HJR 213

1	House Joint Resolution
2	A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section 4 of
3	Article IX of the State Constitution relating to school
4	districts.
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6	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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8	That the following amendment to Section 4 of Article IX of
9	the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to
10	the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next
11	general election or at an earlier special election specifically
12	authorized by law for that purpose:
13	ARTICLE IX
14	EDUCATION
15	SECTION 4.  School districts; school boards.--
16	(a)  Each county shall constitute a school district;
17	provided, two or more contiguous counties, upon vote of the
18	electors of each county pursuant to law, may be combined into
19	one school district; and provided further that a county with
20	45,000 or more students in the district schools within the
21	county may be divided into two or more school districts, each
22	school district to have no fewer than 20,000 students, as
23	provided by law. In order to divide a county school district
24	under this subsection, and notwithstanding other provisions of
25	this constitution, a commission made up of residents of the
26	county shall be created by special law to draw school district
27	boundary lines, allocate assets, and provide for the contractual
28	obligations, debts, and bonded indebtedness of the school
29	district, all of which shall be subject to review and approval
30	by the circuit court for compliance with state and federal law
31	and subject to approval by a vote of the electors of the county.
32	Funding for operation and capital outlay in school districts
33	divided pursuant to this subsection shall be determined on a
34	countywide basis and distributed to the school districts per
35	student as provided by law, except that funds raised by voted
36	millage for bonded indebtedness or local option sales taxes may
37	be distributed per interlocal agreement between the school
38	districts. Local school taxes in school districts divided
39	pursuant to this subsection, including voted millage for bonded
40	indebtedness, shall be levied on a countywide basis as provided
41	by law.
42	(b)  In each school district there shall be a school board
43	composed of five or more members chosen by vote of the electors
44	in a nonpartisan election for appropriately staggered terms of
45	four years, as provided by law.
46	(b)  The school board shall operate, control, and supervise
47	all free public schools within the school district and determine
48	the rate of school district taxes within the limits prescribed
49	herein. Two or more school districts may operate and finance
50	joint educational programs.
51	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be
52	placed on the ballot:
53	CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
54	ARTICLE IX, SECTION 4
55	AUTHORIZING THE DIVISION OF A COUNTY INTO TWO OR MORE
56	SCHOOL DISTRICTS.--Proposing an amendment to the State
57	Constitution to provide that counties with 45,000 or more
58	students may be divided into two or more school districts as
59	provided by law; to provide for the creation of a commission, by
60	special law, to draw school district boundary lines, allocate
61	assets, and provide for the contractual obligations, debts, and
62	bonded indebtedness of the school district, all of which shall
63	be subject to judicial review and approval and voter approval;
64	to provide that, except for voted millage for bonded
65	indebtedness or local option sales taxes, school district
66	funding shall be determined on a countywide basis and
67	distributed as provided by law; and to provide that local school
68	taxes, including voted millage for bonded indebtedness, shall be
69	levied on a countywide basis as provided by law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.