Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3311.06 – Territory of district to be contiguous; exceptions; annexation of territory

(A) As used in this section:
1. (1) "Annexation" and "annexed" mean annexation for municipal purposes under sections 709.02 to 709.37 of the Revised Code.
2. (2) "Annexed territory" means territory that has been annexed for municipal purposes to a city served by an urban school district, but on September 24, 1986, has not been transferred to the urban school district.
3. (3) "Urban school district" means a city school district with an average daily membership for the 1985-1986 school year in excess of twenty thousand that is the school district of a city that contains annexed territory.
4. (4) "Annexation agreement" means an agreement entered into under division (F) of this section that has been approved by the state board of education or an agreement entered into prior to September 24, 1986, that meets the requirements of division (F) of this section and has been filed with the state board.
(B) The territory included within the boundaries of a city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district shall be contiguous except where a natural island forms an integral part of the district, where the state board of education authorizes a noncontiguous school district, as provided in division (E)(1) of this section, or where a local school district is created pursuant to section 3311.26 of the Revised Code from one or more local school districts, one of which has entered into an agreement under section 3313.42 of the Revised Code.
(C)
1. (1) When all of the territory of a school district is annexed to a city or village, such territory thereby becomes a part of the city school district or the school district of which the village is a part, and the legal title to school property in such territory for school purposes shall be vested in the board of education of the city school district or the school district of which the village is a part.
2. (2) When the territory so annexed to a city or village comprises part but not all of the territory of a school district, the said territory becomes part of the city school district or the school district of which the village is a part only upon approval by the state board of education, unless the district in which the territory is located is a party to an annexation agreement with the city school district. Any urban school district that has not entered into an annexation agreement with any other school district whose territory would be affected by any transfer under this division and that desires to negotiate the terms of transfer with any such district shall conduct any negotiations under division (F) of this section as part of entering into an annexation agreement with such a district. Any school district, except an urban school district, desiring state board approval of a transfer under this division shall make a good faith effort to negotiate the terms of transfer with any other school district whose territory would be affected by the transfer. Before the state board may approve any transfer of territory to a school district, except an urban school district, under this section, it must receive the following:
  1. (a) A resolution requesting approval of the transfer, passed by at least one of the school districts whose territory would be affected by the transfer;
  2. (b) Evidence determined to be sufficient by the state board to show that good faith negotiations have taken place or that the district requesting the transfer has made a good faith effort to hold such negotiations;
  3. (c) If any negotiations took place, a statement signed by all boards that participated in the negotiations, listing the terms agreed on and the points on which no agreement could be reached.
(D) The state board of education shall adopt rules governing negotiations held by any school district except an urban school district pursuant to division (C)(2) of this section. The rules shall encourage the realization of the following goals:
1. (1) A discussion by the negotiating districts of the present and future educational needs of the pupils in each district;
2. (2) The educational, financial, and territorial stability of each district affected by the transfer;
3. (3) The assurance of appropriate educational programs, services, and opportunities for all the pupils in each participating district, and adequate planning for the facilities needed to provide these programs, services, and opportunities. Districts involved in negotiations under such rules may agree to share revenues from the property included in the territory to be transferred, establish cooperative programs between the participating districts, and establish mechanisms for the settlement of any future boundary disputes.
(E)
1. (1) If territory annexed after September 24, 1986, is part of a school district that is a party to an annexation agreement with the urban school district serving the annexing city, the transfer of such territory shall be governed by the agreement. If the agreement does not specify how the territory is to be dealt with, the boards of education of the district in which the territory is located and the urban school district shall negotiate with regard to the transfer of the territory which shall be transferred to the urban school district unless, not later than ninety days after the effective date of municipal annexation, the boards of education of both districts, by resolution adopted by a majority of the members of each board, agree that the territory will not be transferred and so inform the state board of education. If territory is transferred under this division the transfer shall take effect on the first day of July occurring not sooner than ninety-one days after the effective date of the municipal annexation. Territory transferred under this division need not be contiguous to the district to which it is transferred.
2. (2) Territory annexed prior to September 24, 1986, by a city served by an urban school district shall not be subject to transfer under this section if the district in which the territory is located is a party to an annexation agreement or becomes a party to such an agreement not later than ninety days after September 24, 1986. If the district does not become a party to an annexation agreement within the ninety-day period, transfer of territory shall be governed by division (C)(2) of this section. If the district subsequently becomes a party to an agreement, territory annexed prior to September 24, 1986, other than territory annexed under division (C)(2) of this section prior to the effective date of the agreement, shall not be subject to transfer under this section.
