HF 1995

as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 03/19/2015 04:54pm

A bill for an act
relating to education; dissolving Special School District No. 1, Minneapolis;
providing for the transition and operation of successor school districts;
appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 123A; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2014, sections 128D.01; 128D.02;
128D.03; 128D.04; 128D.05; 128D.06; 128D.07; 128D.08, subdivisions 1, 3, 4;
128D.09; 128D.10; 128D.11; 128D.12; 128D.13; 128D.14; 128D.15; 128D.16;
128D.17.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. new text begin MINNEAPOLIS SCHOOL REDISTRICTING PLAN.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Plan development. new text end

new text begin (a) The Board of Education of Special School
District No. 1, Minneapolis, in consultation with the mayor of the city of Minneapolis,
shall consider and develop a plan for the orderly and equitable dissolution of the
Minneapolis school district and the determination of the boundaries of six newly
constituted independent school districts within the area of the current school district. A
preliminary plan must be reported to the commissioner of education and the Hennepin
County auditor on January 1, 2016, and a final plan must be adopted by the board and
submitted to the commissioner and the Hennepin County auditor no later than July 1, 2016.
new text end

new text begin (b) If the board does not adopt and submit a plan within the time specified, the
governor shall submit a plan under paragraph (a) and subdivision 2 to the commissioner
and the Hennepin County auditor no later than January 1, 2017.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Plan components. new text end

new text begin The plan shall include provisions for the transition
of custodial, food, transportation, and administrative services, and any other affected
functions, as well as the transfer of title to all property, real and personal, of the dissolved
district.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Review and implementation. new text end

new text begin The commissioner of education and
the Hennepin County auditor shall review, amend where necessary to allow for
implementation, and implement the plan accordingly.
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [123A.80] FORMER SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1,
MINNEAPOLIS; APPLICABILITY.
new text end

new text begin Sections 123A.80 to 123A.82 apply to only independent school districts formed out
of the former territory of Special School District No. 1, Minneapolis.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for the 2018-2019 school year and
later.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [123A.81] FORMER SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1,
MINNEAPOLIS; FLEXIBILITY.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Waiver procedure. new text end

new text begin A school board by recorded vote may request
from the commissioner a waiver of any state statute, law, or rule, except those relating
to data practices and open meetings. Within 30 days of the receipt of the request, the
commissioner must approve or reject the request. If the commissioner rejects the request,
the commissioner must include a statement of reason for rejecting the request. The
commissioner may only reject a request on the grounds of student health, safety, testing,
or that the statute, law, or rule is a federally required implementation of federal law. If the
commissioner rejects the request, the school board may revise the request and resubmit it
to the commissioner within 30 days. Within 30 days of the receipt of the modified request,
the commissioner must approve or reject the request. The commissioner's decision is final.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Publication. new text end

new text begin A district receiving a waiver under this section must maintain
a list of the statutes, laws, and rules from which it has received a waiver on the district's
Web site.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Reporting. new text end

new text begin Annually by February 1, the commissioner must report to the
legislative committees with jurisdiction over education policy and education finance the
statutes, laws, and rules that have been waived under this section for each of the school
districts.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for the 2018-2019 school year and
later.
new text end

Sec. 4.

new text begin [123A.82] FORMER SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1,
MINNEAPOLIS; TAXING AUTHORITY.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Levy certifications. new text end

new text begin (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, an
unequalized levy, as determined by the commissioner, certified by a school board must
be levied across the applicable tax base of the former territory of Special School District
No. 1, Minneapolis.
new text end

new text begin (b) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, an equalized levy, as determined by
the commissioner, certified by a school board must be equalized and levied across the
applicable tax base of the former territory of Special School District No. 1, Minneapolis.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Referendum. new text end

new text begin Notwithstanding sections 123B.63 and 126C.17, a
referendum under these sections must be brought to the electors of the former territory of
Special School District No. 1, Minneapolis, under this subdivision. A referendum under
section 123B.63, 126C.17, or 475.58 may be brought to the electors of the former Special
School District No. 1, Minneapolis, by board resolution of four of the six districts created
from the territory of the former Special School District No. 1, Minneapolis.
new text end

