| 1 | The Education Appropriations Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | House Joint Resolution |
| 6 | A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section 4 of |
| 7 | Article IX of the State Constitution relating to school |
| 8 | districts. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | That the following amendment to Section 4 of Article IX of |
| 13 | the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to |
| 14 | the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next |
| 15 | general election or at an earlier special election specifically |
| 16 | authorized by law for that purpose: |
| 17 | ARTICLE IX |
| 18 | EDUCATION |
| 19 | SECTION 4. School districts; school boards.-- |
| 20 | (a) Each county shall constitute a school district; |
| 21 | provided, two or more contiguous counties, upon vote of the |
| 22 | electors of each county pursuant to law, may be combined into |
| 23 | one school district. In each school district there shall be a |
| 24 | school board composed of five or more members chosen by vote of |
| 25 | the electors in a nonpartisan election for appropriately |
| 26 | staggered terms of four years, as provided by law. |
| 27 | (b) The school board shall operate, control, and supervise |
| 28 | all free public schools within the school district and determine |
| 29 | the rate of school district taxes within the limits prescribed |
| 30 | herein. Two or more school districts may operate and finance |
| 31 | joint educational programs. |
| 32 | (c) Provision may be made by law for the division of a |
| 33 | school district into two or more school districts, each having |
| 34 | no fewer than 25,000 students, when approved by a vote of the |
| 35 | county's electors. School district taxes for the school |
| 36 | districts created pursuant to this subsection shall be imposed |
| 37 | countywide and distributed to the school districts in an |
| 38 | equitable and nondiscriminatory manner as provided by law. The |
| 39 | rate of school district taxes shall be determined by a board |
| 40 | consisting of an equal number of members from each school |
| 41 | district in the county as provided by law. |
| 42 | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be |
| 43 | placed on the ballot: |
| 44 | CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT |
| 45 | ARTICLE IX, SECTION 4 |
| 46 | AUTHORIZING THE DIVISION OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT INTO TWO OR |
| 47 | MORE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.--Proposing an amendment to the State |
| 48 | Constitution to provide that school districts may be divided |
| 49 | into two or more school districts, each having no fewer than |
| 50 | 25,000 students, as provided by law and upon a vote of the |
| 51 | county's electors; to provide that school district taxes shall |
| 52 | be imposed countywide and distributed to the school districts in |
| 53 | an equitable and nondiscriminatory manner as provided by law; |
| 54 | and to provide that the rate of school district taxes shall be |
| 55 | determined by a board consisting of an equal number of members |
| 56 | from each school district in the county as provided by law. |