnotice by the board of education stating that such tax will be proposed,\nand specifying the object thereof and the amount to be expended\ntherefor, shall have been given in the manner provided herein for the\nnotice of an annual meeting. In a common school district the notice of a\nspecial meeting to authorize any of the improvements enumerated in this\nsection shall be given as provided in section two thousand six. The\nboard of education of a union free school district or a city school\ndistrict which conducts annual budget votes in accordance with article\nforty-one of this chapter pursuant to section twenty-six hundred one-a\nof this chapter, may determine that the vote upon any question to be\nsubmitted at a special meeting as provided in this section shall be by\nballot, in which case it shall state in the notice of such special\nmeeting the hours during which the polls shall be kept open. Printed\nballots may be prepared by the board in advance of the meeting and the\nproposition or propositions called for in the notice of the meeting may\nbe submitted in substantially the same manner as propositions to be\nvoted upon at a general election.\n 4. And whenever a tax for any of the objects hereinbefore specified\nshall be legally voted, the board of trustees or board of education\nshall make out their tax list, and attach their warrant thereto, in the\nmanner provided in article seventy-one of this chapter, for the\ncollection of school district taxes, and shall cause such taxes or such\ninstalments to be collected at such times as they shall become due.\n 5. No vote to raise money shall be rescinded, nor the amount thereof\nbe reduced at any subsequent meeting, unless it be an adjourned meeting\nor a meeting called by regular and legal notice, which shall specify the\nproposed action, and at which the vote upon said proposed reduction or\nrescinding shall be taken by ballot or by taking and recording the ayes\nand noes of the qualified voters attending and voting thereat.\n 6. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, propo-\nsitions for the construction of a new schoolhouse or an addition to a\npresent schoolhouse at the same site shall not be submitted for a vote\nmore than twice during any twelve month period and in no event shall a\nproposition be submitted for a vote less than ninety days after a vote\non the same or similar proposition. However, the prohibition of this\nsubdivision shall not apply to a proposition to approve an additional\namount necessary to carry out a construction project, where the voters\nhave approved an initial building project and it is determined that the\nbids for such project are in excess of the approved amount.\n 7. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a city school\ndistrict in a city having a population of one hundred twenty-five\nthousand inhabitants or more.\n