FILE:  DFD

Cf:  DE, DFA

TAX AND BOND ELECTIONS AND SALES

TAX AND BOND ELECTIONS

The Sabine Parish School Board may call elections for the public to vote on tax or bond issues.  Every bond, tax, or other election at which a proposition or question is to be submitted to the voters shall be held only on one of the dates set forth by state law or upon proper application to and approval of the State Bond Commission on a date not provided by statute.  The proposition placed on the ballot submitted to the voters in any bond election shall state the kinds and sources of revenues which shall be pledged to retire the bonds, should the proposition be successful.

PUBLIC NOTICE OF SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

Public notice of the date, time, and place of any meeting at which the School Board intends to propose, increase, or renew any ad valorem property tax or sales and use tax, and authorize the calling of an election for submittal of such question to the voters shall be both published in the official journal of the School Board no more than sixty (60) days nor less than twenty (20) days before such public meeting and shall be announced to the public during the course of a public meeting no more than sixty (60) days nor less than twenty (20) days before such public meeting; and notice of such meeting shall be written and hand delivered or transmitted by email to each voting member of any governing authority of a political subdivision that is required to approve such a measure previously adopted by another governing authority and to each state senator and representative in whose district all or a portion of the political subdivision is located, no more than sixty (60) days nor less than twenty (20) days before such public meeting.  Email delivery shall be made to the official email address of such voting members or legislators and to any other address provided in writing to the School Board by such a voting member or legislator.

If at a meeting held in accordance with above provisions, the School Board adopts such a measure, the provisions shall not apply to a subsequent meeting if the only action taken at the subsequent meeting is one which results in a change to the previously adopted measure that reduces the rate or term of the tax in the measure and thereby reduces the total amount of tax that would be collected under the measure, or substantially reduces the cost to the School Board of any bond or debt obligation to be incurred by the School Board.

If such a meeting is postponed or cancelled, notice of any subsequent meeting to consider such proposal shall be published in the School Board’s official journal no less than ten (10) days before the subsequent meeting.

If consideration of or action upon the tax proposal is postponed at the scheduled meeting, or if no action was taken regarding the tax proposal, then any subsequent meeting to consider the tax proposal shall be subject to the provisions of paragraph one of this section of policy.

NOTICE OF ELECTION

Whenever the School Board approves a resolution calling on the public to approve any tax or bonding revenue issue, the School Board is required to provide public notice.  The notice shall be published once a week for four (4) consecutive weeks in the official journal of the School Board, or, if there is none, then in a newspaper of general circulation in the parish or, if there is no newspaper of general circulation in the parish, then in a newspaper of general circulation in an adjoining parish.  The notice to the public shall include substantially all matters contained in the resolution calling for the tax or bond election, as enumerated in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §18:1285.

CANVASS OF ELECTION

On the date and at the hour and place specified in the notice of election, the School Board, in public session, shall examine and canvass the returns and declare the result of the elections.  The result shall be promulgated by one publication in the official journal of the School Board, and shall include a statement of the actual cost of the election.

SALE OF BONDS

After an election authorizing the School Board issuance of bonds, the School Board may proceed to issue the bonds within the parameters approved by the electors.  The School Board shall have the authority to adopt all procedures necessary for the authorization, sale, and delivery of bonds, including the right to enter into all contractual arrangements as may be necessary to effectuate the purpose for which the bonds are being issued under terms determined by the School Board.

Bonds issued may be sold at a public or private sale upon such terms, in the manner and by following such procedures as may be determined by the School Board.  No bond issued shall be required to be registered with the secretary of state or any other office or official.

No School District shall issue General Obligation Bonds in excess of the permitted statutory debt limitation and no School Sales Tax District shall issue bonds, the debt service of which exceeds 75% of its anticipated sales tax revenues for the calendar year in which such bonds are issued.

Recognizing that School Sales Tax District No. 2 of the School Board overlaps several underlying School Districts and levies and collects a ½% sales tax, the proceeds of which are allocated among such underlying School Districts on a student per capita basis, the School Board shall not approve the issuance of any bonds in the name of School Sales Tax District No. 2 for the benefit of any underlying School District if the annual debt service on such bonds exceeds 85% of such underlying School District's allocation of the revenues of said sales tax.

Ref:    Constitution of Louisiana, Art. VI, Sec. 30, Sec. 33

La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§18:1281, 18:1282, 18:1283, 18:1284, 18:1285, 18:1286, 18:1293, 39:503, 39:505, 39:521, 39:570, 39:1421, 39:1422, 39:1423, 39:1424, 39:1424.1, 39:1425, 39:1426, 39:1427, 39:1428, 39:1429, 42:19.1, 43:141

Board minutes, 7-11-11, 11-4-13, 2-9-15, 6-10-19, 3-9-20

Sabine Parish School Board