SB0176ham001 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Elementary & Secondary Education Committee

Filed: 5/19/2005

09400SB0176ham001 LRB094 08664 NHT 46424 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 176

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 176 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 11A-2 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/11A-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 11A-2)

Sec. 11A-2. Organization of community unit districts; territorial requirement. (1) Any Any contiguous and compact territory of at least $12,000,000 equalized assessed valuation and having a population of not less than 4,000 and not more than 500,000, no part of which is included within any unit district, may be organized into a community unit school district as provided in this Article; (2) the territory of 2 or more entire unit school districts that are contiguous to each other and the territory of which taken as a whole is compact may be organized into a community unit school district as provided in this Article; or (3) the territory of one or more entire unit school districts that are contiguous to each other plus any contiguous and compact territory, no part of which is included within any unit district, and the territory of which taken as a whole is compact may be organized into a community unit school district as provided in this Article; however, a petition or petitions may be filed hereunder proposing to divide a unit school district into 2 or more parts and proposing to include all of such parts in 2 or more community unit districts. As used in this Section, a unit school district includes, but is not limited to, a special charter unit school district.

The regional superintendent shall not accept for filing hereunder any petition which includes therein any territory already included as part of the territory described in another petition filed hereunder. Hearings on a petition filed hereunder shall not be commenced so long as any part of the territory described therein shall include territory described, whether by amendment or otherwise, in another petition filed hereunder. A petition may be filed hereunder which contains less than the required minimum equalized assessed valuation or population requirements provided that such a petition shall not be approved by the regional superintendent and State Superintendent unless it is determined: (1) that there is a compelling reason for granting the petition; (2) that the territory involved cannot currently be organized as part of a petition which meets the minimum requirements; (3) that the granting of the petition will not interfere with the ultimate reorganization of the territory into a school district which meets the minimum requirements; (4) that the granting of the petition is in the best educational interests of the pupils affected; and (5) that the granting of the petition is financially beneficial to the affected school districts.

(Source: P.A. 88-555, eff. 7-27-94.)".