Ohio Rev. Code » Chapter 3311
Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 3311.26 (2026)

New local school district may be created

✓ laws through the 2026 session (checked Sept. 2026)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section ORCcodes.ohio.gov (official) Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
Effective:
July 2, 2010
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 48 - 128th General Assembly
PDF:
Download Authenticated PDF
 

The state board of education may, by resolution adopted by majority vote of its full membership, propose the creation of a new local school district from one or more local school districts or parts thereof, including the creation of a local district with noncontiguous territory from one or more local school districts if one of those districts has entered into an agreement under section 3313.42 of the Revised Code. Such proposal shall include an accurate map showing the territory affected. After the adoption of the resolution, the state board shall file a copy of such proposal with the board of education of each school district whose boundaries would be altered by such proposal.

Upon the creation of a new district under this section, the state board shall at its next regular meeting that occurs not earlier than thirty days after the adoption by the state board of the resolution proposing such creation, adopt a resolution making the creation effective prior to the next succeeding first day of July, unless, prior to the expiration of such thirty-day period, qualified electors residing in the area included in such proposed new district, equal in number to thirty-five per cent of the qualified electors voting at the last general election, file a petition of referendum against the creation of the proposed new district.

A petition of referendum filed under this section shall be filed at the office of the state superintendent of public instruction. The person presenting the petition shall be given a receipt containing thereon the time of day, the date, and the purpose of the petition.

If a petition of referendum is filed, the state board shall, at the next regular meeting of the state board, certify the proposal to the board of elections for the purpose of having the proposal placed on the ballot at the next general or primary election which occurs not less than ninety days after the date of such certification, or at a special election, the date of which shall be specified in the certification, which date shall not be less than ninety days after the date of such certification.

Upon certification of a proposal to the board or boards of elections pursuant to this section, the board or boards of elections shall make the necessary arrangements for the submission of such question to the electors of the county or counties qualified to vote thereon, and the election shall be conducted and canvassed and the results shall be certified in the same manner as in regular elections for the election of members of a board of education.

The persons qualified to vote upon a proposal are the electors residing in the proposed new districts.

If the proposed district be approved by at least a majority of the electors voting on the proposal, the state board shall then create such new district prior to the next succeeding first day of July.

Upon the creation of such district, the indebtedness of each former district becoming in its entirety a part of the new district shall be assumed in full by the new district. Upon the creation of such district, that part of the net indebtedness of each former district becoming only in part a part of the new district shall be assumed by the new district which bears the same ratio to the entire net indebtedness of the former district as the assessed valuation of the part taken by the new district bears to the entire assessed valuation of the former district as fixed on the effective date of transfer. As used in this section, "net indebtedness" means the difference between the par value of the outstanding and unpaid bonds and notes of the school district and the amount held in the sinking fund and other indebtedness retirement funds for their redemption. Upon the creation of such district, the funds of each former district becoming in its entirety a part of the new district shall be paid over in full to the new district. Upon the creation of such district, the funds of each former district becoming only in part a part of the new district shall be divided equitably by the state board between the new district and that part of the former district not included in the new district as such funds existed on the effective date of the creation of the new district.

The state board shall, following the election, file with the county auditor of each county affected by the creation of a new district an accurate map showing the boundaries of such newly created district.

When a new local school district is so created, a board of education for such newly created district shall be appointed by the state board. The members of such appointed board of education shall hold their office until their successors are elected and qualified. A board of education shall be elected for such newly created district at the next general election held in an odd numbered year occurring more than ninety days after the appointment of the board of education of such newly created district. At such election two members shall be elected for a term of two years and three members shall be elected for a term of four years, and, thereafter, their successors shall be elected in the same manner and for the same terms as members of the board of education of a local school district.

When the new district consists of territory lying in two or more counties, the state board shall determine to which educational service center the new district shall be assigned.

The legal title of all property of the board of education in the territory taken shall become vested in the board of education of the newly created school district.

Foundation program moneys accruing to a district created under the provisions of this section or previous section 3311.26 of the Revised Code, shall not be less, in any year during the next succeeding three years following the creation, than the sum of the amounts received by the districts separately in the year in which the creation of the district became effective.

If, prior to September 26, 2003, a local school district board of education or a group of individuals requests the governing board of an educational service center to consider proposing the creation of a new local school district, the governing board, at any time during the one-year period following the date that request is made, may adopt a resolution proposing the creation of a new local school district in response to that request and in accordance with the first paragraph of the version of this section in effect prior to September 26, 2003. If the governing board so proposes within that one-year period, the governing board may proceed to create the new local school district as it proposed, in accordance with the version of this section in effect prior to September 26, 2003, subject to the provisions of that version authorizing a petition and referendum on the matter.

