1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; allowing the plans for 
  1.3             reorganizing school districts to determine the 
  1.4             allocation of certain homestead and agricultural 
  1.5             credit aid; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 
  1.6             122.23, subdivision 2; and 122.242, subdivision 9. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 122.23, 
  1.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  (a) Upon a resolution of a school board in the 
  1.11  area proposed for consolidation or upon receipt of a petition 
  1.12  therefor executed by 25 percent of the voters resident in the 
  1.13  area proposed for consolidation or by 50 such voters, whichever 
  1.14  is lesser, the county auditor of the county which contains the 
  1.15  greatest land area of the proposed new district shall forthwith 
  1.16  cause a plat to be prepared.  The resolution or petition shall 
  1.17  show the approximate area proposed for consolidation.  
  1.18     (b) The resolution or petition may propose the following: 
  1.19     (1) that (i) the bonded debt of the component districts 
  1.20  will be paid according to the levies previously made for that 
  1.21  debt under chapter 475, or that the taxable property in the 
  1.22  newly created district will be taxable for the payment of all or 
  1.23  a portion of the bonded debt previously incurred by any 
  1.24  component district as provided in subdivision 16, and (ii) that 
  1.25  the portion of homestead and agricultural credit aid 
  1.26  attributable to the debt service for the outstanding bonds will 
  2.1   be attributed to either the debt levies remaining in the 
  2.2   component districts or attributable to the total levy in the 
  2.3   newly created district; 
  2.4      (2) that obligations for a capital loan or an energy loan 
  2.5   made according to section 216C.37 or sections 298.292 to 298.298 
  2.6   outstanding in a preexisting district as of the effective date 
  2.7   of consolidation remain solely with the preexisting district 
  2.8   that obtained the loan, or that all or a portion of the loan 
  2.9   obligations will be assumed by the newly created or enlarged 
  2.10  district and paid by the newly created or enlarged district on 
  2.11  behalf of the preexisting district that obtained the loan; 
  2.12     (3) that referendum levies previously approved by voters of 
  2.13  the component districts pursuant to section 124A.03, subdivision 
  2.14  2, or its predecessor provision, be combined as provided in 
  2.15  section 122.531, subdivision 2a or 2b, or that the referendum 
  2.16  levies be discontinued; 
  2.17     (4) that the board of the newly created district consist of 
  2.18  the number of members determined by the component districts, 
  2.19  which may be six or seven members elected according to 
  2.20  subdivision 18, or any number of existing school board members 
  2.21  of the component districts, and a method to gradually reduce the 
  2.22  membership to six or seven; or 
  2.23     (5) that separate election districts from which school 
  2.24  board members will be elected, the boundaries of these election 
  2.25  districts, and the initial term of the member elected from each 
  2.26  of these election districts be established. 
  2.27     A group of districts that operates a cooperative secondary 
  2.28  facility funded under section 124.494 may also propose a 
  2.29  temporary school board structure as specified in section 
  2.30  124.494, subdivision 7. 
  2.31     If a county auditor receives more than one request for a 
  2.32  plat and the requests involve parts of identical districts, the 
  2.33  auditor shall forthwith prepare a plat which in the auditor's 
  2.34  opinion best serves the educational interests of the inhabitants 
  2.35  of the districts or areas affected.  
  2.36     (c) The plat shall show: 
  3.1      (1) Boundaries of the proposed district, as determined by 
  3.2   the county auditor, and present district boundaries, 
  3.3      (2) The location of school buildings in the area proposed 
  3.4   as a new district and the location of school buildings in 
  3.5   adjoining districts, 
  3.6      (3) The boundaries of any proposed separate election 
  3.7   districts, and 
  3.8      (4) Other pertinent information as determined by the county 
  3.9   auditor. 
  3.10     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 122.242, 
  3.11  subdivision 9, is amended to read: 
  3.12     Subd. 9.  [FINANCES.] The plan must state:  
  3.13     (1) whether (i) debt service for the bonds outstanding at 
  3.14  the time of combination remains solely with the district that 
  3.15  issued the bonds or whether all or a portion of the debt service 
  3.16  for the bonds will be assumed by the combined district and paid 
  3.17  by the combined district on behalf of the district that issued 
  3.18  the bonds, and (ii) that the portion of homestead and 
  3.19  agricultural credit aid attributable to the debt service for the 
  3.20  outstanding bonds will be attributed to either the debt levies 
  3.21  remaining in the component districts or attributable to the 
  3.22  total levy in the newly created district; 
  3.23     (2) whether obligations for a capital loan or energy loan 
  3.24  made according to section 216C.37 or sections 298.292 to 298.298 
  3.25  outstanding at the time of combination remain solely with the 
  3.26  district that obtained the loan, or whether all or a portion of 
  3.27  all the loan obligations will be assumed by the combined 
  3.28  district and paid by the combined district on behalf of the 
  3.29  district that obtained the loan; 
  3.30     (3) the treatment of debt service levies, down payment 
  3.31  levies under section 124.82, and referendum levies; 
  3.32     (4) whether the cooperating or combined district will levy 
  3.33  for reorganization operating debt according to section 121.915, 
  3.34  clause (1); and 
  3.35     (5) two- and five-year projections, prepared by the 
  3.36  department of education upon the request of any district, of 
  4.1   revenues, expenditures, and property taxes for each district if 
  4.2   it cooperated and combined and if it did not. 
  4.3      Sec. 3.  [ALLOCATION FOR COMBINED DISTRICTS.] 
  4.4      A district that has reorganized after June 30, 1990, and 
  4.5   that made the decision at the time of reorganization to keep its 
  4.6   debt service for bonds outstanding at the time of the 
  4.7   reorganization separate may elect to reallocate any portion of 
  4.8   its homestead and agricultural credit aid to the debt service 
  4.9   levies of the component districts. 
  4.10     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.11     Sections 1 and 2 are effective the day following final 
  4.12  enactment.  Section 3 is effective July 1, 1995.