Sec. 5. new text begin SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1, MINNEAPOLIS; TRANSITION.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Information to auditor. new text end

new text begin (a) By July 1, 2016, and annually until
2018, Special School District No. 1, Minneapolis, must provide the following information
to the Hennepin County auditor:
new text end

new text begin (1) the outstanding bonded debt, outstanding energy loans made according to
Minnesota Statutes, section 216C.37 or sections 298.292 to 298.298, and the capital loan
obligation of the district;
new text end

new text begin (2) the net tax capacity of the district; and
new text end

new text begin (3) the most current school tax rates for the district, including any referendum,
discretionary, or other optional levies being assessed currently and the expected duration
of the levies.
new text end

new text begin (b) An assignment of bonded indebtedness, outstanding energy loans made
according to Minnesota Statutes, section 216C.37 or sections 298.292 to 298.298, shall not
relieve any property from any tax liability for payment of any bonded or capital obligation.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Order. new text end

new text begin (a) The Hennepin County auditor shall issue a dissolution order
effective July 1, 2018. The dissolution order must contain the following:
new text end

new text begin (1) a statement that the district is dissolved;
new text end

new text begin (2) a description by words or plat or both showing the disposition of territory in the
district to be dissolved;
new text end

new text begin (3) the outstanding bonded debt, outstanding energy loans made according to
Minnesota Statutes, section 216C.37 or sections 298.292 to 298.298, and the capital loan
obligation of the district to be dissolved;
new text end

new text begin (4) a statement requiring the fulfillment of the requirements imposed on each
newly formed district from which territory in the dissolving district is to be created from
regarding the assumption of its outstanding preexisting bonded indebtedness; and
new text end

new text begin (5) other information the county board may desire to include.
new text end

new text begin (b) The auditor shall, within ten days from its issuance, serve a copy of the order by
mail upon the clerk of the district to be dissolved and upon the commissioner.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Bonded debt. new text end

new text begin The bonded debt of a district dissolved under provisions
of this section must be paid according to levies made for that debt under provision of
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 475. The obligation of the taxable property in the dissolved
district with reference to the payment of such bonded debt is not affected by this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Current assets and liabilities. new text end

new text begin All current assets and liabilities, real
and personal, of Special School District No. 1, Minneapolis, and all its legally valid
and enforceable claims and contract obligations must pass to the new districts. The
commissioner shall, within 30 days after the order is issued, issue an order for the
distribution of its current assets and liabilities, real and personal. If the commissioner's
order provides for the transfer of an interest in real estate to a district, the order may
also impose a dollar amount as a claim against that district in favor of other districts and
this claim shall be paid and enforced in the manner provided by law for the payment
of judgments against a district.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Election of new boards. new text end

new text begin (a) At the 2017 general election, a board of
directors for each of the newly constituted school districts created under this act shall be
elected pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, chapter 205A, and elections shall be conducted
by resolution of the county board. One-half of the initial board members on each board
shall be elected to three-year terms and one-half of the initial members shall be elected
to five-year terms. The terms of the members shall thereafter be as governed under
Minnesota Statutes, section 123B.09.
new text end

new text begin (b) Board members elected under this section shall assume office January 1, 2018,
but may only pass resolutions and take other actions effective for the 2018-2019 school
year and later.
new text end

new text begin (c) The board of Special School District No. 1, Minneapolis, shall continue to
maintain schools until all its territory has been dissolved and reconstituted, and the board
shall only make such contracts and do such things as are necessary to properly maintain
schools for the period they are in session prior to the dissolution.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Levies. new text end

new text begin Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, in the year prior
to the effective date of the dissolution of a district, the board of the dissolving district
must certify levies at the same level as the previous year for taxes payable in the year the
dissolution is effective.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Merger. new text end

new text begin Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no school district
created under this act may merge or otherwise combine with another school district until
the 2030-2031 school year.
new text end

Sec. 6. new text begin APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin $....... in fiscal year 2016 and $....... in fiscal year 2017 are appropriated from the
general fund to the commissioner of education for revenue to Special School District No.
1, Minneapolis, to be placed in a reserve account in the district's general fund. Funds in
this account may only be used for the development of the redistricting plan under section 1
and as start-up funds for the new school districts, including conducting candidate searches
for superintendents and hiring support staff for the school boards.
new text end

Sec. 7. new text begin REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.
new text end

new text begin Upon the transition from Special School District, No. 1, Minneapolis, to its
successor districts, the revisor of statutes shall change "Special School District No.
1, Minneapolis" or similar term in Minnesota Statutes and Minnesota Rules to a term
that includes the districts formed from that territory. The revisor of statutes shall make
technical and grammatical changes necessary to implement this terminology change.
new text end

Sec. 8. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end

new text begin Minnesota Statutes 2014, sections 128D.01; 128D.02; 128D.03; 128D.04; 128D.05;
128D.06; 128D.07; 128D.08, subdivisions 1, 3, and 4; 128D.09; 128D.10; 128D.11;
128D.12; 128D.13; 128D.14; 128D.15; 128D.16; and 128D.17, new text end new text begin are repealed effective
July 1, 2020.
new text end