| In the case of districts that meet the qualifications of | 25 |
|
division (A)(1) of this section, the petition shall be filed with | 26 |
|
the board of elections of the county in which the territory of the | 27 |
|
districts is primarily located. In the case of districts that meet | 28 |
|
the qualifications of division (A)(2) of this section, the | 29 |
|
petition shall be filed with the board of elections of the county | 30 |
|
with the largest population of all of the counties in which the | 31 |
|
territory of the districts is located, as determined by the most | 32 |
|
recent federal decennial census. | 33 |
| A petition filed under this section shall contain signatures | 40 |
|
of electors of each school district proposed to be merged, | 41 |
|
numbering not less than ten per cent of the number of electors | 42 |
|
residing in that district who voted for the office of governor at | 43 |
the most recent general election for that office. The petition | 44 |
shall be filed with the board of elections of the county described | 45 |
by division (A) of this section. The board of elections of the | 46 |
|
county in which the petition is required to be filed shall | 47 |
|
ascertain the validity of all signatures on the petition and may | 48 |
|
require the assistance of boards of elections of other counties if | 49 |
|
any of the school districts proposed to be merged are located | 50 |
|
partially or entirely in a county other than the one in which the | 51 |
|
petition is required to be filed. | 52 |
| (C)(1) If the board of elections of the county in which the | 70 |
|
petition is required to be filed determines that the petition is | 71 |
|
sufficient, the board shall submit the following question for the | 72 |
|
approval or rejection of the electors of each school district | 73 |
|
proposed to be merged at the next general election occurring at | 74 |
|
least ninety days after the date the petition is filed: "Shall a | 75 |
commission be established to study the proposed merger of any or | 76 |
all of the school districts in this county and, if a merger is | 77 |
|
considered desirable, to draw up a statement of conditions for | 78 |
that proposed mergerthe proposed merger of ............ (name of | 79 |
|
school district in which the question is being voted upon) with | 80 |
|
one or more of the following school districts: ............ (names | 81 |
|
of the other school districts listed in the petition)?" The ballot | 82 |
|
shall include, for each of the school districts proposed to be | 83 |
|
merged, the names of the five electors identified in the petition, | 84 |
|
who shall constitute the commissioners on behalf of that district. | 85 |
| (2) If any of the school districts for which merger is | 86 |
|
proposed are located partially or entirely in a county other than | 87 |
|
the one in which the petition is required to be filed, the board | 88 |
|
of elections of the county in which the petition is required to be | 89 |
|
filed shall, if the petition is found to be sufficient, certify | 90 |
|
the sufficiency of that petition and the statement of the issue to | 91 |
|
be voted on to the boards of elections of those other counties. | 92 |
|
The boards of those other counties shall submit the question of | 93 |
|
merging and the names of candidates to be elected to the | 94 |
|
commission for the approval or rejection of electors in the | 95 |
portions of the school districts proposed to be merged or portions | 96 |
|
thereof that are located within their respective counties. Upon | 97 |
|
the holding of the election, those boards shall certify the | 98 |
|
results to the board of elections of the county in which the | 99 |
|
petition is required to be filed. | 100 |
| (D) A petition shall not be deemed insufficient for all | 101 |
|
school districts proposed to be merged if it contains the | 102 |
|
signatures of less than ten per cent of the electors who voted for | 103 |
|
the office of governor at the most recent general election for | 104 |
|
that office in a particular school district. If the petition | 105 |
|
contains a sufficient number of signatures and is otherwise | 106 |
|
determined by the board of elections to be sufficient for at least | 107 |
|
two school districts proposed to be merged, the board shall submit | 108 |
|
the question of the proposed merger for the approval or rejection | 109 |
|
of voters under division (C) of this section in each of the | 110 |
|
districts for which the petition was determined to be sufficient. | 111 |
|
The board shall not submit the question of the proposed merger for | 112 |
|
the approval or rejection of voters under division (C) of this | 113 |
|
section for any school district for which a petition contains an | 114 |
|
insufficient number of signatures or for which the board otherwise | 115 |
|
determines the petition to be insufficient. | 116 |
| (E)(1) If the question of forming a merger study commission | 117 |
|
as provided in division (C) of this section is approved by a | 118 |
|
majority of those voting on it in at least two school districts, | 119 |
|
