§ 1526. Enlarged city school districts. 1. The commissioner of
education is hereby authorized and empowered to create enlarged city
school districts by consolidation of city school districts of cities of
less than one hundred twenty-five thousand inhabitants with such area or
areas contiguous to such city school districts as, in his discretion,
are suitable for the establishment of enlarged city school systems, and
to fix, determine and define the boundaries of such enlarged districts
as provided in this section.

2. The commissioner is hereby authorized and empowered to make and
enter in his office orders laying out such area or areas contiguous to a
city school district of a city of less than one hundred twenty-five
thousand inhabitants, provided, however, that no school district which
has an outstanding bonded indebtedness shall be divided by such order in
such manner that only a part of such district is included in such an
area.

3. Within ten days after the making and entry of an order pursuant to
this section, the commissioner shall transmit a certified copy thereof
to the board of education of the city school district and the clerk, or
in the event there is no clerk, to the trustee or trustees of each
school district wholly or partly included in such area or areas. Such
clerk, trustee or trustees, as the case may be, shall, within five days
after receipt of such order, post a copy thereof in five conspicuous
places in such district.

4. No such area or areas laid out by order of the commissioner shall
be consolidated with such city school district until a majority of the
qualified voters of such area or areas have adopted a proposition to
consolidate such area or areas with the city school district, as
provided in this section, and until the board of education of the city
school district has consented to such consolidation by resolution duly
adopted and has transmitted a certified copy of such resolution to the
commissioner.

5. When the order laying out such area or areas has been made and
entered as provided in this section, a petition may be presented by
persons qualified to vote at school meetings, asking for the
establishment of an enlarged city school district by the consolidation
of such area or areas with the city school district. Such petition shall
be signed by a number of qualified voters equal to at least ten per
centum of the children in the area or areas according to the latest
school census for the area or areas laid out by the commissioner. Such
petition shall be filed with the commissioner and shall request that an
election of the qualified voters within such area or areas be called for
the purpose of determining whether or not such area or areas shall be
consolidated with the city school district. If the commissioner is
satisfied that the petition has been duly signed as provided in this
section, he shall fix a time and place or places for an election of the
qualified voters within each such area, which election shall be held not
more than thirty days after the filing of such petition.

6. The commissioner of education shall divide the area into a school
election district or districts. The area shall be so divided that if
circumstances will permit, the school election district will be
coterminous with one or more school districts, or parts or combinations
thereof, and that, if practicable, there shall be a schoolhouse in each
school election district. The commissioner shall describe each of such
election districts. If there is no public schoolhouse in a school
election district, the commissioner shall designate the place where the
election in such district shall be had.

7. The commissioner shall cause notice of such election to be posted
at least ten days before the election in three conspicuous places in
each school district wholly or partly within such area. In addition to
the posting of such notice a copy thereof shall be published at least
seven days before the election in a daily or weekly newspaper published
within the area or in a newspaper having general circulation therein.
Such notice shall state the day of election and the hours the polls are
to be open, shall describe the school election district or districts
into which the area is divided, shall specify the schoolhouses or other
places therein where such election will be held and where the ballots
will be canvassed.

8. The election shall take place during at least four consecutive
hours between the hours of seven o'clock in the forenoon and ten o'clock
in the evening, as determined by the commissioner of education.

9. Any person qualified to vote in any school district wholly or
partly within the area laid out by the commissioner and who resides
within such area shall be qualified to vote at the election. Before each
person casts his ballot he shall be required to sign a statement
contained in a poll book provided for the purpose, declaring that he is
a qualified voter within the area.

