ORS Chapter 330
Chapter 330 — BoundaryChanges; Mergers
2009 EDITION
BOUNDARYCHANGES; MERGERS
EDUCATIONAND CULTURE
GENERALPROVISIONS
330.003 “Merger”and “school district” defined
330.005 Divisionof state into school districts; definitions
BOUNDARYCHANGE AND MERGER PROCEDURES
330.080 Composition,purpose and organization of district boundary board
330.090 Mergers
330.092 Basisfor boundary changes
330.095 Requestor petition for change or merger; content
330.101 Notice;order; remonstrance; election
330.103 Effectivedate of change or merger; administration and operation until end of fiscalyear; rights of electors
330.106 Actionby board pending effective date of change
330.107 Timefor boundary board action; extension
330.113 Effectof change
330.123 Divisionof assets and liabilities
330.133 Effectof boundary change on electors
NOTICE
330.400 Noticeby publication requirements
LOCALSCHOOL COMMITTEES
330.425 Localschool committee; members; election
330.430 Functionsof local school committee
330.435 Fillingvacancies on committee
GENERALPROVISIONS
330.003“Merger” and “school district” defined. For purposes of this chapter:
(1)(a)“Merger” includes any alteration, annexation, merger, consolidation,lengthening the course of study or other change under ORS 330.090 to 330.107,334.710 to 334.770 and 335.490 to 335.505.
(b)“Merger” includes only those proceedings in which the entire territory of aninvolved school district is merged. The permanent rate limit for operatingtaxes for a school district after merger shall be the rate that would producethe same operating tax revenue as the school districts prior to merger wouldhave cumulatively produced in the year of merger if the merger, not taking intoaccount any applicable statutory rate limit, had not occurred.
(2)“School district” means a taxing district providing public elementary orsecondary education, or any combination thereof, within this state, andspecifically includes a component school district of an education servicedistrict that levies taxes for its component school districts and the educationservice district itself. “School district” does not include any other educationservice district. [1989 c.629 §1; 1993 c.18 §89; 1993 c.270 §67; 1993 c.784 §21;1995 c.611 §1; 1997 c.541 §371; 2001 c.695 §36; 2003 c.226 §§10,11]
330.005Division of state into school districts; definitions. (1) For publicschool purposes, this state is divided into subdivisions known as schooldistricts.
(2)For purposes of the school laws of this state, unless the context requiresotherwise:
(a)“School district” includes a common school district, a joint school districtand a union high school district.
(b)“Common school district” means a school district, other than a union highschool district, formed primarily to provide education in all or part ofkindergarten through grade 12 to pupils residing within the district.
(c)“Joint school district” means a common or union high school district withterritory in more than one county.
(d)“Union high school district” means a school district, other than a commonschool district, that is responsible for education in high school grades butnot in primary grades, formed in accordance with ORS 335.210 to 335.485 (1963Replacement Part).
(e)“Governing body of the county” means the county court, the board of countycommissioners or the unit of government designated by the county charter toexercise the power or duty prescribed in the section in which the term occurs.
(f)“Most populous district” means the school district that has the largest numberof pupils in average daily membership, as defined in ORS 327.006. [1965 c.100 §71;1971 c.513 §86; 1989 c.819 §1a; 1991 c.167 §5; 1991 c.586 §1; 2003 c.226 §12]
330.010 [Repealed by1965 c.100 §456]
330.020 [Amended by1963 c.282 §1; repealed by 1965 c.100 §456]
330.030 [Repealed by1965 c.100 §456]
330.040 [Amended by1955 c.386 §1; 1957 c.310 §7; repealed by 1963 c.282 §16]
330.050 [Amended by1961 c.522 §6; 1963 c.282 §14; 1965 c.100 §78; renumbered 330.123]
330.060 [Amended by1963 c.282 §2; repealed by 1965 c.100 §456]
BOUNDARYCHANGE AND MERGER PROCEDURES
330.080Composition, purpose and organization of district boundary board. (1) Theeducation service district board shall constitute the district boundary boardfor laying off the county in convenient school districts. In any county inwhich there is no education service district board, the governing body of thecounty shall constitute the district boundary board. The district boundaryboard shall have jurisdiction over all school districts in the county and overall joint districts, the administrative offices of which are in the county.