the commission shall be established and the five candidates from | 120 |
|
each school district in which the question was approved shall be | 121 |
|
elected to the commission to study the proposed merger and to | 122 |
|
formulate any conditions of any proposed merger if a merger is | 123 |
|
considered desirable after study by the commission. Any school | 124 |
|
district that disapproved of the question of forming a merger | 125 |
|
study commission by a majority of those voting on it shall not be | 126 |
|
included in, and its proposed candidates shall not be elected to, | 127 |
|
the commission. | 128 |
| (2) The first meeting of the commission shall be held in the | 129 |
|
regular meeting place of the board of county commissioners of the | 130 |
|
county in which the petition is required to be filed, at nine a.m. | 131 |
|
on the tenth day after the certification of the election by the | 132 |
|
last of the respective boards of elections to make such | 133 |
|
certification, unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or a | 134 |
|
holiday, in which case the first meeting shall be held on the next | 135 |
|
day thereafter that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. The | 136 |
|
president of the school board of the school district with the | 137 |
|
largest population of the districts that approved the question of | 138 |
|
forming a merger study commission under division (C) of this | 139 |
|
section shall serve as temporary chairperson until permanent | 140 |
|
officers are elected. The commission shall immediately elect its | 141 |
|
own permanent officers and shall proceed to meet as often as | 142 |
|
necessary to study the proposed merger, determine whether a | 143 |
|
proposed merger is desirable, and formulate any conditions for any | 144 |
|
proposed merger. All meetings of the commission shall be subject | 145 |
|
to the requirements of section 121.22 of the Revised Code. | 146 |
| (3) The conditions for a proposed merger may provide for the | 147 |
|
election of school board members for the new school district and | 148 |
|
any other conditions that a majority of the members of the | 149 |
|
commission from each school district find necessary. The | 150 |
|
conditions for the proposed merger also may provide that the | 151 |
|
merger, if approved, shall not become effective until the date on | 152 |
|
which any required changes in state law necessary for the school | 153 |
|
district merger to occur become effective. | 154 |
| (4) As soon as the commission determines that a merger is not | 155 |
|
desirable or finalizes the conditions for a proposed merger, the | 156 |
|
commission shall report this fact, and the name of each school | 157 |
|
district proposed for merger in which the majority of the | 158 |
|
district's commissioners have agreed to the conditions for merger, | 159 |
|
to the board of elections of each of the counties in which the | 160 |
|
school districts proposed for merger or portions thereof are | 161 |
|
located. | 162 |
| The question shall be submitted to the voters in each school | 163 |
|
district in which the majority of the district's commissioners | 164 |
|
have agreed to the conditions for merger at the next general | 165 |
|
election occurring after the commission is elected. The question | 166 |
|
shall not be submitted to the voters in any school district in | 167 |
|
which a majority of that district's commissioners have not agreed | 168 |
|
to the conditions for merger. The board of elections shall not | 169 |
|
submit the conditions for merger to the voters in any district if | 170 |
|
the conditions for merger include the merging of any district in | 171 |
|
which the majority of that district's commissioners have not | 172 |
|
agreed to the conditions for merger. | 173 |
| (F) If the conditions of merger agreed upon by the merger | 185 |
|
commission are disapproved by a majority of those voting on them | 186 |
|
in any school district proposed to be merged, the merger shall not | 187 |
|
occur, unless the conditions of merger provide for a merger to | 188 |
|
occur without the inclusion of that district and the conditions of | 189 |
|
merger are otherwise met. No district in which the conditions of | 190 |
|
merger are disapproved by a majority of those voting on them shall | 191 |
|
be included in any merger resulting from that election. If the | 192 |
|
conditions of merger are approved by a majority of those voting on | 193 |
|
them in each school district proposed to be merged, or if the | 194 |
|
conditions of merger provide for a merger to occur without the | 195 |
|
inclusion of one or more districts in which the conditions of | 196 |
|
merger are disapproved by a majority of those voting on them, the | 197 |
|
merger shall be effective on the date specified in the conditions | 198 |
|
of the merger, unless the conditions of merger specify changes | 199 |
|
required to be made in state law for the merger to occur, in which | 200 |
|
case the merger shall be effective on the date on which those | 201 |
|
changes to state law become effective. | 202 |