Request By:
Mr. Ray VanHoose
Boyd County Court Clerk
P.O. Box 523
Catlettsburg, Kentucky 41129
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; Walter C. Herdman, Asst. Deputy Attorney General
This is in response to your letter of November 8 in which you request an opinion concerning the following:
"We have had several inquiries about a certain part of one of our precincts. Rice #2 precinct contains real estate in the county and real estate that has been annexed into the city limits. However, the two school systems have made an agreement that the children that live in this annexed area will be allowed to go to either school system. The question that we have had is whether or not the citizens in the annexed area should be allowed to vote on the city school board race."
Our response to your question would be in the negative which means that those citizens living in the annexed area of the city are not entitled to vote in the city school board race unless and until the area annexed is also annexed by the city school district, pursuant to KRS 160.045. Referring to the case of
Thomas v. Spragens, 308 Ky. 97, 213 S.W.2d 452 (1948), we find the court declaring that property in the county school district annexed by the city does not by operation of KRS 160.020 automatically become part of the city independent school district since it must be annexed by the city independent school district itself, pursuant to KRS 160.045, unless, of course, the districts are merged under the procedure outlined in KRS 160.041.
Thus, those persons residing in the recently annexed area of the city must nevertheless vote in the county school district in which they presently live irrespective of any agreement between the two school districts regarding which district the children of residents of the annexed area will be allowed to attend school.