10. The commissioner of education shall appoint a board of canvass for
the entire area. Such board shall organize by naming one of its members
as chairman and shall, as soon as the ballot boxes and books containing
the names of the voters have been delivered to the board of canvass in
the place designated by the commissioner of education, count all the
ballots. Prior to ascertaining the manner in which any voter has marked
his ballot, the number of ballots from each school election district
shall be counted separately without opening them and if the number does
not correspond with the number of names contained in the poll book of
such school election district, the board before canvassing the ballots,
shall withdraw therefrom a number sufficient to make the number of
ballots correspond with the number of names in the poll book.
Thereafter, and before ascertaining the manner in which any voter has
voted, the board of canvass shall cause the ballots cast at each school
election district to be thoroughly intermingled with each other in a
single ballot box large enough to contain the aggregate number of votes
cast. A majority of the valid votes cast shall be necessary to adopt the
resolution. Such board shall certify to the commissioner of education
the total number of votes cast, the number of valid votes cast for the
proposition to consolidate the area with the city school district, the
number of valid votes cast against the proposition, the number of void
ballots and the number of blank ballots. The board of canvass shall file
a copy of such certificate with each superintendent of schools in whose
jurisdiction such area is located and shall also file a copy thereof
with the town clerk of each town in which any part of such area is
located. The board of canvass shall seal the books and ballots
immediately upon completion of the certificate setting forth the result,
and shall file such sealed books and ballots with the board of education
of the city school district, which board of education shall retain and
dispose of such books and ballots as provided by law. If an appeal is
brought from the election, the ballots shall be available for the
inspection of the commissioner of education.

11. The commissioner of education shall designate a member or members
of the board of canvass to act as an election board for the conduct of
the election in each school election district. The election board shall
administer the challenges.

12. The board of canvass shall furnish poll books, ballots and locked
ballot boxes for each school election district.

13. After the polls are closed, and after all persons within the
polling place have voted, the election board shall forthwith proceed to
deliver to the board of canvass at the place designated by the
commissioner of education, the ballot box and the book containing the
names of the voters. Any wilful violation of this paragraph shall be a
misdemeanor.

14. Upon an appeal to the commissioner of education, substantial
compliance with the procedures herein required shall be sufficient to
meet the intent of this section.

15. If the proposition to consolidate such area with such city school
district is adopted, the commissioner may by order consolidate such area
or areas, and all school districts and parts of school districts
included therein, with such city school district. Such order shall
specify a date on which the same shall take effect, and the provisions
of sections fifteen hundred fourteen, fifteen hundred seventeen and
fifteen hundred eighteen shall be applicable to such consolidation. A
copy of such order shall be filed with the clerk of each school district
affected thereby.

16. If at any such election the proposition to consolidate shall not
be adopted, no such election shall again be called within one year after
such original election. If no election shall be called to reconsider the
question within two years after such original election or if at any such
election called within two years after such original election the
proposition shall again fail of adoption, the order of the commissioner
laying out such area or areas shall be deemed null and void and of no
further force and effect.

17. Unless the effective date of such order of consolidation shall
coincide with the beginning of the fiscal year of the city school
district, the board of education of the city school district upon the
effective date of the order of consolidation, shall levy a tax upon the
area so consolidated with the city school district, to defray the
expenses of educating the pupils of such area from the effective date of
the consolidation to the beginning of the next ensuing fiscal year of
the city school district. For this purpose, the school tax rate used for
the fiscal year of the city school district in progress on the effective
date of such order shall be used, except that such rate shall be divided
by twelve and multiplied by the number of months intervening between the
effective date of such order and the beginning of the next ensuing
fiscal year of the city school district. The tax list for this purpose
shall be prepared and confirmed within thirty days after the effective
date of such consolidation.

18. In any enlarged city school district created pursuant to this
section, the proper equalization rate or rates shall be fixed and
determined annually pursuant to the provisions of section thirty-five
hundred five of this chapter.

19. The expense of posting and publishing of the notices and of
furnishing the poll books, ballots and ballot boxes shall be borne
equally by the several school districts wholly or partly included within
such area, unless a consolidation order is made, in which event such
expense shall become a charge upon the enlarged city school district.