Property owners in the old Freeborn school district, currently a part of United South Central, are getting restless. They want to get out of USC before the district holds another referendum.

And according to state law, there is a way &045; though it won’t be easy. The process the law sets out is also rare, and those present could not come up with any examples where it had been done.

Rep. Dan Dorman, R-Albert Lea, organized an informational meeting about the issue at the Freeborn County Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon. Present were more than 30 property owners from the Freeborn area, school officials from USC and Albert Lea, and county officials, including Dennis Distad, county auditor.

The main reason the residents want out, people made clear at the meeting, was the possibility of

another referendum in USC to pay for school buildings. Most of the kids in the Freeborn area already attend school in NRHEG, Albert Lea or Alden-Conger.

But geography is also an important reason for wanting to make some changes to district boundaries.

Bill Goette, a spokesman for the group and former school board member for the old Freeborn School District, said that three school buses go past his place each school day: from USC, Alden-Conger and NRHEG. A bus from the Albert Lea school district also picks up some kids in that area.

A look at the map provides the clearest evidence as to why this is so. Geographically, the town of Freeborn sits closer to schools in all three of the other districts than it does to schools in USC. Parents are choosing the convenience of schools located closer to home, said one participant.

Dorman became involved in the discussions when area residents called asking what sort of rules governed moving district boundaries. He told the group that the state allows property owners to &uot;detach&uot; their property from one school district and &uot;attach&uot; that property to another district.

&uot;The process may or may not be doable for you, but you are at least entitled to know what the law says,&uot; Dorman said.

&uot;It’s relatively simple, but it can also become controversial,&uot; he said.

What can make it more complicated are the conditions attached to the switch.

First, the property in question must be touching the boundary of the district to which they want to attach. If a group of landowners is petitioning together, only one needs to be touching, though, Distad said.

Second, any existing referendum assessments currently being paid would still need to be paid, Dorman said. According to the statute, the property owners would also have to start paying any levies or referendum assessments in the district to which they have joined themselves.

And third, the school district that would be losing land in the switch must give their permission. The county commissioners would also need to vote on the boundary change in order to make it legally binding, but opposition at that point is probably unlikely, Dorman suggested.

People have the option of petitioning separately, or altogether as a group, with others who want to move into the same new district.

The first step would be to talk to the USC district, said both Distad and Dorman. Without their permission, nothing can happen.

Although he said he couldn’t speak for the USC superintendent or the board, Rick Herman, an elementary school principal from USC present at the meeting, said he thought the school board there would probably need time to set up a study session before they would be able to make any decisions about how to respond to a petition.

As the meeting ended, most of those present signed up to begin the petition process, with people indicating which district they would like to be attached to. Goette and other organizers of the process will probably hold another meeting in May.