162.081. Lapse of district corporate organization, grounds, effect--hearing prior to determination of attachment of territory of lapsed district--special administrative board--employment interviews fo
Lapse of district corporate organization, grounds, effect--hearingprior to determination of attachment of territory of lapseddistrict--special administrative board--employment interviews forteacher of lapsed district, when--division of district, vote,when.
162.081. 1. Whenever any school district in this state fails orrefuses in any school year to provide for the minimum school term requiredby section 163.021, RSMo, or is classified unaccredited for two successiveschool years by the state board of education, its corporate organizationshall lapse. The corporate organization of any school district that isclassified as unaccredited shall lapse on June thirtieth of the second fullschool year of such unaccredited classification after the school yearduring which the unaccredited classification is initially assigned. Theterritory theretofore embraced within any district that lapses pursuant tothis section or any portion thereof may be attached to any district forschool purposes by the state board of education; but no school district,except a district classified as unaccredited pursuant to section 163.023,RSMo, and section 160.538, RSMo, shall lapse where provision is lawfullymade for the attendance of the pupils of the district at another schooldistrict that is classified as provisionally accredited or accredited bythe state board of education.
2. Prior to or at the time any school district in this state shalllapse, but after the school district has been classified as unaccredited,the department of elementary and secondary education shall conduct a publichearing at a location in the unaccredited school district. The purpose ofthe hearing shall be to:
(1) Review any plan by the district to return to accredited status;or
(2) Offer any technical assistance that can be provided to thedistrict.
3. Except as otherwise provided in section 162.1100, in ametropolitan school district or an urban school district containing most orall of a city with a population greater than three hundred fifty thousandinhabitants and in any other school district if the local board ofeducation does not anticipate a return to accredited status, the stateboard of education may appoint a special administrative board to supervisethe financial operations, maintain and preserve the financial assets or, ifwarranted, continue operation of the educational programs within thedistrict or what provisions might otherwise be made in the best interest ofthe education of the children of the district. The special administrativeboard shall consist of two persons who are residents of the schooldistrict, who shall serve without compensation, and a professionaladministrator, who shall chair the board and shall be compensated, asdetermined by the state board of education, in whole or in part with fundsfrom the district.
4. Upon lapse of the district, the state board of education may:
(1) Appoint a special administrative board, if such a board has notalready been appointed, and authorize the special administrative board toretain the authority granted to a board of education for the operation ofall or part of the district;
(2) Attach the territory of the lapsed district to another districtor districts for school purposes; or
(3) Establish one or more school districts within the territory ofthe lapsed district, with a governance structure consistent with the lawsapplicable to districts of a similar size, with the option of permitting adistrict to remain intact for the purposes of assessing, collecting, anddistributing property taxes, to be distributed equitably on a weightedaverage daily attendance basis, but to be divided for operational purposes,which shall take effect sixty days after the adjournment of the regularsession of the general assembly next following the state board's decisionunless a statute or concurrent resolution is enacted to nullify the stateboard's decision prior to such effective date.
The special administrative board may retain the authority granted to aboard of education for the operation of the lapsed school district underthe laws of the state in effect at the time of the lapse.
5. The authority of the special administrative board shall expire atthe end of the third full school year following its appointment, unlessextended by the state board of education. If the lapsed district isreassigned, the special administrative board shall provide an accounting ofall funds, assets and liabilities of the lapsed district and transfer suchfunds, assets, and liabilities of the lapsed district as determined by thestate board of education.
6. Upon recommendation of the special administrative board, the stateboard of education may assign the funds, assets and liabilities of thelapsed district to another district or districts. Upon assignment, allauthority of the special administrative board shall transfer to theassigned districts.
7. Neither the special administrative board nor any district or otherentity assigned territory, assets or funds from a lapsed district shall beconsidered a successor entity for the purpose of employment contracts,unemployment compensation payment pursuant to section 288.110, RSMo, or anyother purpose.
8. If additional teachers are needed by a district as a result ofincreased enrollment due to the annexation of territory of a lapsed ordissolved district, such district shall grant an employment interview toany permanent teacher of the lapsed or dissolved district upon the requestof such permanent teacher.
9. (1) The governing body of a school district, upon an initialdeclaration by the state board of education that such district isprovisionally accredited, may, and, upon an initial declaration by thestate board of education that such district is unaccredited, shall developa plan to be submitted to the voters of the school district to divide theschool district if the district cannot attain accreditation within threeyears of the initial declaration that such district is unaccredited. Inthe case of such a district being declared unaccredited, such plan shall bepresented to the voters of the district before the district lapses. In thecase of such a district being declared provisionally accredited, such planmay be presented before the close of the current accreditation cycle.
(2) The plan may provide that the school district shall remain intactfor the purposes of assessing, collecting and distributing taxes forsupport of the schools, and the governing body of the district shalldevelop a plan for the distribution of such taxes equitably on a per-pupilbasis if the district selects this option.
(3) The makeup of the new districts shall be racially balanced as faras the proportions of students allow.
(4) If a majority of the district's voters approve the plan, thestate board of education shall cooperate with the local board of educationto implement the plan, which may include use of the provisions of thissection to provide an orderly transition to new school districts andachievement of accredited status for such districts.
10. In the event that a school district with an enrollment in excessof five thousand pupils lapses, no school district shall have all or anypart of such lapsed school district attached without the approval of theboard of the receiving school district.
(L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-8, A.L. 1973 H.B. 158, A.L. 1992 S.B. 581, A.L. 1993 S.B. 380, A.L. 1998 S.B. 781, A.L. 2005 S.B. 287)(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.013)
Effective 7-01-06