093_SB0368eng SB368 Engrossed LRB093 10049 NHT 10300 b 1 AN ACT with regard to schools. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing 5 Sections 11A-2 and 11A-8 as follows: 6 (105 ILCS 5/11A-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 11A-2) 7 Sec. 11A-2. Organization of community unit districts; 8 territorial requirement. (1) Any contiguous and compact 9 territory of at least $12,000,000 equalized assessed 10 valuation and having a population of not less than 4,000 and 11 not more than 500,000, no part of which is included within 12 any unit district, may be organized into a community unit 13 school district as provided in this Article; (2) the 14 territory of 2 or more entire unit school districts that are 15 contiguous to each other and the territory of which taken as 16 a whole is compact may be organized into a community unit 17 school district as provided in this Article; or (3) the 18 territory of one or more entire unit school districts that 19 are contiguous to each other plus any contiguous and compact 20 territory, no part of which is included within any unit 21 district, and the territory of which taken as a whole is 22 compact may be organized into a community unit school 23 district as provided in this Article; however, a petition or 24 petitions may be filed hereunder proposing to divide a unit 25 school district into 2 or more parts and proposing to include 26 all of such parts in 2 or more community unit districts. As 27 used in this Section, a unit school district includes, but is 28 not limited to, a special charter unit school district. 29 The territory of any high school district and all of the 30 elementary school districts included within that high school 31 district may be organized into a community unit school SB368 Engrossed -2- LRB093 10049 NHT 10300 b 1 district. A petition signed by at least 10% of the voters 2 residing in the affected school districts included in the 3 proposal shall be filed with the regional superintendent of 4 schools of the region in which the territory described in the 5 petition is situated, or the petition may be filed by the 6 school board of the high school district. The petition shall 7 (i) request the submission of the proposition at a regular 8 scheduled election for the purpose of voting for or against 9 the creation of a community unit school district; (ii) 10 describe the territory comprising the proposed district; and 11 (iii) set forth the maximum tax rates for educational, 12 operations and maintenance, pupil transportation, and fire 13 prevention and safety purposes that the proposed district 14 will be authorized to levy. 15 The regional superintendent shall not accept for filing 16 hereunder any petition which includes therein any territory 17 already included as part of the territory described in 18 another petition filed hereunder. Hearings on a petition 19 filed hereunder shall not be commenced so long as any part of 20 the territory described therein shall include territory 21 described, whether by amendment or otherwise, in another 22 petition filed hereunder. A petition may be filed hereunder 23 which contains less than the required minimum equalized 24 assessed valuation or population requirements provided that 25 such a petition shall not be approved by the regional 26 superintendent and State Superintendent unless it is 27 determined: (1) that there is a compelling reason for 28 granting the petition; (2) that the territory involved cannot 29 currently be organized as part of a petition which meets the 30 minimum requirements; (3) that the granting of the petition 31 will not interfere with the ultimate reorganization of the 32 territory into a school district which meets the minimum 33 requirements; (4) that the granting of the petition is in the 34 best educational interests of the pupils affected; and (5) SB368 Engrossed -3- LRB093 10049 NHT 10300 b 1 that the granting of the petition is financially beneficial 2 to the affected school districts. 3 (Source: P.A. 88-555, eff. 7-27-94.) 4 (105 ILCS 5/11A-8) (from Ch. 122, par. 11A-8) 5 Sec. 11A-8. Passage requirements. 6 (a) Except as otherwise provided by Section 11A-7, the 7 proposition to create a community unit school district shall 8 be submitted only to the voters of the territory which 9 comprises the proposed community unit school district, and if 10 a majority of the votersin each of the affected school11districtsvoting at such election vote in favor of the 12 establishment of such community unit school district, the 13 proposition shall be deemed to have passed. Unless the board 14 of education of a new community unit school district is 15 elected at the same election at which the proposition 16 establishing that district is deemed to have passed, the 17 regional superintendent of schools shall order an election to 18 be held on the next regularly scheduled election date for the 19 purpose of electing a board of education for that district. 