COOPERATION AND COMBINATION.

123A.35 COOPERATION AND COMBINATION. § Subdivision 1.Scope. Sections 123A.35 to 123A.43 establish procedures for boards that adopt, by resolution, a five-year written agreement: (1) to provide at least secondary instruction cooperatively for at least one or two years, if the districts cooperate according to subdivision 2; and (2) to combine into one district. § Subd. 2.Cooperation requirements. Cooperating districts must: (1) implement a written agreement according to section 123A.32 no later than the first year of cooperation; (2) all be members of one education district, if any one of the districts is a member, no later than the end of the second year of cooperation; and (3) all be members of one service cooperative, if any one of the districts is a member. Clause (1) does not apply to a district that implemented an agreement for secondary education, according to Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 122.535, during any year before the 1991-1992 school year. If the districts cooperate for one or more years, the agreement may be continued during those years. § Subd. 3.Combination requirements. Combining districts must be contiguous and meet one of the following requirements at the time of combination: (1) at least two districts with at least 400 resident pupils enrolled in grades 7 through 12 in the combined district and projections, approved by the department, of enrollment at least at that level for five years; (2) at least two districts if either: (i) both of the districts qualify for secondary sparsity revenue under section 126C.10, subdivision 7, and have an average isolation index over 23; or (ii) the combined district qualifies for secondary sparsity revenue; (3) at least three districts with fewer than 400 resident pupils enrolled in grades 7 through 12 in the combined district; or (4) at least two districts with fewer than 400 resident pupils enrolled in grades 7 through 12 in the combined district if either district is located on the border of the state. A combination under clause (2), (3), or (4) must be approved by the commissioner. The commissioner shall disapprove a combination under clause (2), (3), or (4) if the combination is educationally unsound or would not reasonably enable the districts to fulfill statutory and rule requirements. History: 1989 c 329 art 6 s 5; 1989 c 356 s 48; 1990 c 562 art 6 s 4; 1991 c 265 art 6 s 10,11; 1992 c 499 art 6 s 8; 1993 c 224 art 13 s 14; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 16 s 13; 1996 c 305 art 1 s 138; 1998 c 397 art 5 s 34,104; art 11 s 3