Oregon Advisory Opinions March 26, 1962: OAG 62-36 (March 26, 1962)
Collection: Oregon Attorney General Opinions
Docket: OAG 62-36
Date: March 26, 1962
Advisory Opinion Text
OAG 62-36.
Superintendent of Public Instruction
You ask our opinion on a problem submitted to you by the County School Superintendent of Coos County which concerns the procedure to be followed in an election on the question of withdrawal of territory from an area education district. From your letter it appears that an election was held in the South Western Oregon Area Education District to determine whether or not the territory known as the Port Orford-Langlois School District 2CJ should be withdrawn from the area education district. Reference was made to ORS 341.830 (2) and your question is:
"* * * is the total vote of the entire district counted including that of the petitioning Port Orford area, to determine whether or not the 'legal voters of the area education district' voted in favor of or against the petition of the petitioning area?"
ORS 341.830 prescribes the procedure for withdrawal of territory from an
area education district and states in part:
"(2) If at the election a majority of the votes cast by the legal voters of the area education district and of the legal voters of the petitioning territory favor boundary change by withdrawal of the territory from the area education district, the area education district board shall make the required change." (Emphasis supplied)
In our opinion the language of the foregoing section is unambiguous and requires (1) a computation of the votes cast by the "legal voters of the area education district" and (2) a computation of the votes cast by the legal voters of the petitioning territory. Since the Port Orford area was a part of the area education district at the time of the election, the voters therein were authorized to vote and their votes should be counted in determining whether or not a majority of the votes were cast in the entire area education district.
Similar language is contained in the union high school district law prescribing the procedure in elections to withdraw territory from such districts. See ORS 335.344 (2) and 335.346 (4), both repealed by chapter 522, Oregon Laws 1961. However, we find no prior opinions of this office interpreting these provisions.
In response to your inquiry, it is our opinion that the question presented must be answered in the affirmative.