SECTIONS 35555-35559 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 35555-35559

35555. The reorganization of any school district or districts shall
not affect the classification of certificated employees already
employed by any school district affected. Those employees have the
same status with respect to their classification by the district,
including time served as probationary employees of the district,
after the reorganization as they had prior to it. If the
reorganization results in the school or other place in which the
employee is employed being maintained by another district, the
employee, if a permanent employee of the district that formerly
maintained the school or other place of employment, shall be employed
as a permanent employee of the district which thereafter maintains
the school or other place of employment, unless the employee elects
prior to February 1 of the year in which the action will become
effective for all purposes to continue in the employ of the first
district.
If the employee is a probationary employee of the district which
formerly maintained the school or other place of employment, he or
she shall be employed by the district that thereafter maintains the
school or other place of employment, unless the probationary employee
is terminated by the district pursuant to Section 44929.21, 44948,
44948.3, 44949, or 44955, and, if not so terminated, his or her
status with respect to classification by the district shall be the
same as it would have been had the school or other place of
employment continued to be maintained by the district which formerly
maintained it. As used in this paragraph, "the school or other place
in which the employee is employed" and all references thereto,
includes, but is not limited to, the school services or school
program which, as a result of any reorganization of a school
district, will be provided by another district, regardless of whether
any particular building or buildings in which the schoolwork or
school program was conducted is physically located in the new
district and regardless of whether any new district resulting from
the reorganization elects to provide for the education of its pupils
by contracting with another school district until the new district
constructs its own facilities.

35556. (a) The reorganization of any school district, or districts,
shall not affect the rights of persons employed in positions not
requiring certification qualifications to retain the salary, leaves,
and other benefits which they would have had if the reorganization
had not occurred. These persons shall be treated in the manner
provided in this section.
(b) All employees of every school district that is included in any
other district, or all districts included in a new district, shall
become employees of the new district.
(c) (1) When a portion of the territory of any district becomes
part of another district, employees regularly assigned to perform
their duties in the territory affected shall become employees of the
acquiring district unless, in a manner consistent with relevant
provisions of this code and with any applicable collective bargaining
agreement, one of the following occurs:
(A) An employee elects to accept a vacant position, for which he
or she qualifies, that the first district elects to fill.
(B) An employee elects to fill, by exercise of his or her rights
of seniority under existing law or the collective bargaining
agreement with the first district, a position, for which he or she
qualifies, in the first district.
(C) An employee elects to have his or her name entered on a
reemployment list of the first district.
(2) Employees whose assignments pertained to the affected
territory, but whose employment situs was not in that territory, may
elect to remain with the original district or become employees of the
acquiring district.
(d) When the territory of any district is divided between, or
among, two or more districts and the original district ceases to
exist, employees of the original district regularly assigned to
perform their duties in any specific territory of the district shall
become employees of the district acquiring the territory. Employees
not assigned to specific territory within the original district shall
become employees of any acquiring district at the election of the
employees.
(e) An employee regularly assigned by the original district to any
school in the district shall be an employee of the district in which
the school is located unless that employee elects to continue in the
employ of the first district pursuant to subdivision (c).
(f) Except as otherwise provided in this section, nothing in this
section shall be construed to deprive the governing board of the
acquiring district from making reasonable reassignments of duties.
(g) The amendments to this section made during the 1999-2000
Regular Session of the Legislature shall apply only to school
district reorganizations commenced on or after January 1, 2000.

35557. (a) Notwithstanding Section 5000, whenever, in a district
that has been wholly absorbed into one or more other districts and
continues in existence as a district until the reorganization in
which it has been included is effective for all purposes and a
governing board member election is otherwise required to be held
prior to the effective date of the reorganization, no election shall
be held. Instead, the county superintendent of schools shall appoint
successors to the members whose terms expire on the first Friday in
December following the date upon which the election would otherwise
have been held. The appointees shall hold office until the
reorganization becomes effective for all purposes.
(b) Subdivision (a) shall apply to any school district governed by
a city board of education whenever the school district has been
included with other school district territory within a unification
effected pursuant to this chapter, where both of the following apply:
(1) The charter of the city involved requires an election of city
school district governing board members to be held prior to the date
the new unified district becomes effective for all purposes.
(2) The governing board of the new unified school district is
organized to be subject to the provisions of this code rather than
the provisions of the city charter.

35558. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 35105 and 5000, in the case of
a unified school district formed in an even-numbered year, where in
connection with the formation of which the first governing board was
elected in that even-numbered year, all of the members of the first
elected governing board shall serve until the first Friday in
December of the second succeeding odd-numbered year. Their successors
shall be elected at an election conducted on the first Tuesday after
the first Monday in November of the second succeeding odd-numbered
year. The majority of successors receiving the highest number of
votes shall serve until the first Friday in December of the second
odd-numbered year thereafter succeeding. The other members' terms
shall expire on the first Friday in December of the first
odd-numbered year thereafter succeeding.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the governing board of a
unified school district formed in an even-numbered year may provide,
pursuant to an appropriate resolution adopted by the governing board,
that the majority of the members of the governing board who received
the highest number of votes in the first election of governing board
members for the district shall serve until the first Friday in
December of the third odd-numbered year succeeding that first
election, and that the other members' terms shall expire on the first
Friday in December of the second odd-numbered year succeeding that
first election. The resolution described in this subdivision shall be
adopted on or before March 15 of the second odd-numbered year
succeeding the first election of the governing board.

35559. Notwithstanding Sections 35105 and 5000, when the first
elected board of any newly formed district is elected on the same
date that the election is held for adopting the proposal for the
formation of the new district and when the terms of several members
of the first governing board would expire prior to the date on which
the district becomes effective for all purposes, no election shall be
held in November of that odd-numbered year, but the several members
whose terms expire shall serve until April 30th of the next
succeeding even-numbered year. A governing board election shall be
held on the second Tuesday in April of that even-numbered year to
fill the offices of such members whose terms expire on April 30th
next succeeding the election. The terms of office of the members so
elected shall expire on the first Friday in December of the second
succeeding odd-numbered year. Their successors shall be elected
pursuant to Section 5000.