CORPORATIONS-ORGANIZATION-CHANGE OF BOUNDARIES.

Sec. 2790. New township. When a new civil township is formed the same shall constitute a school township, which shall go into effect on the first Monday in March following the completed organization of the civil township. The notices of the first meeting shall be given by the county superintendent, and at such meeting a board of three directors shall be chosen. [C. '73, § 1713.]

Sec. 2791. Attaching territory to adjoining corporation. In any case where, by reason of natural obstacles, any portion of the inhabitants of any school corporation in the opinion of the county superintendent cannot with reasonable facility attend school in their own corporation, he shall, by written order, in duplicate, attach the part thus affected to an adjoining school corporation, the board of the same consenting thereto, one copy of which order shall be at once transmitted to the secretary of each corporation affected thereby, who shall record the same and make the proper designation on the plat of the corporation. Township or county lines shall not be a bar to the operation of this section. [C. '73, § 1797.]

Sec. 2792. Restoration. Where territory has been or may hereafter be set off to an adjoining school township in the same or another county, or attached for school purposes to an independent district so situated, it may be restored to the territory to which it geographically belongs upon the concurrence of the respective boards of directors, and shall be so restored by said boards upon the written application of two -thirds of the electors residing upon the territory so set off or attached, together with the concurrence of the county superintendent and the board of the school corporation which is to receive back the territory. [19 G. A., ch. 160; 18 G. A., ch. 111; C. '73, § 1798.]

Sec. 2793. Boundary lines changed. The boundary lines of contiguous school corporations may be changed by the concurrent action of the respective boards of directors at their regular meetings in July, or at special meetings thereafter called for that purpose. The corporation from which territory is detached shall after the change contain not less than four government sections of land, and its boundary lines must conform to the lines of congressional divisions of land. In the same manner, the boundary lines of contiguous school corporations may be so changed that one corporation shall be included in and consolidated with the other as a single corporation. When boundary lines are changed by concurrent action, school districts affected thereby shall not be required to elect new boards of directors, and the boards then in office may make final settlement of all assets and liabilities as provided in section two thousand eight hundred two (2802), supplement to the code, 1913, and in case of a consolida

tion of districts under this section the officers and members of the board of directors of the independent district having the larger number of inhabitants, shall continue to be the officers and directors of the independent district, as consolidated for the period for which such officers and directors were elected. [38 G. A., ch. 113; 34 G. A., ch. 142; 31 G. A., ch. 136, § 10; 22 G. A., ch. 62, § 1.]

In effect by publication April 3, 1919.

Sec. 2793-a. Corporation limits changed. When the boundary line between a school township and an independent city or town district is not also the line between civil township, such boundary may be changed at any time by the concurrence of the boards of directors; but in no case shall a forty-acre tract of land, by the government survey, be divided; and such subdivisions shall be excluded or included as entire forties. The boundaries of the school township or the independent district may in the same manner be extended to the line between civil townships, even though by such change one of the districts shall be included within and consolidated with the other as a single district. When the corporate limits of any city or town are extended outside the existing independent district or districts, the boundaries of said independent district or districts shall be also correspondingly extended. But in no case shall the boundaries of an independent district be affected by the reduction of the corporate limits of a city or town. [27 G. A., ch. 89.]

Sec. 2794. Formation of independent district. Upon the written petition of any ten voters of a city, town or village of over one hundred residents, to the board of the school corporation in which the portion of the town plat having the largest number of voters is situated, such board shall establish the boundaries of a proposed independent district, including therein all of the city, town or village, and also such contiguous territory as is authorized by a written petition of a majority of the resident electors of the contiguous territory proposed to be included in said district, in not smaller subdivisions than entire forties of land, in the same or any adjoining school corporations, as may best subserve the convenience of the people for school purposes, and shall give the same notices of a meeting as required in other cases, at which meeting all voters upon the territory included within the contemplated independent district shall be allowed to vote by ballot for or against such separate organization. When it is proposed to include territory outside the town, city or village, the voters residing upon such outside territory shall be entitled to vote separately upon the proposition for the formation of such new district, by presenting a petition of at least twenty-five per cent. of the voters residing upon such outside territory, and if a majority of the votes so cast is against including such outside territory,

then the proposed independent district shall not be formed, provided that a subdistrict containing a village with a population of seventy-five or more, may, under the provisions of this act organize into an independent school district. [36 G. A., ch. 89, § 1; 29 G. A., ch. 126, § 1; 19 G. A., ch. 118, § 1; 18 G. A., ch. 139; C. '73, §§ 1800-1; R., §§ 2097, 2105.]

