Arizona Laws 15-449. Formation of unified school district by common school district; petition for establishment; election; notice
A. A common school district having a student count of at least two hundred pupils and an assessed valuation of at least $2,000,000, by a majority vote of the qualified school electors of the school district, may establish a unified school district with boundaries coterminous with the boundaries of the common school district.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 15-449
- Common school district: means a political subdivision of this state offering instruction to students in programs for preschool children with disabilities and kindergarten programs and either:
(a) Grades one through eight. See Arizona Laws 15-901
- Governing board: means a body organized for the government and management of the schools within a school district or a county school superintendent in the conduct of an accommodation school. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- School district: means a political subdivision of this state with geographic boundaries organized for the purpose of the administration, support and maintenance of the public schools or an accommodation school. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- Student count: means average daily membership as prescribed in this subsection for the fiscal year before the current year, except that for the purpose of budget preparation student count means average daily membership as prescribed in this subsection for the current year. See Arizona Laws 15-901
- Unified school district: means a political subdivision of this state offering instruction to students in programs for preschool children with disabilities and kindergarten programs and grades one through twelve. See Arizona Laws 15-901
B. If a majority of the governing board of the common school district unites in a petition to the county school superintendent to establish a unified school district, or if ten percent of the residents of the common school district unite in a petition to establish a unified school district, the county school superintendent shall call an election to be held at the next regular election of the governing board, if the next regular election is within ninety days after receipt of the petition, to determine the question, or shall call a special election for that purpose within one hundred twenty days.
C. At least five public notices of the election shall be posted, one to be on the door of the schoolhouse in the district, at least ninety days before the election if the election is at least ninety days after receipt of the petition or as soon as practicable if the election is fewer than ninety days after receipt of the petition.
D. The election shall be conducted as nearly as practicable in the manner prescribed in section 15-459. The ballots shall contain the words "unified school district, yes" and "unified school district, no", and the voter shall signify his desired choice.
E. If a majority of the persons voting in the common school district votes in favor of establishment of a unified school district, the unified school district becomes effective as provided in section 15-459, subsection J.