1. The board of education shall have general and supervising control, government and management of the public schools and public school property of the district in the city and shall exercise generally all powers in the administration of the public school system therein. The board of education has all the powers of other school districts under the laws of this state except as herein provided and shall perform all duties required by general laws of school districts so far as they are applicable to the public school affairs of the city and are consistent with this law. It shall appoint the officers, agents and employees it deems necessary and proper and fix their compensation. The board of education may:

(1) Make, amend and repeal rules and bylaws for its meetings and proceedings, for the government, regulation and management of the public schools and school property in the city, for the transaction of its business, and the examination, qualification and employment of teachers, which rules and bylaws are binding on the board of education and all parties dealing with it until formally repealed;

(2) Fix the time of its meetings;

(3) Provide for special and standing committees;

(4) Levy taxes authorized by law for school purposes;

(5) Invest the funds of the district;

(6) Purchase and hold all property, real and personal, deemed by it necessary for the purposes of public education;

(7) Build and construct improvements for such purposes, and sell the same;

(8) Provide for the gratuitous transportation of pupils to and from schools in cases where by reason of special circumstances pupils are required to attend schools at unusual distances from their residences.

2. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the powers granted in subsection 1 of this section shall be vested, in the manner provided in section 162.1100, in the special administrative board of the transitional school district containing the city not within a county if the school district loses its accreditation from the state board of education. Thereafter, such powers shall immediately revert to the board of directors of the school district for any period of time for which no transitional school district containing the city not within a county is in existence. The board of directors of the school district shall, at all times, retain auditing and public reporting powers.