CONSOLIDATED INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

Section 1. Organization - dissolution. That section twentyseven hundred ninety-four-a (2794-a) of the supplemental supplement to the code, 1915 as amended by chapter 432 of the acts of the thirty-seventh general assembly, be amended by striking therefrom the first hundred lines of subdivision "a" thereof and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

(a) When a petition describing the boundaries of contiguous territory containing not less than sixteen sections, within one or more counties, asking for the establishment of a consolidated independent school district and signed by one-third of the qualified voters residing therein, is filed with the county superintendent of the county in which the largest number of qualified voters in the proposed district reside, he shall within ten days give public notice of the place and date when all objections shall be filed. Such petition shall be accompanied by an affidavit showing the number of qualified voters in the proposed consolidated district and in case such district is in two or more counties such affidavit shall show separately, as to each county, the number of qualified voters in the part of each county included in the proposed district. Such affidavit shall be made by some qualified voter residing in the proposed district, and shall be taken as true, unless objections are filed to it prior to the final decision on said petition. All notices under this act shall be by one publication in a newspaper published within the proposed district or if there be none, then in a newspaper having general circulation within the proposed consolidated district, which publication shall be made not less than five days nor more than fifteen days prior to the hearing or election to which they refer. Objections may be made by any person residing upon or owning land within such proposed boundaries or who would be injuriously affected by the formation of the proposed district and shall be on file not later than twelve o'clock noon of the day fixed for receiving objections. Within five days after such filings the county superintendent shall review all papers filed in his office and after careful review and investigation of their merits shall overrule or sustain the objections filed and fix and determine the boundary lines of the proposed consolidated district. In determining these boundaries he shall so locate the boundary lines as will in his judgment form the best possible consolidated district, having due regard also to the welfare of adjoining districts. He

shall also notify at once all objectors by registered letter of his decision.

Any person having filed objections and being aggrieved by the ruling of the county superintendent may appeal from his decision to the county board of education within ten days after the decision is rendered, by serving written notice on the said county superintendent. Within five days after said notice has been received, the county superintendent shall file with the county board of education all of the original papers together with his decision and fix the time and place where such appeal will be heard and shall give notice to appellants by registered letter as heretofore provided. The time fixed for such hearing shall be not less than ten nor more than fifteen days from the date his decision is rendered. The county board of education shall determine such appeal within five days after the submission thereof which decision shall be final as to said boundaries.

If no objections be filed or if the objections be not sustained, it shall be the duty of the county superintendent with whom said petition has been filed to call an election in the proposed consolidated district, legal notice of which shall be given as hereinbefore provided. At the election all qualified voters residing in the proposed consolidated district shall be entitled to vote by ballot for or against the establishment thereof.

When it is proposed to include in such district a school corporation containing a city, town or village with a population of two hundred or more inhabitants, the voters residing upon the territory outside the limits of the said school corporation shall vote separately upon the proposition to create such new district. The judges of said election shall provide separate ballot boxes in which shall be deposited the votes cast by the qualified voters from their respective territory, and if a majority of the votes cast by the qualified voters residing either within or without the limits of the aforesaid school corporation is against the proposition to form a consolidated independent corporation, then the proposed corporation shall not be formed. If a majority of the votes so cast in each territory shall be in favor of such independent organization, the organization of the proposed consolidated independent school corporation shall be completed by the election of a board of directors for said school corporation. Said election shall be called by the same county superintendent and by giving the same notice as provided for the calling of the election to establish said consolidated independent district. At such election two directors shall be chosen to serve until the next annual meeting, two until the second, and one until the third annual meeting thereafter. It is further provided that when a consolidated independent district is so organized it shall not be reduced to less than sixteen sections unless dissolved as provided by law.

No remaining portion of any school corporation from which territory is taken to form such a consolidated independent corporation shall, after the change, contain less than four government sections, which territory shall be contiguous and so situated as to form a suitable corporation. In the formation of such consolidated school corporation the boundary lines shall conform to those of school corporations or subdistricts already established, provided, however, that the county board of education on hearing, may fix other boundaries than herein prescribed, when because of meandering streams, irregular boundaries of existing subdistricts or school corporations or the location of highways, the welfare of the consolidated district and the adjoining districts may be better served. In case the boundary of such subdistricts be a public highway then the said consolidated district may include such tracts of one hundred sixty acres or less as are contiguous to the said highway. And where after the formation of such consolidated school corporation, there is left in any school townhsip one or more pieces of territory containing four or more government sections, each of such pieces of territory shall thereon become a rural independent school corporation, unless two or more subdistricts remain in a contiguous body, in which event such remaining portion of territory shall constitute a school township, and it shall be the duty of the officers of the former school township to call an election in each of such remaining pieces of territory for the purpose of election school officers in the manner provided by law for the election of officers in rural independent school and school township corporations. The judges of the elections herein provided for shall be appointed by the county superintendent with whom the petition was filed. Such judges shall be qualified voters of the territory or district in which they are to serve. If any judge fails to appear at the proper time his place shall be filled by the judge or judges pres

ent.

This act shall not affect, or be construed to affect action now pending in the formation of any consolidated school district. 138 G. A., ch. 148; 37 G. A., ch. 432; 36 G. A., ch. 46; 36 G. A., ch. 342; 34 G. A., ch. 143, § 1; 31 G. A., ch. 141.]

In effect by publication April 8, 1919.

(b) Organization of board—taxes previously certified—levy for general fund. The organization of the school board in consolidated independent school corporations shall be effected on or before the first day of July following their election, and when completed, all taxes previously certified shall be void so far as the property within the limits of the consolidated independent school corporation is concerned, and the board of said consolidated independent school corporation shall at a regular meeting or a special meeting called for the purpose, at any time prior to the third Monday in August of each year, levy for the general fund of said school the