1|ENGROSSED SENATE |
|BILL NO. 110 By: Weaver of the Senate |
2| |
| and |
3| |
| Lowe (Dick) of the House |
4| |
| |
5| |
| |
6| An Act relating to career and technology education; |
| amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 14-108, which relates |
7| to technology center school district governing |
| boards; directing the State Board of Career and |
8| Technology Education to divide districts with a |
| certain number of electors into board zones; |
9| providing for election of board members after certain |
| date; providing for filling of vacancy if certain |
10| member is no longer a resident of certain zone; |
| providing for promulgation of rules; and providing an |
11| effective date. |
| |
12| |
| |
13| |
| |
14|BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: |
| |
15| SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 14-108, is |
| |
16|amended to read as follows: |
| |
17| Section 14-108. A. The State Board of Career and Technology |
| |
18|Education shall prescribe criteria and procedures for the |
| |
19|establishment and governance of technology center school districts, |
| |
20|as provided by Section 9B, of Article X, of the Oklahoma |
| |
21|Constitution, and such districts so established shall be operated in |
| |
22|accordance with rules of the State Board of Career and Technology |
| |
23|Education, except as otherwise provided in this title. |
| |
24| |
| |
Page 1
___________________________________________________________________________
1| B. A technology center school district shall be a body |
| |
2|corporate and shall possess the usual powers of a corporation for |
| |
3|public purposes. Its official name shall be designated by the State |
| |
4|Board of Career and Technology Education, in which name it may sue |
| |
5|and be sued, and be capable of contracting and being contracted |
| |
6|with, and holding real and personal estate. |
| |
7| C. The governing board of a technology center school district |
| |
8|shall be a board of education consisting of not less than five (5) |
| |
9|nor more than seven (7) members. Except as otherwise provided for |
| |
10|in subsection subsections D and E of this section, all members of |
| |
11|the board of education shall be elected in a manner prescribed by |
| |
12|the State Board of Career and Technology Education. The State Board |
| |
13|shall promulgate rules prescribing the manner in which the elections |
| |
14|required by this subsection are held. |
| |
15| D. In a technology center school district that serves seventy |
| |
16|or more public school districts, the territory of the school |
| |
17|district shall be divided into district zones by the State Board of |
| |
18|Career and Technology Education. Between August 1 and December 31 |
| |
19|of the year following the submission by the United States Department |
| |
20|of Commerce to the President of the United States of the official |
| |
21|Federal Decennial Census, the Board shall reapportion the territory |
| |
22|of the technology center school district into district zones. All |
| |
23|boundaries of district zones shall follow clearly visible, |
| |
24|definable, and observable physical boundaries which are based upon |
| |
Page 2
___________________________________________________________________________
1|criteria established and recognized by the Bureau of the Census of |
| |
2|the United States Department of Commerce for purposes of defining |
| |
3|census blocks for its decennial census and shall follow, as much as |
| |
4|possible, precinct boundaries. District zones shall be compact, |
| |
5|contiguous and shall be as equal in population as practical with not |
| |
6|more than a five-percent variance between the most populous and |
| |
7|least populous district zones. The board of education of a |
| |
8|technology center school district shall consist of one member |
| |
9|elected from each of the district zones of the school district |
| |
10|created pursuant to this subsection. The electors of each district |
| |
11|zone shall elect a person, who is a resident of the district zone, |
| |
12|to represent the district zone on the school board. If during the |
| |
13|term of office to which a person was elected, that member ceases to |
| |
14|be a resident of the district zone for which the person was elected, |
| |
15|the office shall become vacant and the vacancy shall be filled as |
| |
16|provided in Section 13A-110 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes. |
| |
17|The State Board of Career and Technology Education shall promulgate |
| |
18|rules prescribing the manner in which the elections required by this |
| |
19|subsection are held. |
| |
20| E. In technology center school districts having a population of |
| |
21|more than two hundred twenty-five thousand (225,000) electors, the |
| |
22|territory of the district shall be divided into board zones by the |
| |
23|State Board of Career and Technology Education. The board of |
| |
24|education of the technology center school district shall consist of |
| |
Page 3
___________________________________________________________________________
1|one member elected from each of the district zones. Beginning with |
| |
2|any election held after July 1, 2024, the electors of each district |
| |
3|zone shall elect a person who is a resident of the district zone to |
| |
4|represent the district zone on the school board. If during the term |
| |
5|of office to which a person was elected, that member ceases to be a |
| |
6|resident of the district zone for which the person was elected, the |
| |
7|office shall become vacant, and the vacancy shall be filled as |
| |
8|provided for in Section 13A-110 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma |
| |
9|Statutes. The State Board of Career and Technology Education shall |
| |
10|promulgate rules prescribing the manner in which the elections |
| |
11|required by this subsection are held. |
| |
12| F. The board of education of a technology center school |
| |
13|district shall have the same powers and duties that boards of |
| |
14|education of independent school districts have. It may require |
| |
15|nonresident students to pay reasonable tuition fees, which may be |
| |
16|paid for a student by the independent or elementary school district |
| |
17|in which the student resides. |
| |
18| F. G. An election to vote on the question of making a levy of |
| |
19|not to exceed five (5) mills on the dollar valuation of the taxable |
| |
20|property in a technology center school district under the provisions |
| |
