SENATE BILL REPORT

                   SB 5071

              As Reported By Senate Committee On:

                  Education, January 28, 1997

Title:  An act relating to school district territory included in city and town boundary extensions.

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

Sponsors:  Senators Stevens, Haugen and Hochstatter; by request of Board of Education.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Education:  1/24/97, 1/28/97 [DPS].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Majority Report:  That Substitute Senate Bill No. 5071 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.

  Signed by Senators Hochstatter, Chair; Finkbeiner, Vice Chair; Goings, Johnson, McAuliffe, Rasmussen and Zarelli.

Staff:  Susan Mielke (786-7422)

Background:  Under current law, the Legislature does not set school boundaries, but has established statutory procedures for changing school district boundaries. 

Generally, each city or town is required to be in one school district.  If a city or town extends its limits to include any part of a school district operating on Aone site@ then the annexed property automatically becomes part of the school district containing the city or town. 

If a town extends its limits to include any part of a school district operating on more than one site then the issue goes before the regional committee of the educational service district.  The regional committee decides which school district will contain the annexed property.  The members of the regional committee are selected by the boards of directors of the school districts in the educational service district.

Summary of Substitute Bill:  The automatic transfer of annexed property of a one-site school district to an annexing city or town is changed.  If a city or town annexes property in a one-site school district and the annexed property contains a school building then the regional committee shall have the discretion to decide which school district will contain the property. 

The provision permitting the regional committee to decide which school district will contain annexed property when a town extends its limits to include any part of a school district operating on more than one site remains unchanged.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:  An emergency clause is added so the act will take effect immediately instead of 90 days after final adjournment of the legislative session.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date:  The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.

Testimony For:  This bill changes the decision process for changing a school district=s boundaries from a state-level mandate to a local-level decision by a citizen board.  The bill recognizes that no school district boundary change is the same as another and that the decision is best made at the local level.  The bill protects a one-site school district from automatically being dismantled by a city=s annexation.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Senator Stevens, prime sponsor (pro); Bobbie May, State Board of Education member (pro); Wayne Robertson, Superintendent, Lakewood School District (pro); John Davis, Clover Park School District (pro); Dwayne Slate, WSSDA (pro); Bob Kraski, Mayor, City of Arlington (pro); Linda Byrnes, Superintendent, Arlington School District (pro); Dave Zabell, City of Marysville (pro); Neil Knutson, Save our Community and Schools (pro).