(a) Each member district of unified school district No. 512, Johnson county, Kansas may have a five-member advisory board. The member of the board of education elected from each member district shall be a member and chairperson of the advisory board for such member’s district. The four members of the advisory board other than the chairperson shall be elected during the month of May of each even-numbered year at a meeting of school patrons of that member district called for the purpose by the board of education, and shall serve for a term of two years. Absentee ballots may be cast at any election of advisory board members in the manner and under the conditions prescribed by the board of education. If a vacancy shall occur on any advisory board, the board of education shall appoint a person to fill such vacancy for the unexpired term.

(b) The advisory board of each member district shall serve to provide liaison between the citizens of the member district and the board of education of the unified school district. Each advisory board shall be responsible to make recommendations to the board of education on all matters relating to education including, but without excluding others, the following subject areas: (1) Personnel of the school district, (2) curricula, (3) budget and (4) budget allocation. On or before December 1 of each year each advisory board shall adopt its recommendations with respect to curricula and shall submit the same to the board of education of the unified school district. On or before February 1 of each year each advisory board shall make its recommendations on personnel and submit the same to such board of education. Each advisory board shall meet at least monthly at a time and place determined by it, and such time and place shall be specified in a publication notice thereof at least one time each year in a newspaper having general circulation in the member district. Such publications shall not be required to be in the form of a legal publication, and such publication may be made in a paper not authorized to make legal publications in such unified school district.

(c) The board of education may adopt a resolution exempting the school district from the requirements of subsections (a) and (b). The resolution shall be published once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the school district. If, within 30 days after the last publication, a petition signed by not less than 5% of the qualified electors in the school district is filed in the office of the county election officer requesting an election thereon, the school district shall remain subject to the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) unless the question is submitted to and approved by a majority of the voters of the school district voting at an election called by the governing body. Such election shall be called and held in the manner provided under the provisions of Kan. Stat. Ann. § 10-120, and amendments thereto. Such election also may be conducted by mail ballot.