21|of subsection A, of Section 9B, of Article X, of the Oklahoma |
| |
22|Constitution, shall be called by the board of education and |
| |
23|conducted by the county election board of such district in the same |
| |
24|manner that elections for emergency levies in school districts under |
| |
Page 4
___________________________________________________________________________
1|the provisions of subsection (d) of Section 9(d), of Article X, of |
| |
2|the Oklahoma Constitution, are called and conducted. When such levy |
| |
3|is approved by a majority of the electors of the technology center |
| |
4|school district voting on the question at such election, the levy |
| |
5|shall be made each fiscal year thereafter until repealed by a |
| |
6|majority of the electors of the district voting on the question at |
| |
7|an election called for such purpose. An election to vote on the |
| |
8|question of making a local incentive levy of not to exceed five (5) |
| |
9|mills on the dollar valuation of the taxable property in a |
| |
10|technology center school district under the provisions of subsection |
| |
11|B of Section 9B of Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution, may be |
| |
12|called by the board of education; and elections on a levy for a |
| |
13|building fund for an area school district under the provisions of |
| |
14|Section 10, of Article X, of the Oklahoma Constitution, shall be |
| |
15|called by the board of education of such district and conducted by |
| |
16|the county election board in the same manner that elections for |
| |
17|similar levies are called and conducted in independent school |
| |
18|districts. |
| |
19| G. H. Annual estimates of needs of technology center school |
| |
20|districts shall be made and approved in the same manner that those |
| |
21|of independent school districts are made and approved. Provided, |
| |
22|that the State Board of Career and Technology Education shall |
| |
23|prescribe a list of appropriation accounts by which the funds of |
| |
24|technology center school districts shall be budgeted, accounted for |
| |
Page 5
___________________________________________________________________________
1|and expended. Any such estimate of needs may include an estimate of |
| |
2|federal funds as probable income from sources other than ad valorem |
| |
3|tax of the district and other than any excise or other tax assessed |
| |
4|by legislative enactment and distributed in lieu of ad valorem |
| |
5|taxes. If a technology center school district lies in more than one |
| |
6|county, the district's estimate of needs shall be filed with and |
| |
7|approved by the county excise board of the county designated by the |
| |
8|school district board of education. |
| |
9| H. I. Territory may be annexed to or detached from a technology |
| |
10|center school district, in accordance with rules prescribed by the |
| |
11|State Board of Career and Technology Education. If the State Board |
| |
12|of Career and Technology Education requires the submission of a |
| |
13|petition in order for an election to be called for the purpose of |
| |
14|annexation or deannexation of territory to a technology center |
| |
15|school district, such petition shall not be required to bear a |
| |
16|number of technology center school district electors' signatures |
| |
17|which exceed fifty percent (50%) of the number of technology center |
| |
18|school district electors who voted in the last school board election |
| |
19|in the territory proposed to be annexed or deannexed. Provided, the |
| |
20|period of time from which the petition is initiated to its time of |
| |
21|filing with the State Board shall not exceed ninety (90) days. |
| |
22| I. J. Schools of technology center school districts shall be |
| |
23|subject to classification, inspection, and accreditation by the |
| |
24|State Board of Education. |
| |
Page 6
___________________________________________________________________________
1| J. K. The technology center school board of education may |
| |
2|designate a county treasurer to serve as treasurer of the school |
| |
3|district or may appoint an independent treasurer. |
| |
4| K. L. Within four (4) years after the creation of a technology |
| |
5|center school district, such school district may, at its discretion, |
| |
6|permit a teacher to transfer any or all accrued benefits upon |
| |
7|employment including credit for years of service in the previous |
| |
8|school district by the technology center school district, if the |
| |
9|teacher at the time of hiring is employed as a teacher by an |
| |
10|independent or elementary school district which is all or partly |
| |
11|within the boundaries of the technology center school district or is |
| |
12|employed as a teacher in a skills center within the boundaries of |
| |
13|the school district. |
| |
14| L. M. The board of education of a technology center school |
| |
15|district may convey surplus personal property without consideration |
| |
16|to: |
| |
17| 1. A school district that is within the boundary of the |
| |
18|technology center school district; |
| |
19| 2. A public school offering secondary level education which was |
| |
20|created and is operated by the State of Oklahoma this state and that |
| |
21|is within the boundary of the technology center school district; |
| |
22| 3. A technology center school district; or |
| |
23| 4. The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education |
| |
24|for the support or delivery of department initiatives. |
| |
Page 7
___________________________________________________________________________
1| M. N. The board of education of a technology center school |
| |
2|district may, without prior approval of the State Board of Career |
| |
3|and Technology Education, approve all plans and specifications for |
| |
4|technology center school buildings, additions, and major |
| |
5|modifications to school buildings that are designed to provide for |
| |
6|the offering of vocational-technical education programs and services |
| |
7|when the cost of the building project is to be paid with local |
| |
8|levies or state bond monies or both local levies and state bond |
| |
9|monies. |
| |
10| SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2024. |
| |
11| Passed the Senate the 21st day of February, 2023. |
| |
12| |
| |
13| |
| Presiding Officer of the Senate |
14| |
| |
15| Passed the House of Representatives the ____ day of __________, |
| |
16|2023. |
| |
17| |
| |
18| |
| Presiding Officer of the House |
19| of Representatives |
| |
20| |
| |
21| |
| |
22| |
| |
23| |
| |
24| |
| |
Page 8