Consolidations of school districts which include all of the schools of a county and which become effective on or after July 1, 1959, shall be governed and included under this section.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 18 cases, 1954–2005 · leading case: Garfield Heights City Sch. Dist. v. State Bd. of Educ., 575 N.E.2d 503 (Ohio Ct. App. 10th Dist. 1990).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Garfield Heights City Sch. Dist. v. State Bd. of Educ., 575 N.E.2d 503 (Ohio Ct. App. 10th Dist. 1990). · cites it 2× “ory 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…”
Piekutowski v. South Cent. Ohio Educ. Serv. Ctr. Governing Bd., 161 Ohio App. 3d 372 (Ohio Ct. App. 4th Dist. 2005). · cites it 10× “{¶ 3} The board of education also argues that the trial court erred in concluding that the resolution was invalid because the map attached to the resolution was not “an accurate map of the territory affected” as required by R.C. 3311.26. Since we affirm the trial court’s…”
Adams Cnty./Ohio Valley Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. South Cent. Ohio Educ. Serv. Ctr. Governing Bd., 814 N.E.2d 1239 (Ohio Ct. App. 4th Dist. 2004). · cites it 14× “Specifically, the board of education argues that its lack of standing under the statute controlling the creation of a new local school district, R.C. 3311.26, does not preclude it from pursuing a claim for violation of R.”
Smith v. Bd. of Educ., 127 N.E.2d 623 (Ohio Ct. App. 1st Dist. 1954). · cites it 3× “The enabling act, under which the county board is proceeding is Section 4831-1, General Code *512 (Section 3311.26, Revised Code). This contention requires a critical analysis of its terms.”
State ex rel. Johnson v. Butler Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 152 N.E.2d 358 (Ohio Ct. App. 1st Dist. 1957). · cites it 2× “The relators contend that the board of education must disregard the remonstrance, because it was not filed within 30 days of the passage of the resolution to consolidate, as required by Section 3311.26, Bevised Code. The respondents allege and contend that the remonstrance was…”
Stilwell v. Bd. of Educ., 130 N.E.2d 857 (Ohio Ct. App. 1st Dist. 1955). · cites it 14× “It was alleged also that the consolidation would require levies of taxes beyond the constitutional power of the taxing districts and also that the statute (Section 3311.26, Revised Code) under which the defendants purported to act was unconstitutional and void.”
State ex rel. Erwin v. Bd. of Edn., 245 N.E.2d 730 (Ohio 1969). · cites it 13× “The respondents allege further that on March 16, 1967, respondent, the county board of education, duly adopted a resolution pursuant to authority granted to it by Section 3311.26, Revised Code, proposing the creation of a new local school district to be composed of three…”
Washington Local Sch. Dist. v. Budget Comm'n, 653 N.E.2d 1212 (Ohio 1995). “4736 (now R.C. 3311.26). See Kellenberger v. Ross Cty.”
State ex rel. Carmean v. Bd. of Educ., 176 N.E.2d 174 (Ohio Ct. App. 1959). · cites it 6× “is undisputed that on November 14, 1958, the respondent county board of education, acting under the authority of Section 3311.26, Revised Code (127 Ohio Laws, 204, 209), adopted a resolution proposing the creation of a new local school district to include the entire area…”
State ex rel. Bd. of Educ. v. Griffin, 161 Ohio St. (N.S.) 537 (Ohio 1954). · cites it 6× “Then, on October 29, 1953, under the provisions of Section 3311.26, Revised Code, the County Board of Education of Hamilton County passed a resolution abolishing the Crescentville, Evendale, Glendale, Runyan, Sharonville, Springdale, Stewart and Woodlawn local school districts…”
State ex rel. Carmean v. Bd. of Educ., 170 Ohio St. (N.S.) 415 (Ohio 1960). · cites it 5× “With full knowledge that these acts had been adopted and that conflicts might arise thereunder, the General Assembly inserted the word, “notwithstanding,” and by so doing clearly indicated its intent that proceedings under Section 3311.”
McKinney v. Brown, 285 N.E.2d 385 (Ohio Ct. App. 4th Dist. 1972). · cites it 4× “, on January 13, 1971, the Board of Education of Brown County School District, Brown County, Ohio, adopted a resolution, pursuant to Section 3311.26, Ohio Revised Code, proposing the creation of a new local school district to be composed of the Hamersville Local School District…”
Show all 18 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.