(2)The district boundary board shall make alterations and changes in the schooldistricts in the manner specified by law. The board shall maintain a recordshowing the boundaries and numbers of the districts in the county based onrecords in the office of the county assessor. [Formerly 329.710; 1965 c.100 §72;1989 c.819 §2]
330.085 [Formerly329.720; repealed by 1965 c.100 §456]
330.090Mergers.(1) The district boundary board shall enter an order directing a schooldistrict to be merged with an adjoining school district designated by the boardif it finds that continuation of the district is not required because ofgeographic factors affecting transportation or because of sparsity ofpopulation and if:
(a)The school district fails to maintain and operate a school for one year withoutapproval of the State Board of Education;
(b)The school district is in a county with 35,000 or less population and has anaverage daily membership of fewer than six children for each of two successiveyears, as certified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction; or
(c)The school district is in a county with more than 35,000 population and has anaverage daily membership of fewer than 18 children for each of two successiveyears, as certified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
(2)The order of the district boundary board shall take effect as provided in ORS330.103.
(3)Subject to the provisions of ORS 330.092 to 330.101, the district boundaryboard on the request of the district school boards of the affected districts oron petition of five percent or 500 electors of each affected district,whichever is less, shall merge smaller districts into larger districts orchange the boundaries of common or union high school districts.
(4)No boundary change or merger shall be made which results in a school districthaving fewer than 20 children of school age on the date the change or mergerbecomes effective.
(5)No boundary change or merger shall be made which results in a school districtthat consists of noncontiguous areas.
(6)If the district boundary board fails to follow the time schedules prescribed inORS 330.107 or to approve a request or petition under subsection (3) of thissection, the district school boards of the affected school districts or thepetitioners may appeal to the State Board of Education to order the proposedboundary change or merger. The state board shall order the change or merger andshall direct the district boundary board to perform the duties described in ORS330.101 in the same manner as if the district boundary board had ordered theboundary change or merger.
(7)As used in this section, “affected district” includes:
(a)Two or more districts providing education in kindergarten and grades 1 through12 involved in the merger.
(b)All component school districts, not including any split school districts, asdefined in ORS 335.482, and the union high school district if merger proceduresare used for the unification of the union high school district and itscomponent districts.
(c)The union high school district and the component school districts, notincluding split school districts, in a secession from the union high schooldistrict by one or more of the component districts and the unified districtthey wish to join.
(d)Two or more districts offering education in kindergarten and grades 1 through 6or 8 that would create a split school district by merger and the union highschool district and the component school districts of the union high schooldistrict. [1963 c.282 §13(1), (8); 1965 c.100 §73; 1967 c.298 §1; 1969 c.235 §1;1979 c.256 §1; 1985 c.364 §1; 1989 c.491 §14; 1989 c.819 §3; 1991 c.167 §7;1993 c.112 §2; 1993 c.329 §1]
330.092Basis for boundary changes. The boundaries of a school district may not bechanged except:
(1)Pursuant to ORS 330.090 (1) or (3).
(2)By a vote of the people pursuant to the lengthening of the course of studyunder ORS chapter 335.
(3)By the mutual consent of the district school boards of the two or more affecteddistricts in the manner prescribed in ORS 330.080 to 330.107.
