Section 131 Request for meeting to consolidate districts; notices of meeting 132 Proceedings at meeting for consolidation; adoption of resolution

proceedings to be filed

133 Order creating consolidated district; effect

134 District quotas of consolidated districts.

134-a The bonded indebtedness of certain dissolved districts

135 Continuance of dissolved district for payment of debts

136 Deposits of records of dissolved district

137 Property of districts consolidated

138 Sale of property of dissolved district and disposition of proceeds 139 Collection and distribution of moneys due dissolved district 140 Fees of supervisor and town clerk

141 Notice of meeting for establishment of union free school district 142 Posting, publication and service of notice

143 Notice in case of adjoining districts

144 Expense of notice

145 Proceedings at meeting and effect of affirmative vote

146 Meeting to determine regarding reorganization as common school district

147 Result of vote for or against reorganization

148 Reversion to form of original school districts

149 School commissioner may require equality of partition

150 Effect of veto by school commissioner regarding subsequent meeting

151 Report of proceedings to Commissioner of Education

152 Distribution of moneys on dissolution

153 School property exempt from taxation

154 Application of funds obtained from sale of school property

§ 120 Existing districts continued. All school districts organized either by special laws or pursuant to the provisions of a general law are hereby continued and may be altered or dissolved as herein provided.

§ 121 Formation of new district. 1 A district superintendent may organize a new school district out of the territory of one or more school districts which are wholly within his supervisory district, whenever the educational interests of the community require it. If there is an outstanding bonded indebtedness chargeable against the district or districts out of the territory of which such new district is organized, the district superintendent shall apportion said indebtedness between such new dist.ict and the remaining portion of the district or districts out of which such new district is organized, according to the assessed valuation thereof, and the portion of the indebtedness so apportioned shall become a charge for principal and interest upon the respective districts as though the same had been incurred by said districts separately.

2 The district superintendents of two or more adjoining supervisory districts when public interests require it, may form a joint school district out of the adjoining portions of their respective districts. [Amended by L. 1912, ch. 294.]

§ 122 Number and description of districts. 1 Each school commissioner shall renumber the school districts of each town in his commissioner district from time to time and shall also number each new district and shall describe in metes and bounds each of such school districts.

2 The order of a school commissioner forming or numbering a school district and the written description thereof together with all notices, orders, consents and proceedings relating to the formation or alteration thereof shall be filed with the town clerk of the town in which such district is located.

3 Every joint district shall bear the same number in every school commissioner district of whose territory it is in part composed.

§ 123 Alteration by consent. 1 With the written consent of the trustees of all the districts to be affected thereby, the district superintendent may make an order altering the boundaries of any school district within his jurisdiction, and fix in such order a day when the alteration shall take effect.

2 With the written consent of the board of education of a union free school district having a population of five thousand or more, and employing a superintendent of schools, and the written consent of the board of education or trustees of a district in a supervisory district adjoining such union free school district, the district superintendent having jurisdiction may make an order altering the boundaries of such districts, and fix in such order a day when the alteration shall take effect. [Amended by L. 1914, ch. 154.]

§ 124 Alteration without consent. If the trustees of any district affected thereby refuse to consent, the school commissioner may make and file with the town clerk his order making the alteration, but reciting the refusal, and directing that the order shall not take effect until a day therein to be named, and not less than three months after the date of such order.

§ 125 Hearing of objections to order for alteration without consent. 1 Within ten days after making and filing such order the school commissioner shall give at least a week's notice in writing to the trustees of all districts affected by the proposed alterations, that at a specified time, and at a named

place within the town in which one of the districts to be affected lies, he will hear the objections to the alteration.

2 The trustees of any district to be affected by such order may request the supervisor and town clerk of each of the towns, within which such districts shall wholly or partly lie, to be associated with the school commissioner.

3 At the time and place mentioned in the notice, such commissioner, with the supervisors and town clerks, if they shall attend and act, shall hear and decide the matter, and the decision shall be final unless duly appealed from. Such decision must either affirm or vacate such order, and must be filed with and recorded by the town clerk of the town in which the district to be affected. shall lie, and a tie vote shall be regarded a decision for the purposes of an appeal on the merits. Upon such appeal the Commissioner of Education may affirm, modify or vacate the order of the school commissioner or the action of the local board.

§ 126 Dissolution or alteration of joint district. The majority of the school commissioners within whose districts any joint school district lies may make an order at a meeting duly called by one of such commissioners altering or dissolving such district.

