Sec. 4A.

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Consolidation.-Districts located contiguous to each other may unite and form one consolidated district in the manner following:

(a) The boards of directors in the districts affected shall require their secretaries to give at least ten days' notice of the time and place for a meeting of the electors residing in each of said districts whenever each of said district boards shall agree to order such an election, or whenever a written request of onefifth of the legal voters is presented to their respective boards in favor of uniting. Notice of such election shall be given by posting written or printed notices in at least five public places in each of said districts. At the meeting thus called the electors shall vote by ballot for or against a consolidated organization of those of said districts which vote in favor of consolidation. Those districts which are adjoining and in which a majority of the votes cast at the election are in favor of such consolidation, shall thereby be organized as a consolidated school district. The directors of the districts so consolidated shall notify the county superintendent of the organization so affected, and the county superintendent shall make record of the fact and proceed to notify the county clerk and to alter the county school district map as directed by law. The county superintendent within ten days after the formation of said consolidated district shall call a meeting of the electors as provided by law for the organization of new districts. At said meeting the qualified electors shall proceed to elect a school board as provided by law. The consolidated district when organized shall be governed by all laws enacted for the government of schools. Districts adjacent to an existing high school district may consolidate therewith under the provisions of this act, and districts adjacent to each other may consolidate for the purpose of maintaining a high school, either as a separate school or as a part of a consolidated grade and high school for such districts.

(b) The district board of any consolidated school district shall provide for the comfortable transportation of pupils of said consolidated district living two or more miles from the school attended, by the usual traveled road, in a safe and inclosed conveyance or conveyances, properly heated, and said district board is authorized to establish such rules and regulations as may be necessary for carrying out the provisions of this act. At any regular annual school district meeting in such district, it shall be lawful for the qualified voters therein by two-thirds vote to suspend the provision for the district transportation of pupils and the said action shall be confirmed by the county superintendent upon a satisfactory showing that individual arrangements have been made for all necessary transportation of pupils without cost to the district.

(c) One school district may be discontinued and its territory

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attached to an adjoining consolidated school district upon a petition signed by one-half of the legal voters of the district discontinued provided that a majority of the voters, attending the annual meeting or a special meeting called by the board for that purpose, in the consolidated district vote in favor of annexing said territory.

(d) A consolidated district may be formed under the provissions of this act any time during the year.

(e) All consolidated districts organized in accordance with the provisions of this act and all school districts containing twenty-five sections or more which are now or may be hereafter organized and which provide for comfortable transportation of pupils living two or more miles from school and maintain suitable grounds and a two room school building and the necessary departments and equipment for teaching agriculture and home economics or other industrial and vocational subjects in addition to the regular course of study and employing teachers holding a certificate showing their qualifications to teach said subjects, and in which said subjects are provided as a part of the regular course in such instruction, shall be awarded and paid from the state treasury from moneys not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $100 toward the equipment required, and the further sum of $150 annually.

(f) All consolidated districts organized in accordance with the provisions of this act and all school districts containing twenty-five sections or more which are now or may be hereafter organized and which provide for comfortable transportation of pupils living two or more miles from school and maintain suitable grounds and a three room building and the necessary department and equipment for teaching agriculture and home economics or other suitable and vocational subjects in addition to the regular course of study, and employing teachers holding certificates showing their qualifications to teach said subjects, and in which said subjects are provided as a part of the regular course in such schools, subject to the approval of the superintendent of public instruction, shall be awarded and paid from the state treasury, from moneys not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $150 toward the equipment required and the further sum of $200 annually.

(g) All consolidated districts organized in accordance with the provisions of this act and all school districts containing twentyfive sections or more which are now or may be hereafter organized and which provide for comfortable transportation of pupils living two or more miles from school and maintain suitable grounds and a four or more room school building and the necessary departments and equipment for teaching agriculture and home economics or other suitable and vocational subjects in addition to the regular course of study, and employing teachers

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holding certificates showing their qualifications to teach said subjects, and in which said subjects are provided as a part in the regular course in such schools, subject to the approval of the superintendent of public instruction, shall be awarded and paid from the state treasury, from moneys not otherwise appropriated the sum of $250 toward the equipment required and the further sum of $300 annually.