(4)On a request for change or merger proposal submitted to the district boundaryboard by electors of the affected districts in the manner prescribed in ORS330.080 to 330.107. [1989 c.819 §1; 1991 c.167 §8; 2003 c.226 §13]
330.095Request or petition for change or merger; content. (1) Subject toORS 332.118, the request or petition for proposed change or merger in schooldistricts shall:
(a)Be directed to the district boundary board of the county or counties havingjurisdiction over the affected school districts;
(b)Contain the names and numbers of districts affected by the change;
(c)Contain a concise statement of the type of change requested and, if only aportion of the school district is involved, contain a legal descriptionthereof; and
(d)If a petition of electors from affected districts is involved, contain thesignatures and residence addresses or mailing addresses of the petitioners andthe names of the school districts in which they reside.
(2)If a merger is requested or petitioned, the request or petition shall alsocontain proposals for distribution of debt.
(3)When any proposed boundary change or merger affects school districts under thejurisdiction of different district boundary boards, the proposed change ormerger shall first be acted upon by the district boundary board of the countyin which lies the most populous district, and must be submitted to the districtboundary board of the other affected county or counties.
(4)Any proposed merger may contain a recommendation that the new district retainthe same name and number as the most populous school district in the merger ora recommendation for a new name for the district, a request for the formationof school committees as described in ORS 330.425 and a request that the numberof members of the district school board be increased to seven members. [1963c.282 §13(2); 1965 c.100 §74; 1967 c.328 §1; 1989 c.819 §4; 1991 c.167 §9; 1993c.136 §2; 1999 c.21 §63; 2005 c.209 §16]
330.100 [1963 c.282 §13(3),(4),(5),(6),(10); repealed by 1965 c.100 §75 (330.101 enacted in lieu of330.100)]
330.101Notice; order; remonstrance; election. (1) Before the proposed change ormerger is ordered, the district boundary board shall give notice in the mannerprovided in ORS 330.400 of the proposed change or merger and the session of theboard at which it will be ordered. If no remonstrance petition on the change ormerger is submitted requiring an election as provided in subsection (2) of thissection, the board shall issue an order that the change or merger shall becomeeffective as provided in ORS 330.103. The remonstrance petition is subject toORS 332.118. However, the boundary board shall not issue an order until allaffected boundary boards have had opportunity to consider the proposed changeor merger.
(2)If a remonstrance petition on a proposed change or merger signed by at leastfive percent or at least 500, whichever is less, of the electors of a schooldistrict affected by the proposed change or merger is filed with the districtboundary board within 20 days after the date of the order to effect the proposedchange or merger, and when all district boundary boards have acted on thechange or merger as provided in ORS 330.095 (3), the board shall submit thequestion of the proposed change or merger to the electors of each affectedschool district from which a remonstrance petition was filed, with the districtboundary board acting as the district elections authority on behalf of theschool districts. Separate elections shall be held in sequence in the districtsfrom which remonstrance petitions have been filed, commencing with the leastpopulous district and progressing in order of population to the most populousdistrict. If the majority of votes in each election favor the change or merger,an election shall be held in the next most populous district. The cost of anelection on a proposed boundary change or merger shall be prorated between oramong the district school boards involved in accordance with ORS 255.305.
(3)If the majority of votes cast in any affected district oppose the change ormerger, the change or merger shall be defeated, and the same or a substantiallysimilar change or merger shall not be ordered until 12 months have elapsed fromthe date of the election at which the change or merger was defeated, unlessotherwise required by law. If the vote is favorable in all remonstratingdistricts, the district boundary board shall declare the change or mergereffective as provided in ORS 330.103 and issue an order without furtherelections.
(4)For any school district merger that is initiated under ORS 327.106 (3), noremonstrance petition or election shall be allowed.