§ 127 Special meeting of joint district to act regarding dissolution. 1 If a school commissioner, by notice in writing, shall require the attendance of the other school commissioners, at a joint meeting for the purpose of altering or dissolving a joint district, and a majority of all the commissioners shall refuse or neglect to attend, such commissioners attending, or any one of them, may call a special meeting of such school district for the purpose of deciding whether such district shall be dis

solved.

2 If such special meeting shall vote to dissolve the district the school commissioner who called such meeting may make an order dissolving the district and shall recite in such order the refusal or neglect of the other school commissioners, his call of the special meeting and the action taken at such meeting.

§ 128 Dissolution by consent and consequent alteration of districts. 1 A school commissioner may dissolve one or more common school districts upon the written consent of the trustees of all the districts to be affected. When one or more of such districts adjoin a union free school district whose limits do not correspond with those of an incorporated village or city, he

may annex the territory of such dissolved districts to such union free school district.

2 A school commissioner on the written consent of the boards of education of the districts affected may also dissolve a union free school district when it adjoins another union free school district and annex the territory of such dissolved district to such other union free school district.

§ 129 Dissolution, re-formation and consolidation of districts. Any school commissioner may dissolve one or more districts, and may from such territory form a new district; he may also unite such territory or a portion thereof to any adjoining school district, except a union free school district whose boundaries are coterminous with the boundaries of an incorporated village or city.

§ 130 Consolidation of districts by vote of qualified electors. Two or more common school districts may be consolidated and created as one common school district, of1 two or more union free school districts may be consolidated and created as one union free school district, or one or more common school districts may be consolidated with one or more union free school districts and created as a union free school district, by a vote of the qualified electors thereof as provided in the following sections. [Former § 130 repealed by L. 1911, ch. 334; new § 130 added by L. 1913, ch. 129.]

§ 131 Request for meeting to consolidate districts; notices of meeting. 1 Whenever two-thirds of the qualified electors of each of two or more districts in which there shall be less than fifteen qualified electors, or if there be fifteen or more qualified electors in either of such districts whenever ten or more of such electors shall sign a request for a meeting to be held for the purpose of determining whether such districts shall be consolidated as a common school district, and submit the same to the trustees or board of education of each of such districts, it shall be the duty of such trustees or board of education to give public notice that a meeting of the qualified electors of such districts will be held at some convenient place within such districts, as centrally located as may be, to vote upon the question of consolidating such districts. Such notice shall specify the day and hour when such meeting shall be held, not less than twenty nor more than thirty days after the posting, service or publication of such 1 So in original.

notice. If the trustees or board of education shall refuse or neglect to give such notice within twenty days after such request is submitted the Commissioner of Education may authorize and direct any qualified elector of the district to give such notice.

2 If any part of either of such districts is situated wholly or partly within an incorporated village in which one or more newspapers are published, such notice shall be published once in each week for three consecutive weeks before such meeting in all the newspapers published in such village, and shall also be posted at least twenty days prior to such meeting, in at least five conspicuous places in each district. In all other districts the trustees or board of education of each district shall authorize and direct a qualified elector thereof to notify each qualified elector of such district of such meeting by delivering to him a copy of such notice or in case of his absence from home, by leaving a copy thereof, or so much thereof as relates to the time, place and object of the meeting, at the place of his abode, at least twenty days prior to the time of such meeting.

3 The reasonable expense of the publication and service of such notice shall be chargeable upon the districts, if the vote be in favor of consolidation, and if not, shall be paid by the persons signing the request for such meeting as provided by section 144. [Former & 131 repealed by L. 1911, ch. 334; new § 131 added by L. 1913, ch. 129, and amended by L. 1914, ch. 101.]

§ 132 Proceedings at meeting for consolidation; adoption of resolution; proceedings to be filed. Such meeting shall be organized as provided in section 145. Such meeting may adopt a resolution to consolidate such districts if two-thirds of the qualified electors of each district having less than fifteen of such electors are present, or in case of districts having fifteen or more qualified electors if ten or more are present. The vote upon such resolution shall be by taking and recording the ayes and noes. The clerk shall keep a poll-list upon which shall be recorded the names of all qualified electors voting upon the resolution, the districts in which such electors reside, and how each elector voted. If it shall appear from the votes so recorded that a majority of the qualified electors present and voting from each district are in favor of such resolution it shall be declared adopted. If a majority of the qualified electors present and voting from each district are not in favor of such resolution, all further proceedings at such meeting, except a motion to recon