6704 Sec. 5. Notice by Superintendent. Whenever the county superintendent of any county shall form a new district, it shall be the duty of the superintendent to deliver to a taxable inhabitant of such district a notice in writing of the formation of such district, describing its boundaries, and specifying the time and place of holding the first meeting, which notice, with the fact of such delivery, shall be entered upon the record by the superintendent.

The record should contain a minute detail of all proceedings in relation to the formation of the new district and of the amount justly due the new from the old district out of which it may have been formed. 6 Neb., 545.

6705 Sec. 6. Notice to voters.-The notice shall also direct such inhabitant to notify every qualified voter of such district, either personally or by leaving a written notice at his or her place of residence, of the time and place of holding such meeting, at least five days before the time appointed therefor; and it shall be the duty of such inhabitant to notify the qualified voters of said disrtict accordingly.

Every qualified voter should be notified; but a failure to notify one or more would not invalidate the action of the meeting unless fraud could be shown. (See section 8.) For definition of "qualified voter," see sections 34 and 35, article 2.

6706 Sec. 7. Return of notice. The inhabitant, when he shall have notified the qualified voters as required in said notice, shall endorse thereon a return, showing such notification with the date or dates thereof, and deliver such notice and return to the chairman of the meeting.

6707 Sec. 8.

Same-record-evidence. The chairman shall deliver such notice and return to the director chosen at such meeting, as hereinafter provided, who shall record the same at length in a book, to be provided by him at the expense of the district, as a part of the records of such district, which records shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein set forth and of the legality of all proceedings in the organization of the district prior to the first district meeting, but nothing in this section contained shall be so construed as to impair the effect of the record kept by the county superintendent as evidence.

6708 Sec. 9. Division of district-property-indebtedness. When a new district is formed in whole or in part from one or more districts possessed of a schoolhouse or other property, the county superintendent, at the time of forming such new district, or as soon thereafter as may be, shall ascertain and determine the amount justly due to such new district from any district or districts out of which it may have been in whole or in part formed, which amount shall be ascertained and determined as nearly as practicable according to the relative value of the taxable property in the respective parts of such former district or districts with the whole value thereof at the time of such

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division, and the fact that the schoolhouse or other property is not paid for shall not deprive such new district of its proportionate share of the value thereof; Provided, Such new district shall remain bound for such indebtedness to the same extent as though the new district had not been formed; unless in case of indebtedness not bonded the same shall be adjusted as hereinafter provided.

The division of school districts and school property is one of the most important and delicate of the superintendent's duties, always to be performed with care and deliberation. The division of property should be made when the district is divided, or as soon as possible thereafter. Where there are debts, which must be paid by the old district, they should be taken into account in the division of property. The superintendent must use his best judgment in estimating the value of school property, keeping in mind that the law requires him to "ascertain and determine the amount justly due" to the new district. Section 11 states clearly how this money is to reach the treasury of the new district.

In applying sections 9 and 11 to the division of a district which is bonded, it must be remembered that the bonds are of the nature of a mortgage on all the land and property of the original district, and that this incumbrance cannot be removed from any part of it by the division. 54 Neb., 171.

When the division of a district has been completed by a county superintendent, his successor cannot re-open and adjust it again; but a superintendent who finds out that he has made a serious mistake may correct such mistake within reasonable time.

To divide a joint district the same formalities are requisite as in any other. A petition should be presented to the superintendent of each county affected.

Debts of a district cannot be divided and apportioned without the consent of creditors. After the division, the old district has no authority to use property or funds to which the new one is entitled. 4 Neb., 267. Where there is no finding or determination whatever by the superintendent as to property of any kind retained by a district out of which a new district was formed, his certificate to the county clerk, stating the amount of tax to be levied on the old district to be paid to the new when collected, is a nullity. 6 Neb., 539. Certificate of superintendent of amount found due, sufficient to authorize levy of tax. 12 Neb., 327. See also, 13 Id., 177. 17 Id., 177. 19 Id., 485.

