FINAL BILL REPORT

                 SHB 1120

                          C 47 L 97

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Changing provisions relating to territory included in city and town boundary extensions.

Sponsors:  By House Committee on Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Koster, Costa, Johnson and Scott; by request of Board of Education).

House Committee on Education

Senate Committee on Education

Background:  The Legislature enacted the Acity or town districts@ statute in 1909.  The  statute's policy objective is to ensure that each city or town is served by a single school district.  Over the years, the Legislature has added several procedural requirements to change school district boundaries in response to city or town boundary changes.  The Legislature also created regional committees in each educational service district to review certain proposals on school district organization. 

In some town or city boundary extensions, the educational service district superintendent must automatically transfer school district territory that is located within the annexed territory to the school district affiliated with the city or town that is annexing the territory.  The educational service district superintendent must take this action when the city or town boundary extension affects a school district that:

$operates all schools on a single site, or

$operates only elementary schools on two or more sites. 

If the school district territory included in the annexation contains a school building, the educational service district superintendent must also present to the regional committee, a proposal for disposing of the remaining school district territory.

When a city or town that is expanding its boundaries includes a school district that operates elementary schools on more than one site or operates junior high or high schools, the regional committee may, at its discretion and subject to several conditions, submit a proposal to the State Board of Education regarding the transfer of any part or all of the school district=s territory to the district affiliated with the annexed territory.

Summary:  The regional committees on school district organization may, at their discretion, propose to transfer school districts affected by city or town annexations.

Educational service district superintendents no longer must transfer school district territory that is located within the annexed territory to the school district affiliated with the city or town that is annexing the territory when the school district in the annexed territory operates all schools on a single site, or operates only elementary schools on two or more sites.  Regional committees may propose to transfer any part or all of a school district resulting from a town or city boundary extension.

Votes on Final Passage:

House  95 0

Senate 46 0

Effective:April 16, 1997