1. At the hearing, which shall be held within ten days of the final date set for filing objections, interested parties, both petitioners and objectors, may present evidence and arguments, and the area education agency board shall review the matter on its merits and within ten days after the conclusion of any hearing, shall rule on the objections and shall enter an order fixing the boundaries for the proposed school corporation as will in its judgment be for the best interests of all parties concerned, having due regard for the welfare of adjoining districts, or dismiss the petition.
2. The area education agency board, when entering the order fixing the boundaries, shall consider all available evidence including, but not limited to, information presented by the petitioners, all objections requesting territory exclusion, reorganization studies and plans, geographical patterns evidenced by students using open enrollment to attend school in another district pursuant to section 282.18, potential travel distances required of students, and geographic configuration of the proposed district. The exclusion of territory shall represent a balance between the rights of the objectors and the welfare of the reorganized district.
3. If the petition is not dismissed and the board determines that additional information is required in order to fix boundary lines of the proposed school corporation, the board may continue the hearing for no more than thirty days. The date of the continued hearing shall be announced at the original meeting. Additional objections in the form required in section 275.14 may be considered if filed with the administrator within five days, not including\n\nTue Dec 09 22:18:01 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 275 (40, 1) §275.15, REORGANIZATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS 8\n\nSaturdays, Sundays, or holidays, after the date of the original board hearing. If the hearing is continued, the area education agency administrator may conduct one or more meetings with the boards of directors of the affected districts. Notice of any such meeting must be given at least forty-eight hours in advance by the area education agency administrator in the manner provided in section 21.4. The area education agency board may request that the administrator make alternative recommendations regarding the boundary lines of the proposed school corporation. The area education agency board shall make a decision on the boundary lines within ten days following the conclusion of the continued hearing.
4. The administrator shall at once publish the decision in the same newspaper in which the original notice was published. Within twenty days after the publication, the decision rendered by the area education agency board may be appealed to the district court in the county involved by any school district affected. For purposes of appeal, only those school districts who filed reorganization petitions are school districts affected. An appeal from a decision of an area education agency board or joint area education agency boards under section 275.4, 275.16, or this section is subject to appeal procedures under this chapter and is not subject to appeal under chapter 290. [C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §4158 – 4160; C46, 50, §276.5 – 276.7; C54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §275.15] 84 Acts, ch 1078, §9; 85 Acts, ch 221, §2; 86 Acts, ch 1226, §2; 86 Acts, ch 1239, §1; 93 Acts, ch 160, §6; 2006 Acts, ch 1185, §79; 2007 Acts, ch 214, §34 Referred to in §275.11, 275.12, 275.14, 275.16, 275.18, 275.23, 275.23A, 275.24 \n
Notes of Decisions
Christensen v. Bd. of Supervisors of Woodbury Co., 105 N.W.2d 102 (Iowa 1960).
· cites it 7× “, provides: `* * * within twenty days after the publication (of the order fixing boundaries of the proposed school corporation) thereof the decision rendered by the county board of education may be appealed to a court of record in the county involved by any school district…”
Everding v. Bd. of Educ., 76 N.W.2d 205 (Iowa 1956).
· cites it 5× “with whom the petition is filed shall fix the time and place and call a joint meeting of the members of all the county boards of education of the counties in which any territory of the proposed school corporation lies, to act as a single board for the hearing of the said…”
Wall v. Cnty. Bd. of Educ. of Johnson Cnty., 86 N.W.2d 231 (Iowa 1957).
· cites it 4× “Section 275.15 contains the language that the action of the county board of education with reference to boundaries “shall be final” and that this “meant just what it said, the fixing of boundaries or dismissing the petition by county board was final and no appeal was provided…”
Archer v. Bd. of Educ., 104 N.W.2d 621 (Iowa 1960).
· cites it 6× “Section 275.15 provides for the county board to hear objections and that it “shall enter an order fixing such boundaries for the proposed school corporation as will in its judgment be for the best interests of all parties concerned, having due regard for the welfare of adjoining…”
Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 98 N.W.2d 737 (Iowa 1959).
· cites it 4× “Code section 275.15 is the statute which delegates the powers, fixes the duties and procedure of the county board of education upon review, and provides for appeals to the courts from its decisions.”
Bd. of Directors of Lewis Consol. Sch. Dist. v. Bd. of Educ., 97 N.W.2d 166 (Iowa 1959).
· cites it 6× “Does the trial court have jurisdiction or authority to approve the original petition as filed and fix the boundaries of a proposed school where, as here, the petition was dismissed by the joint boards? Section 275.15, where the proposed district embraces territory in one county…”
Armstrong-Ringsted Cmty. Sch. Dist. v. Lakeland Area Educ. Agency, 597 N.W.2d 776 (Iowa 1999).
· cites it 4× “the area education agency board shall review the matter on its merits and within ten days after the conclusion of any hearing, shall rule on the objections and shall enter an order fixing the boundaries for the proposed school corporation as will in its judgment be for the best…”
Appeal of Bd. of Directors of Grimes Ind. Sch. Dist., 131 N.W.2d 802 (Iowa 1964).
· cites it 4× “The cited case refers to organization of a school district entirely within one county under section 275.15 which provides for a decision by the county board of education and permits an appeal to a court of record in the county involved by any school district affected.”
Turnis v. Bd. of Educ. of Jones Cnty., 109 N.W.2d 198 (Iowa 1961).
· cites it 2× “t boards acting as a single board shall determine whether the petition conforms to county plans or, if the petition requests a change in county plans, whether such change should be made, and shall have the authority to change the plans of any or all the county boards affected by…”
Monroe Twp. Sch. Dist. v. Bd. of Educ., 98 N.W.2d 888 (Iowa 1959).
· cites it 2× “It seems inescapable that the court had jurisdiction to try the class of cases which includes the present one, section 275.15, Code of 1958, which provides: “* * * Within twenty days after the publication [of the order fixing boundaries of the proposed school corporation]…”
— Iowa Code § 275.15(3) — 1 case
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