Timothy Schultz General Counsel, 111318 INAGO, AGO 2018-11

Case DateNovember 13, 2018
CourtIndiana
Timothy Schultz General Counsel
AGO 2018-11
Official Opinion 2018-11
Indiana Attorney General Opinion
State of Indiana Office of the Attorney General
November 13, 2018
         Timothy Schultz, General Counsel          Indiana State Board of Education          143 West Market Street, Suite 500          Indianapolis, IN 46204          RE: 2018 Reorganization of West Clark Community Schools          Dear Mr. Schultz:          ISSUE          Pursuant to Ind. Code § 4-6-2-5, the Indiana State Board of Education (the "State Board") requested the opinion of the Office of the Attorney General ("OAG") on two related questions involving actions by the West Clark County Community School Board:          (1) May a school corporation that was previously created by a county committee reorganize without creating a new committee?          (2) If the school corporation may proceed under Ind. Code § 20-23-4-38 and reorganize without the creation of a committee, what materials must be submitted to the State Board in order to properly reorganize?          SHORT ANSWER          (1) A school corporation previously reorganized by a now-dissolved county committee may submit reorganization changes to the State Board without forming a new county committee.          (2) The local governing body or the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (the "State Superintendent") must submit to the State Board the materials described in Ind. Code § 20-23-4 et seq. in order for the proposed change to become effective.          BACKGROUND          The Indiana School Reorganization Act of 1959[1] (the "1959 Act"), which ultimately was responsible for reducing the number of Indiana's local school districts from 966 to under 400, provided the authorization and procedure for reducing the number of local school districts through consolidation, the purpose being to provide "more equalized educational opportunities for publicly enrolled students in grades 1-12 in the school corporations of Indiana." [2]          In summary, the 1959 Act required each county to form a County Committee for the Reorganization of School Corporations (the "County Committee") which was responsible for preparing a preliminary plan of reorganization supported by studies and surveys. After public hearings and receiving comments, the County Committee was required to submit a final plan for reorganization to the State Commission for the Reorganization of School Corporations (the "State Commission") for approval.          Upon approval of a reorganization plan by the State Commission, a community school corporation provided for in the plan could be established by filing an appropriate petition with the clerk or clerks of the circuit court or courts of the county or counties where the voters reside signed by at least 55% of the registered voters in the boundaries of the new school corporation. After receiving certification from the aforementioned clerk or clerks on the regularity of the signatures on the petition, the County Committee was required to publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the community school corporation that the steps necessary to establish the community school corporation had been completed and provide notice of the creation of the new school corporation and its particulars.          If the County Committee did not receive a petition with 55% of the registered voters in the boundaries of the new school corporation within 90 days of receiving the approved plan from the State Commission, a special election was noticed and held for the purpose of allowing the affected voters to vote on the approved reorganization plan. If the plan should be rejected...

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