When the inhabitants of any township desire the sale of the common school lands thereof they shall present to the county superintendent of the county in which the school lands of the township, or the greater part thereof lie, a petition for their sale. The petition shall be signed by at least two-thirds of the voters of the township in the presence of at least 2 adult citizens of the township, after the meaning and purpose thereof have been explained, and an affidavit must be affixed thereto by the citizens witnessing the signing, which affidavit shall state the number of inhabitants of the township 18 years of age and over, and the petition so verified shall be delivered to the regional superintendent for his action thereon. In townships having a population of more than 10,000 inhabitants, the petition shall be signed by at least 1/10 of the voters thereof and be delivered to the regional superintendent. Upon the filing of any such petition with the regional superintendent he shall treat the petition in the manner provided by the general election law, and shall certify the proposition to the proper election authorities for submission to the voters of the township at a regular scheduled election the proposition to sell common school lands of the township. In addition to the requirements of the general election law the notice may be in the following form:

    Notice is hereby given that on…. the…. day of…., 1…., a referendum will be held at…. for the purpose of voting “for” or “against” the proposition to sell common school lands of the township, to-wit: (here insert description of the lands). The polls will be opened at…. and closed at…. o’clock,…. M.

    If two-thirds of the votes upon the proposition are in favor of the sale, the county superintendent shall act thereon. No section shall be sold in any township containing fewer than 200 inhabitants. Common school lands in fractional townships may be sold when the number of acres are in, or above, a ratio of 200 to 640 but not before, provided, that where the lands sought to be sold are swamp or overflow lands, and are located in a township containing less than 200 inhabitants, a petition signed by at least two-thirds of the voters in the township shall be sufficient to cause the regional superintendent to act thereon. All other proceedings shall be the same as provided in this section. This section does not prohibit the transfer of school land belonging to a city in trust for the use of schools under the provisions of “An Act in relation to the transfer of real estate owned by municipalities”, approved July 2, 1925, as amended, when the board of education of a city having a population exceeding 100,000 inhabitants desires to convey such land to the city comprising the school district of such board of education; and in case of such transfer the limitations as to the size of the lot or tract of land that may be conveyed contained in Sections 15-9 through 15-12, shall not apply.