20-3-337. Plan for creating single-member trustee districts. (1) The board of trustees of a school district may establish a procedure for studying the appropriateness of creating single-member trustee districts within the school district.
     (2) If the board considers a single-member district plan, the plan must establish single-member districts that:
     (a) are as compact in area and as equal in population as possible; and
     (b) provide equitable voting rights for the minorities residing within the school district by ensuring that the access of minorities to the political process is not diluted in contravention of the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1982, Public Law 97-205.
     (3) If the board determines that it is in the best interest of the electors of the school district, it shall:
     (a) propose creation of a single-member trustee district plan;
     (b) schedule and hold a public hearing on the proposed plan; and
     (c) publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the district a notice of the public hearing, including a map of the proposed single-member trustee district plan, and the reasons why the board believes that the plan satisfies the criteria set forth in subsection (2).
     (4) After the public hearing is held, the board shall forward a copy of the proposed single-member trustee district plan to the secretary of state and the superintendent of public instruction for review and comment. The copy of the proposed plan must be accompanied by:
     (a) a map indicating the circulation of the newspaper in which the notice required in subsection (3) was published;
     (b) the published notice of the public hearing;
     (c) a map of the proposed single-member trustee district plan; and
     (d) a summary of any public comments to the board regarding the proposed plan.
     (5) After receiving comments from the secretary of state and the superintendent of public instruction, the board of trustees may amend, revise, approve, or disapprove the proposed plan. If the plan is adopted by the board, it shall:
     (a) inform the county superintendent of schools of its adoption;
     (b) publish notice of the adoption in a newspaper of general circulation within the district, including identification of the boundaries of each new single-member trustee district and the implementation date of the plan; and
     (c) file with the county clerk and recorder a certificate designating the boundary lines and limits of each single-member trustee district.
     (6) All successors to the board of trustees must be elected in accordance with the adopted single-member trustee district plan.
     (7) No change in the boundaries of a trustee district may be made within 3 months preceding a regular school election day as provided in 20-3-304.

     History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 539, L. 1987.