(F) An urban school district may enter into a comprehensive agreement with one or more school districts under which transfers of territory annexed by the city served by the urban school district after September 24, 1986, shall be governed by the agreement. Such agreement must provide for the establishment of a cooperative education program under section 3313.842 of the Revised Code in which all the parties to the agreement are participants and must be approved by resolution of the majority of the members of each of the boards of education of the school districts that are parties to it. An agreement may provide for interdistrict payments based on local revenue growth resulting from development in any territory annexed by the city served by the urban school district. An agreement entered into under this division may be altered, modified, or terminated only by agreement, by resolution approved by the majority of the members of each board of education, of all school districts that are parties to the agreement, except that with regard to any provision that affects only the urban school district and one of the other districts that is a party, that district and the urban district may modify or alter the agreement by resolution approved by the majority of the members of the board of that district and the urban district. Alterations, modifications, terminations, and extensions of an agreement entered into under this division do not require approval of the state board of education, but shall be filed with the board after approval and execution by the parties. If an agreement provides for interdistrict payments, each party to the agreement, except any school district specifically exempted by the agreement, shall agree to make an annual payment to the urban school district with respect to any of its territory that is annexed territory in an amount not to exceed the amount certified for that year under former section 3317.029 of the Revised Code as that section existed prior to July 1, 1998; except that such limitation of annual payments to amounts certified under former section 3317.029 of the Revised Code does not apply to agreements or extensions of agreements entered into on or after June 1, 1992, unless such limitation is expressly agreed to by the parties. The agreement may provide that all or any part of the payment shall be waived if the urban school district receives its payment with respect to such annexed territory under former section 3317.029 of the Revised Code and that all or any part of such payment may be waived if the urban school district does not receive its payment with respect to such annexed territory under such section. With respect to territory that is transferred to the urban school district after September 24, 1986, the agreement may provide for annual payments by the urban school district to the school district whose territory is transferred to the urban school district subsequent to annexation by the city served by the urban school district.
(G) In the event territory is transferred from one school district to another under this section, an equitable division of the funds and indebtedness between the districts involved shall be made under the supervision of the state board of education and that board's decision shall be final. Such division shall not include funds payable to or received by a school district under Chapter 3317. of the Revised Code or payable to or received by a school district from the United States or any department or agency thereof. In the event such transferred territory includes real property owned by a school district, the state board of education, as part of such division of funds and indebtedness, shall determine the true value in money of such real property and all buildings or other improvements thereon. The board of education of the school district receiving such territory shall forthwith pay to the board of education of the school district losing such territory such true value in money of such real property, buildings, and improvements less such percentage of the true value in money of each school building located on such real property as is represented by the ratio of the total enrollment in day classes of the pupils residing in the territory transferred enrolled at such school building in the school year in which such annexation proceedings were commenced to the total enrollment in day classes of all pupils residing in the school district losing such territory enrolled at such school building in such school year. The school district receiving such payment shall place the proceeds thereof in its sinking fund or bond retirement fund.
(H) The state board of education, before approving such transfer of territory, shall determine that such payment has been made and shall apportion to the acquiring school district such percentage of the indebtedness of the school district losing the territory as is represented by the ratio that the assessed valuation of the territory transferred bears to the total assessed valuation of the entire school district losing the territory as of the effective date of the transfer, provided that in ascertaining the indebtedness of the school district losing the territory the state board of education shall disregard such percentage of the par value of the outstanding and unpaid bonds and notes of said school district issued for construction or improvement of the school building or buildings for which payment was made by the acquiring district as is equal to the percentage by which the true value in money of such building or buildings was reduced in fixing the amount of said payment.
(I) No transfer of school district territory or division of funds and indebtedness incident thereto, pursuant to the annexation of territory to a city or village shall be completed in any other manner than that prescribed by this section regardless of the date of the commencement of such annexation proceedings, and this section applies to all proceedings for such transfers and divisions of funds and indebtedness pending or commenced on or after October 2, 1959.
(J) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Revised Code, including section 3311.24 of the Revised Code, and any annexation agreement or any other agreement, beginning on the effective date of this amendment until October 1, 2021, no school district that is a party to an annexation agreement shall transfer territory that is or will be used for nonresidential purposes to another school district that is a party to the annexation agreement without the approval of the boards of education of each of the school districts after the effective date of this amendment , unless the school district territory of one of those boards of education overlaps with a new community authority created prior to January 1, 1993, under Chapter 349. of the Revised Code.