(5)When a unified elementary district with an average daily membership of greaterthan 50 that has, prior to the merger, paid tuition for the majority of itshigh school students to attend an out-of-state high school merges with adistrict that provides education in kindergarten and grades 1 through 12, thefollowing shall apply after the merger:
(a)The students who reside in the former unified elementary district shall beauthorized to attend the out-of-state high school that the majority of the highschool students of the unified elementary district were attending during the1992-1993 school year;
(b)The merged district shall pay tuition for the students described in paragraph(a) of this subsection but not in an amount greater than the district’s averageexpenditure for high school students; and
(c)The parents of a student who wish the student to attend the out-of-state highschool must agree to pay the difference, if any, between what the district isauthorized to pay as tuition under paragraph (b) of this subsection and theamount of tuition charged by the out-of-state high school. [1965 c.100 §76(330.101 enacted in lieu of 330.100); 1965 c.244 §1; 1965 c.621 §5; 1967 c.313 §1;1967 s.s. c.8 §4; 1975 c.326 §3; 1979 c.772 §19; 1983 c.83 §48; 1983 c.284 §10;1983 c.350 §140; 1985 c.364 §2; 1989 c.819 §5; 1991 c.13 §1; 1991 c.167 §10;1993 c.136 §3; 1993 c.329 §2; 1997 c.521 §14; 2005 c.209 §17]
330.103Effective date of change or merger; administration and operation until end offiscal year; rights of electors. (1) When a school district boundarychange or merger becomes final according to ORS 308.225 (2)(a) and the changeor merger:
(a)Occurs on or after July 1 and prior to March 31, the change or merger shalltake effect May 31 following the declaration or election.
(b)Occurs between March 31 and June 30, inclusive, the change or merger shall takeeffect May 31 of the following year.
(2)Districts subject to the boundary changes or mergers under this section shall,for the purposes of administration and operation, continue to operateseparately until the end of the fiscal year in which the boundary changes ormergers are effective. No additional audit shall be necessary.
(3)Notwithstanding the effective dates specified in subsection (1) of thissection, electors shall be entitled to vote in any school elections affectingthe school district in which they will reside when the boundary change ormerger takes effect, including voting on candidates to serve on the districtschool board and on taxes to be levied after the effective date of the boundarychange or merger if the electors are eligible to vote in the district in whichthe electors reside prior to the change or merger. Notwithstanding ORS 332.018,such electors shall be eligible to be candidates for the district school board,to serve thereon and to serve on the budget committee if the electors areeligible to be candidates or budget committee members in the district in whichthe electors reside prior to the change or merger. [1967 s.s. c.8 §2; 1973c.501 §3; 1989 c.819 §8; 1991 c.167 §11]
330.105 [1963 c.282 §13(7),(9),§15; repealed by 1965 c.100 §456]
330.106Action by board pending effective date of change. During theperiod following the declaration or last election under ORS 330.101 and priorto the date when the boundary change or merger takes effect, the districtschool board of the most populous district, as defined in ORS 330.005, or thedistrict school board of a district to which territory has been annexed maytake such action as is essential in order that the district may carry out itsrequired functions when the boundary change takes effect, including thepreparation and adoption of a budget for the district and the reference ofquestions relating to the budget to the electors of the district. Expendituresof the board under this section shall be charged to each affected schooldistrict in the manner provided in ORS 330.123. [1967 s.s. c.8 §3; 1991 c.167 §12]
330.107Time for boundary board action; extension. The district boundary boardshall complete all action on a request or petition for boundary change or amerger required under ORS 330.101 within 100 days of the date of receipt of therequest or petition if the boundary change or merger requested or petitionedlies totally within the jurisdiction of that board. If the boundary change ormerger requested or petitioned requires ratification of an adjacent boundaryboard as in ORS 330.095 (3), an additional 60 days may be utilized for actionof the second boundary board. However, upon request of the district boundaryboard and a showing of special circumstances which require additional time, theState Board of Education may grant a reasonable extension of time forcompletion of the required action. [1965 c.621 §2; 1979 c.256 §2; 1983 c.83 §49;1989 c.819 §9]
330.110 [Amended by1957 c.310 §8; repealed by 1963 c.282 §16]
330.113Effect of change.(1) When two or more school districts are merged as provided by law, theaffected districts shall be considered merged into the most populous districtand:
(a)Unless the district school boards or the petitioners requesting the mergerrecommend that the enlarged school district retain the same name and number whichwas previously assigned to the most populous district included in the merger,the district boundary board shall give the enlarged district the new namerecommended under ORS 330.095, and the county assessor shall assign a newnumber that has not previously been used. However, if the boundaries of theenlarged school district are the same as the boundaries of the county, theofficial name of the enlarged school district shall be ______ (name of county)County School District.
