S-1341.1                   _______________________________________________

                                                     SENATE BILL 5738

                              _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Senators Skratek, Prentice, Drew, Bluechel and Quigley

Read first time 02/11/93.  Referred to Committee on Education.

Changing school district dissolution and annexation provisions.

          AN ACT Relating to school district annexation; amending RCW 28A.315.320; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  RCW 28A.315.320 and 1985 c 385 s 24 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) In case any school district shall have an average enrollment of one hundred fifty or fewer ((than five)) kindergarten through eighth grade pupils during the preceding school year, ((including the 1984‑85 school year)) and any subsequent school year, or shall not have made a reasonable effort to maintain, during the preceding school year at least the minimum term of school required by law, the educational service district superintendent shall report said fact to the regional committee, which committee shall dissolve the school district and annex the territory thereof to some other district or districts:  PROVIDED, That for the purposes of this section, in addition to any other finding, "reasonable effort" shall be deemed to mean the attempt to make up whatever days are short of the legal requirement by the conducting of school classes on any days to include available holidays, though not to include Saturdays and Sundays, prior to June 15 of that year:  PROVIDED FURTHER, That school districts operating an extended school year program, most commonly implemented as a 45‑15 plan, shall be deemed to be making a reasonable effort:  PROVIDED FURTHER, That in the event any school district has suffered any interruption in its normal school calendar due to a strike or other work stoppage or slowdown by any of its employees such district shall not be subject to the requirements of this section.  In case any territory is not a part of any school district, the educational service district superintendent shall present to the regional committee a proposal for the annexation of said territory to some contiguous district or districts.

(2) Any district subject to dissolution under subsection (1) of this section shall indicate in writing to the annexing district whether or not the schools in the district shall remain open.  The annexing district, for the first school year following the annexation, may not close the schools in the district dissolved.  After the first year, the provisions of RCW 28A.335.020 shall apply.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1994.

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