20 In either event, the board of education elected for a new 21 community unit school district created under this Article 22 shall consist of 7 members who shall have the terms and the 23 powers and duties of school boards as defined in Article 10 24 of this Act. Nomination papers filed under this Section are 25 not valid unless the candidate named therein files with the 26 regional superintendent a receipt from the county clerk 27 showing that the candidate has filed a statement of economic 28 interests as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics 29 Act. Such statement shall be so filed either previously 30 during the calendar year in which his nomination papers were 31 filed or within the period for the filing of nomination 32 papers in accordance with the general election law. The 33 regional superintendent shall perform the election duties SB368 Engrossed -4- LRB093 10049 NHT 10300 b 1 assigned by law to the secretary of a school board for such 2 election, and shall certify the officers and candidates 3 therefor pursuant to the general election law. 4 (b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), for 5 school districts formed before January 1, 1975, if the 6 territory of such district is greater than 2 congressional 7 townships or 72 square miles, then not more than 3 board 8 members may be selected from any one congressional township, 9 but congressional townships of less than 100 inhabitants 10 shall not be considered for the purpose of such mandatory 11 board representation, and in any such community unit district 12 where at least 75% but not more than 90% of the population is 13 in one congressional township 4 board members shall be 14 selected therefrom and 3 board members shall be selected from 15 the rest of the district, but in any such community unit 16 district where more than 90% of the population is in one 17 congressional township all board members may be selected from 18 one or more congressional townships; and whenever the 19 territory of any community unit district shall consist of not 20 more than 2 congressional townships or 72 square miles, but 21 shall consist of more than one congressional township, or 36 22 square miles, outside of the corporate limits of any city, 23 village or incorporated town within the school district, not 24 more than 5 board members shall be selected from any city, 25 village or incorporated town in such school district. 26 (c) The provisions of subsection (b) for mandatory board 27 representation shall no longer apply to a community unit 28 school district formed prior to January 1, 1975, and the 29 members of the board of education shall be elected at large 30 from within that school district and without restriction by 31 area of residence within the district if both of the 32 following conditions are met with respect to that district: 33 (1) A proposition for the election of board members 34 at large and without restriction by area of residence SB368 Engrossed -5- LRB093 10049 NHT 10300 b 1 within the district rather than in accordance with the 2 provisions of subsection (b) for mandatory board 3 representation is submitted to the school district's 4 voters at a regular school election or at the general 5 election as provided in this subsection (c). 6 (2) A majority of those voting at the election in 7 each congressional township comprising the territory of 8 the school district, including any congressional township 9 of less than 100 inhabitants, vote in favor of the 10 proposition. 11 The board of education of the school district may by 12 resolution order submitted or, upon the petition of the 13 lesser of 2,500 or 5% of the school district's registered 14 voters, shall order submitted to the school district's voters 15 at a regular school election or at the general election the 16 proposition for the election of board members at large and 17 without restriction by area of residence within the district 18 rather than in accordance with the provisions of subsection 19 (b) for mandatory board representation; and the proposition 20 shall thereupon be certified by the board's secretary for 21 submission. If a majority of those voting at the election in 22 each congressional township comprising the territory of the 23 school district, including any congressional township of less 24 than 100 inhabitants, vote in favor of the proposition: (i) 25 the proposition to elect board members at large and without 26 restriction by area of residence within the district shall be 27 deemed to have passed, (ii) new members of the board shall be 28 elected at large and without restriction by area of residence 29 within the district at the next regular school election, and 30 (iii) the terms of office of the board members incumbent at 31 the time the proposition is adopted shall expire when the new 32 board members that are elected at large and without 33 restriction by area of residence within the district have 34 organized in accordance with Section 10-16. In a community SB368 Engrossed -6- LRB093 10049 NHT 10300 b 1 unit school district that formerly elected its members under 2 subsection (b) to successive terms not exceeding 4 years, the 3 members elected at large and without restriction by area of 4 residence within the district shall be elected for a term of 5 4 years, and in a community unit school district that 6 formerly elected its members under subsection (b) to 7 successive terms not exceeding 6 years, the members elected 8 at large and without restriction by area of residence within 9 the district shall be elected for a term of 6 years; 10 provided, that in each case the terms of the board members 11 initially elected at large and without restriction by area of 12 residence within the district as provided in this subsection 13 shall be staggered and determined in accordance with the 14 provisions of Sections 10-10 and 10-16. 15 (Source: P.A. 89-129, eff. 7-14-95.) 16 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 17 becoming law.