STATE OF MICHIGAN
SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
RONALD AND KRISTI LOONEY,
Appellants
v
CLIO AREA SCHOOLS AND
MONTROSE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS,
Appellees Property Transfer
FINAL DECISION AND ORDER
This matter is before me on review of a proposal for decision of Administrative Law Judge Eric J. Feldman (the ALJ) issued on November 20, 2019. The matter concerns a petition to transfer property owned by appellants Kristi and Ronald Looney from Clio Area Schools to Montrose Community Schools under MCL 380.951(1). Clio Area Schools opposes the transfer petition; Montrose Community Schools has taken no position on the petition.
Appellant Kristi Looney signed the transfer petition and filed it with Genesee Intermediate School District (the ISD) on August 5, 2019. Following a hearing on September 10, 2019, the ISD denied the petition because the property proposed for transfer is not contiguous to Montrose Community Schools. Appellants appealed to the superintendent of public instruction under MCL 380.971 on September 12, 2019, and the case was referred to the Michigan Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules for hearing.[1] On November 7, 2019, Clio Area Schools filed a motion for summary disposition under Mich Admin Code, R 792.10129(1)(c), arguing that appellants did not satisfy the jurisdictional requirements for transfer of property under MCL 380.951(1). Appellants filed no response to the motion. The recommendation of the ALJ is that summary disposition be entered in favor of Clio Area Schools for lack of jurisdiction over the petition because the subject property is not contiguous to Montrose Community Schools. Appellants were given the opportunity to file objections to the recommendation with the superintendent of public instruction by December 11, 2019, but they did not do so.
Based on the undisputed facts in the instant record, I find that the recommendation of the ALJ that I grant Clio Area Schools’ motion for summary disposition is supported by controlling law and precedent. The jurisdictional requirements for filing a request to transfer property from one school district to another under MCL 380.951(1) include the requirement that the property proposed for transfer be contiguous to what would be the receiving district. It is not disputed that the Looney property is not contiguous to Montrose Community Schools. (Exhibit D attached to brief in support of Clio Area Schools’ motion for summary disposition for lack of jurisdiction). The failure to satisfy the statutory contiguity requirement compels the entry of summary disposition in favor of Clio Area Schools. Myers Property Transfer C-2722; Knipe Property Transfer C-2528; Fetzner Property Transfer C-2005.
In addition, MCL 380.951(1) requires that a transfer petition such as the one filed in this case be signed by not less than 2/3 of the persons who own and reside on the property. Appellants have not disputed that they are the resident owners of the subject property. See Exhibit E attached to the brief in support of Clio Area Schools’ motion for summary disposition for lack of jurisdiction. The absence of Mr. Looney’s signature on the transfer petition provides an independent basis for entry of summary disposition in favor of Clio Area Schools. Herp Property Transfer C-2125 (if a wife and husband are the joint owners of a single parcel proposed for transfer and if both reside on the parcel, both must sign the transfer petition); Neff Property Transfer C-2766.
For these reasons, I agree with the recommendation of the ALJ and I order entry of summary disposition in favor of Clio Area Schools and dismissal of Kristi Looney’s petition.
ORDER
It is therefore ordered that:
1. The motion for summary disposition in favor of Clio Area Schools for lack of jurisdiction is granted.
2. The petition for transfer of property from Clio Area Schools to Montrose Community Schools is dismissed.
____________________________________
Michael F. Rice, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Public Instruction
DATED: January 8, 2020
[1] The responsibilities of the State Board of Education in property transfer matters were transferred to the superintendent of public instruction by Executive Reorganization Order No. 1996-7, MCL 388.994(1)(aa).