(b)The school districts included in the merger shall become identified with thenewly named district or the most populous district.
(c)The employees of the component districts shall be considered to be employees ofthe enlarged district, which shall succeed the other districts in such mergeras a party to their respective contracts of employment.
(d)No school district employee shall be deprived of seniority or accumulated sickleave solely because the duties of the employee have been assumed or acquiredby another school district as a result of a merger or boundary change.
(2)The board of directors of the most populous district shall constitute the boardof directors of the enlarged district and the terms of all other directors ofcomponent districts shall expire on the effective date of the merger exceptthat the number of directors may be increased to seven members and schoolcommittees may be authorized pursuant to ORS 330.425.
(3)All real and personal property belonging to the districts within the enlargeddistrict shall become the property of the enlarged district.
(4)When a petition or request for a merger of school districts contains proposalsfor distribution of debt as provided in ORS 330.095 and the district boundaryboard in the manner provided in ORS 330.101 declares such merger effective, thedistrict school board of the enlarged district is authorized to levy taxes inconformity with such proposals.
(5)Notwithstanding ORS 328.555, school districts requesting a boundary change inresponse to chapter 393, Oregon Laws 1991, shall, as part of the boundarychange request under ORS 330.092, provide for the distribution of existingdebt, if any. [Formerly 330.300; 1973 c.522 §1; 1989 c.819 §10; 1991 c.167 §13;1993 c.329 §3; 1999 c.21 §64]
330.115 [Formerly329.740; repealed by 1965 c.100 §456]
330.120 [Repealed by1963 c.282 §16]
330.123Division of assets and liabilities. (1) When changes in school districtboundaries are made by the detachment of territory or annexation of less thanan entire school district to another, the district school boards of thedistricts affected by each change shall immediately after the change make anequitable division of the then existing assets and liabilities between thedistricts affected by such change and provide the manner of consummating thedivision.
(2)In case of failure to agree within 20 days from the time the district boundaryboard issues its order, the matter shall be decided by a board of arbitrators.The board of arbitrators shall consist of one member appointed by each of theboards of the school districts affected and an additional member appointed bythe other appointees.
(3)In the event any such district school board fails to appoint an arbitratorwithin 30 days, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall appoint sucharbitrator. In the event the arbitrators selected fail to appoint theadditional arbitrator within 30 days after the appointment of the arbitratorlast appointed, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall notify the judgeof the circuit court senior in service of the county in which theadministrative office of the most populous school district is located. Within10 days after receiving such notice, the judge shall appoint the additionalarbitrator.
(4)Each member of the board of arbitrators shall be entitled to the sum of $20 perday for each day’s service, and necessary traveling expenses, while sitting inthe official capacity of the member. Expenses thus incurred shall be equallyapportioned among the districts concerned.
(5)A party to an arbitration under this section may seek confirmation, vacation,modification or correction of the arbitrator’s decision as provided in ORS36.700, 36.705 and 36.710. A court may vacate an award only if there is a basisto vacate the award described in ORS 36.705 (1)(a) to (d). The court may modifyor correct an award only for the grounds given in ORS 36.710.
(6)Assets include all school property and moneys belonging to the district at thetime of the division. Liabilities include all debts for which the respectivedistricts in their corporate capacities are liable at the time of division. Indetermining the assets, school property shall be estimated at its real marketvalue. The assets and liabilities shall be divided between the districts inproportion to the last assessed value of the real and personal property. Thedistrict retaining the real property shall pay the other districts concernedsuch sums as are determined in accordance with the provisions of this section.All funds to be app