6709 Sec. 10. Same-bonded indebtedness. If the old district shall be subject to any bonded indebtedness, and the amount to which such new district shall be entitled on account of any such property shall not exceed its proportionate share of such bonded indebtedness, the amount to which the new district shall be entitled as aforesaid shall be apportioned so as to come due in installments proportionately at such times as the original indebtedness shall become due to the creditors of the old district.

6710 Sec. 11. Same-Collected.-The amount of such proportion, when so ascertained and determined, shall be certified by the county superintendent to the county clerk, who shall present the amount to the county board at the session next succeeding, whose duty it shall be at the proper time or times to assess the same upon the taxable property of the district retaining the schoolhouse or other property of the former district, in the same manner as if the same had been authorized by a vote of such district, and the money so assessed shall be placed to the credit of the new district.

The action of the district is not required to levy the tax thus made necessary, and it is beyond its control. The county commissioners are the proper persons to levy it. The whole amount need not be levied at once, but may be put into two or more levies.

6711

Sec. 12. Same payment. When collected, the amount shall be paid over to the treasurer of the new district, to be applied to the use thereof in the same manner, under the direction of its proper officers, as if such sum had been voted and raised by the district for building a schoolhouse or other district purposes.

6712

Sec. 13. Sale of property.—Whenever, by the division of any district, the schoolhouse or site thereof shall no longer be conveniently

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located for school purposes, and shall not be desired by the district in which it may be situated, the county superintendent of the county in which such schoolhouse and site shall be located may, when ordered by the district, advertise and sell the same at public or private sale, and apportion the proceeds; Provided, when sold at private sale the sale shall not be binding until approved by the district interested.

For errors of judgment and mistakes in the performance of this onerous duty the superntendent is not pecuniarily responsible, unless there is evidence of fraud. The superintendent should take ample time and acquaint himself fully with the facts.

6713 Sec. 14. Division of proceeds. The money arising from the sale of schoolhouse and site, or otherwise, except teachers' fund shall be divided among the several districts created in whole or part from the divided districts as nearly as practicable in proportion to the taxable property of the districts formed in whole or in part by such division.

6714 Sec. 15. Division of teachers' fund.—Money on hand belonging to the teachers' fund of said district shall be divided in proportion to the number of pupils in each district at the time of such division. The money designated in this and the preceding section shall be divided at once, and not in the manner provided in the fourth next preceding section.

Money on hand when a district is divided is to be treated as follows: The teachers' fund, including proceeds of tax for teachers' wages and the state apportionment, according to section 15; that is, in proportion to the number of children in the district at the time of division. The remaining funds (both in county and district treasury) will be divided according to section 14; that is, in proportion to the taxable property of the districts concerned.

When a county superintendent has ordered money paid by one district to another, and the district neglects or refuses to pay it, the treasurer of the district to which the money is due may apply to the court for a mandamus to compel the officers of the delinquent dis trict to pay the money.

6715 Sec. 16. Floating indebtedness. Whenever a new district shall be organized from the territory of a former district, and there shall be any indebtedness of such former district which shall not be bonded, such unbonded indebtedness shall be taken into account in estimating the sum due from the old to the new district on account of schoolhouse or other property, and the new district shall be entitled to only the value of its proportionate share of the property after deducting its like share of the indebted

ness.

Where several districts are consolidated, the new district not only becomes invested with the property rights of the former, but also becomes answerable for their debts. 51 Neb. 1.

6716 Sec. 17. Report change in district-map.---Every change in district boundary lires must be reported as soon as made to the county clerk and the county treasurer by the county superintendent; and the county superintendent shall keep in the office of the county clerk a map of the school districts of the county, which map shall be revised as often as the boundary lines of districts are changed or new districts formed. The county superintendent shall also report to the county treasurer the necessary changes to be made upon the tax lists of the county. Upon receiving said notification, it shall be the duty of the county treasurer to adjust the tax list of the county in accordance with the change of district boundaries, so that the uncollected taxes levied upon property that has been transferred to another school district, shall, when collected, be placed to the credit of the district to which such property has been transferred.