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Voluntary dissolution is a process provided for in North Dakota Century Code Chapter 15.1-12, through which a school district can determine “that it is in the best interest of its students to dissolve the school district and become attached to surrounding school districts”. The process provides a vehicle for a school district, as a North Dakota political subdivision, to end its existence and become attached to other contiguous school districts.
Threshold Criteria
The board of the school district involved must adopt a motion which puts the district into dissolution.
Process Step
- After the school board has decided to dissolve the district, the school board is encouraged to consult with its patrons to determine where the patrons want their children to go to school and what part of the school district’s land should be attached to those school districts.
- That division of the land and its taxable valuation should be proportionate to where the resident students of the district have indicated where they will attend school after the dissolution.
- The county superintendent or designee schedules a hearing before the county committee. At the hearing, the board of the dissolving district is encouraged to propose a particular manner of dissolution.
- The county committee approves the dissolution and decides which land of the dissolving school district will be attached to which contiguous high school districts. The county committee’s decision is then submitted to the State Board of Public School Education for approval.
- After the State Board’s consideration and approval, the dissolution becomes effective on the following July 1 or on another date specified by the county committee.
- The preferred dissolution date is August 15.