A. A technical and vocational institute district may be expanded by either the procedure in Subsections B, C and D of this section or the procedure in Subsections E and F of this section.

B. The qualified voters of a school district, portion of a school district, group of school districts within a county containing a technical and vocational institute district or in an adjoining county, not included in the technical and vocational institute district as originally formed, may petition the public education department to be added to the technical and vocational institute district. The department shall examine the petition, and if it finds that the petition is signed by a number of qualified voters residing within the pertinent school district or portion of a school district equal to ten percent of the votes cast for governor in such school district or portion of such school district in the last preceding general election, the department shall cause a survey to be made of the petitioning district or districts to determine the desirability of the proposed expansion of the technical and vocational institute district.

C. In conducting the survey, the public education department, in conjunction with the higher education department, shall ascertain the attitude of the technical and vocational institute board and collect other information it deems necessary. If, on the basis of the survey, the public education department finds that the proposed addition of the petitioning area will promote an improved education service in the area, it shall approve the petition. The secretary of public education shall proceed to issue a proclamation and call an election pursuant to the provisions of the Local Election Act [Chapter 1, Article 22 NMSA 1978] within the petitioning area and in the established technical and vocational institute district on the question of the inclusion of the petitioning area in the institute district.

D. If a majority of the votes cast in the petitioning area and a majority of the votes cast within the established institute district are in favor of the addition of the area, the public education department shall notify the local school board of each affected school district and the technical and vocational institute board of the results of the election and shall declare the extension of the boundaries of the institute district to include the petitioning area in which the proposed addition referendum carried by a majority vote.

E. If a technical and vocational institute district includes less than all of a school district, the institute board, by resolution of a majority of the members of the board, may call an election within the institute district and in the portion of the school district that is not included in the institute district on the question of the addition of the excluded portion of the school district to the established institute district. Such election shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Local Election Act.

F. If a majority of the votes cast in the institute district and the portion of the school district that is outside the institute district are in favor of the addition of the excluded portion of the school district to the institute district, the board of the institute district shall declare the institute district to be expanded to include all of such school district.

G. Each area added to an existing technical and vocational institute district shall automatically be subject to any special levy on taxable property approved for the institute district for the maintenance of facilities and services and for support of bond issues.

History: 1953 Comp., § 73-34-11, enacted by Laws 1963, ch. 108, § 11; 1999, ch. 219, § 17; 2005, ch. 47, § 1; 2018, ch. 79, § 85.

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, provided that an election on the question of adding a school district to an existing technical and vocational institute district shall be called by the secretary of public education, and conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Local Election Act, and made technical and conforming changes; in Subsection C, after "survey, the", added "public education", after "conjunction with the", deleted "commission on", after "higher education", added "department", after "survey, the", added "public education", after "shall proceed to", added "issue a proclamation and", and after "call an election", added "pursuant to the provisions of the Local Election Act"; in Subsection D, after "of the area, the", added "public education"; and in Subsection E, deleted "Except where specific provision is otherwise provided by law", after "conducted pursuant to the provisions of the", deleted "School Election Law with the president of the institute district serving in the place of the superintendent of schools in every case; provided that:" and added "Local Election Act", and deleted former Paragraphs E(1) through E(3).

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2018, ch. 79, § 174 provided that references in law to the Municipal Election Code and to the School Election Law shall be deemed to be references to the Local Election Act.

The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, provided two procedures for expanding the boundaries of a technical and vocational institute district by providing that qualified voters may petition for the addition of a school district, portion of a school district or group of school districts to a technical and vocational institute district and that an election be held in petitioning area and the technical and vocational institute district on the addition of the petitioning area to the technical and vocational institute district and by providing that if a technical and vocational institute district includes less than all of a school district, the institute board may call an election to be held pursuant to the School Election Law in the technical and vocational institute district and in the portion of the school district not included in the technical and vocational institute district on the addition of the area to the technical and vocational institute district.

The 1999 amendment, effective July 1, 1999, inserted "of education" following "state board" in four places; made a statutory reference substitution in the second sentence of Subsection A and in the first sentence of Subsection B; in Subsection A, inserted "technical and vocational" in the first sentence; in Subsection B, inserted "in conjunction with the commission on higher education" in the first sentence and inserted "or districts" in two places; and, in Subsection C, substituted "local school board of" for "boards of education within" near the middle.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references.— 68 Am. Jur. 2d Schools §§ 29 to 43.

Unionization, centralization or consolidation of school districts as affecting indebtedness and property of the individual districts, 121 A.L.R. 826.

78 C.J.S. Schools and School Districts § 18 et seq.