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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | ||||||
5 | 11E-35 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (105 ILCS 5/11E-35) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 11E-35. Petition filing. | ||||||
8 | (a) A petition shall be filed with the regional | ||||||
9 | superintendent of schools of the educational service region in | ||||||
10 | which the territory described in the petition or that part of | ||||||
11 | the territory with the greater percentage of equalized assessed | ||||||
12 | valuation is situated. The petition must do the following: | ||||||
13 | (1) be signed by at least 50 legal resident voters or | ||||||
14 | 10% of the legal resident voters, whichever is less, | ||||||
15 | residing within each affected district; or | ||||||
16 | (2) be approved by the school board in each affected | ||||||
17 | district. | ||||||
18 | (b) The petition shall contain all of the following: | ||||||
19 | (1) A request to submit the proposition at a regular | ||||||
20 | scheduled election for the purpose of voting: | ||||||
21 | (A) for or against a high school - unit conversion; | ||||||
22 | (B) for or against a unit to dual conversion; | ||||||
23 | (C) for or against the establishment of a combined |
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1 | elementary district; | ||||||
2 | (D) for or against the establishment of a combined | ||||||
3 | high school district; | ||||||
4 | (E) for or against the establishment of a combined | ||||||
5 | unit district; | ||||||
6 | (F) for or against the establishment of a unit | ||||||
7 | district from dual district territory exclusively; | ||||||
8 | (G) for or against the establishment of a unit | ||||||
9 | district from both dual district and unit district | ||||||
10 | territory; | ||||||
11 | (H) for or against the establishment of a combined | ||||||
12 | high school - unit district from a combination of one | ||||||
13 | or more high school districts and one or more unit | ||||||
14 | districts; | ||||||
15 | (I) for or against the establishment of a combined | ||||||
16 | high school - unit district and one or more new | ||||||
17 | elementary districts through a multi-unit conversion;
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18 | (J) for or against the establishment of an optional | ||||||
19 | elementary unit district from a combination of a | ||||||
20 | substantially coterminous dual district; or | ||||||
21 | (K) for or against dissolving and becoming part of | ||||||
22 | an optional elementary unit district. | ||||||
23 | (2) A description of the territory comprising the | ||||||
24 | districts proposed to be dissolved and those to be created, | ||||||
25 | which, for an entire district, may be a general reference | ||||||
26 | to all of the territory included within that district. |
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1 | (3) A specification of the maximum tax rates for | ||||||
2 | various purposes the proposed district or districts shall | ||||||
3 | be authorized to levy for various purposes and, if | ||||||
4 | applicable, the specifications related to the Property Tax | ||||||
5 | Extension Limitation Law, in accordance with Section | ||||||
6 | 11E-80 of this Code. | ||||||
7 | (4) A description of how supplementary State deficit | ||||||
8 | difference payments made under subsection (c) of Section | ||||||
9 | 11E-135 of this Code will be allocated among the new | ||||||
10 | districts proposed to be formed. | ||||||
11 | (5) Where applicable, a division of assets and | ||||||
12 | liabilities to be allocated to the proposed new or annexing | ||||||
13 | school district or districts in the manner provided in | ||||||
14 | Section 11E-105 of this Code. | ||||||
15 | (6) If desired, a request that at that same election as | ||||||
16 | the reorganization proposition a school board or boards be | ||||||
17 | elected on a separate ballot or ballots to serve as the | ||||||
18 | school board or boards of the proposed new district or | ||||||
19 | districts. Any election of board members at the same | ||||||
20 | election at which the proposition to create the district or | ||||||
21 | districts to be served by the board or boards is submitted | ||||||
22 | to the voters shall proceed under the supervision of the | ||||||
23 | regional superintendent of schools as provided in Section | ||||||
24 | 11E-55 of this Code. | ||||||
25 | (7) If desired, a request that the referendum at which | ||||||
26 | the proposition is submitted for the purpose of voting for |
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1 | or against the establishment of a unit district (other than | ||||||
2 | a partial elementary unit district) include as part of the | ||||||
3 | proposition the election of board members by school board | ||||||
4 | district rather than at large. Any petition requesting the | ||||||
5 | election of board members by district shall divide the | ||||||
6 | proposed school district into 7 school board districts, | ||||||
7 | each of which must be compact and contiguous and | ||||||
8 | substantially equal in population to each other school | ||||||
9 | board district. Any election of board members by school | ||||||
10 | board district shall proceed under the supervision of the | ||||||
11 | regional superintendent of schools as provided in Section | ||||||
12 | 11E-55 of this Code. | ||||||
13 | (7.5) For the combining of Westmer Community Unit | ||||||
14 | School District 203 and Aledo Community Unit School | ||||||
15 | District 201, if desired, a request that the referendum at | ||||||
16 | which the proposition is submitted for the purpose of | ||||||
17 | voting for or against the establishment of a combined unit | ||||||
18 | district include as part of the initial proposition the | ||||||
19 | election of board members by a combination of members | ||||||
20 | representing each of the forming unit districts and members | ||||||
21 | at large rather than solely members at large and the | ||||||
22 | election of all board members at large for each election | ||||||
23 | thereafter. The format for the election of the new unit | ||||||
24 | district school board must be defined in the petition. When | ||||||
25 | a combination of board members representing each of the | ||||||
26 | forming unit school districts and at-large formats are |
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1 | used, 3 members must be elected from each of the forming | ||||||
