1. When the voters in any two or more adjacent districts without limitation as to size or enrollment desire to consolidate and form a new district, a petition asking for an election upon the question of consolidation shall be filed with the boards of education of the affected districts; provided, however, that such petition shall be signed by ten percent of those in each district who voted for school directors at the last election in which such directors were elected, or one hundred voters, whichever is the higher number.

2. As an alternative to the procedure in subsection 1 of this section, two or more adjacent districts may, by a majority vote of each board of education, call for an election upon the question of consolidation.

3. The question shall be submitted in substantially the following form:

Shall the ______ school district and the ______ school district (and the ______ school district) form a new district with a tax rate ceiling of ______ per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation? If this proposition is approved, the adjusted operating levy of the new school district is estimated to be ______ (amount) per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation.

4. The board of directors of each affected district shall cause the question to be included on the ballot to be submitted to the voters in each such district at the next election day. A plat of the proposed new district shall be published and posted with the notices of election.

5. The results of the voting on the proposal in each district affected shall be certified to the state commissioner of education by the secretary of each board of education of each district or by such other person or body charged with conducting such elections and, should the majority of the votes cast in each affected district be in favor of the proposal, the state commissioner shall declare the new district formed as of July first following the submission of the question.

6. If the commissioner of education declares, before the closing date for filing for the election of board members on the municipal election date, that the new district is to be formed as of July first, no candidates shall be certified by the districts involved in the consolidation and the board members whose terms would otherwise have expired on that date shall remain as board members until July first. In consolidation cases where there is insufficient time from the date the commissioner of education declares that the new district shall be formed as of July first and July first to hold an election of board members, seven board members from the boards of the consolidating districts shall be drawn by lot to serve until the next election at which the new board of education can be elected. The number of board members selected from one district shall not exceed the quotient resulting from seven divided by the number of districts consolidating rounded down to the nearest whole number plus one. The commissioner of education or a designee shall supervise the drawing, by lot, of the board members which shall be approved by the state board of education.