2 | unit school districts and the remaining member must be | ||||||
3 | elected at large. | ||||||
4 | (8) If desired, a request that the referendum at which | ||||||
5 | the proposition is submitted for the purpose of voting for | ||||||
6 | or against the establishment of a unit to dual conversion | ||||||
7 | include as part of the proposition the election of board | ||||||
8 | members for the new high school district (i) on an at large | ||||||
9 | basis, (ii) with board members representing each of the | ||||||
10 | forming elementary school districts, or (iii) a | ||||||
11 | combination of both. The format for the election of the new | ||||||
12 | high school board must be defined in the petition. When 4 | ||||||
13 | or more unit school districts and a combination of board | ||||||
14 | members representing each of the forming elementary school | ||||||
15 | districts are involved and at large formats are used, one | ||||||
16 | member must be elected from each of the forming elementary | ||||||
17 | school districts. The remaining members may be elected on | ||||||
18 | an at large basis, provided that none of the underlying | ||||||
19 | elementary school districts have a majority on the | ||||||
20 | resulting high school board. When 3 unit school districts | ||||||
21 | and a combination of board members representing each of the | ||||||
22 | forming elementary school districts are involved and at | ||||||
23 | large formats are used, 2 members must be elected from each | ||||||
24 | of the forming elementary school districts. The remaining | ||||||
25 | member must be elected at large. | ||||||
26 | (9) If desired, a request that the referendum at which |
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1 | the proposition shall be submitted include a proposition on | ||||||
2 | a separate ballot authorizing the issuance of bonds by the | ||||||
3 | district or districts when organized in accordance with | ||||||
4 | this Article. However, if the petition is submitted for the | ||||||
5 | purpose of voting for or against the establishment of an | ||||||
6 | optional elementary unit district, the petition may | ||||||
7 | request only that the referendum at which the proposition | ||||||
8 | is submitted include a proposition on a separate ballot | ||||||
9 | authorizing the issuance of bonds for high school purposes | ||||||
10 | (and not elementary purposes) by the district when | ||||||
11 | organized in accordance with this Article. The principal | ||||||
12 | amount of the bonds and the purposes of issuance, including | ||||||
13 | a specification of elementary or high school purposes if | ||||||
14 | the proposed issuance is to be made by a combined high | ||||||
15 | school - unit district, shall be stated in the petition and | ||||||
16 | in all notices and propositions submitted thereunder. | ||||||
17 | (10) A designation of a committee of ten of the | ||||||
18 | petitioners as attorney in fact for all petitioners, any 7 | ||||||
19 | of whom may at any time, prior to the final decision of the | ||||||
20 | regional superintendent of schools, amend the petition in | ||||||
21 | all respects (except that, for a unit district formation, | ||||||
22 | there may not be an increase or decrease of more than 25% | ||||||
23 | of the territory to be included in the proposed district) | ||||||
24 | and make binding stipulations on behalf of all petitioners | ||||||
25 | as to any question with respect to the petition, including | ||||||
26 | the power to stipulate to accountings or the waiver thereof |
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1 | between school districts. | ||||||
2 | (c) The regional superintendent of schools shall not accept | ||||||
3 | for filing under the authority of this Section any petition | ||||||
4 | that includes any territory already included as part of the | ||||||
5 | territory described in another pending petition filed under the | ||||||
6 | authority of this Section. | ||||||
7 | (d)(1) Those designated as the Committee of Ten shall serve | ||||||
8 | in that capacity until such time as the regional superintendent | ||||||
9 | of schools determines that, because of death, resignation, | ||||||
10 | transfer of residency from the territory, failure to qualify, | ||||||
11 | or any other reason, the office of a particular member of the | ||||||
12 | Committee of Ten is vacant. Upon determination by the regional | ||||||
13 | superintendent of schools that these vacancies exist, he or she | ||||||
14 | shall declare the vacancies and shall notify the remaining | ||||||
15 | members to appoint a petitioner or petitioners, as the case may | ||||||
16 | be, to fill the vacancies in the Committee of Ten so | ||||||
17 | designated. An appointment by the Committee of Ten to fill a | ||||||
18 | vacancy shall be made by a simple majority vote of the | ||||||
19 | designated remaining members. | ||||||
20 | (2) Failure of a person designated as a member of the | ||||||
21 | Committee of Ten to sign the petition shall not disqualify that | ||||||
22 | person as a member of the Committee of Ten, and that person may | ||||||
23 | sign the petition at any time prior to final disposition of the | ||||||
24 | petition and the conclusion of the proceedings to form a new | ||||||
25 | school district or districts, including all litigation | ||||||
26 | pertaining to the petition or proceedings. |
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1 | (3) Except as stated in item (10) of subsection (b) of this | ||||||
2 | Section, the Committee of Ten shall act by majority vote of the | ||||||
3 | membership. | ||||||
4 | (4) The regional superintendent of schools may accept a | ||||||
5 | stipulation made by the Committee of Ten instead of evidence or | ||||||
6 | proof of the matter stipulated or may refuse to accept the | ||||||
7 | stipulation, provided that the regional superintendent sets | ||||||
8 | forth the basis for the refusal. | ||||||
9 | (5) The Committee of Ten may voluntarily dismiss its | ||||||
10 | petition at any time before the petition is approved by either | ||||||
11 | the regional superintendent of schools or State Superintendent | ||||||
12 | of Education.
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13 | (Source: P.A. 94-1019, eff. 7-10-06.)
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14 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
15 | becoming law.
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