Section 1. TAXING POWER. All counties in this state having a population of not more than twenty-five thousand (25,000), nor less than twenty-four thousand (24,000), according to the last preceding Federal Census, and containing a valuation of Twenty-seven Million Five Hundred Thousand ($27,500,000.00) Dollars or more, are hereby created into county-wide equalization school districts, and each such county shall have the county unit system of education to the extent specified in this Act and may exercise the taxing power conferred on school districts by Article 7, Section 3 of the Constitution to the extent hereinafter provided; but such taxing power shall not be exercised until and unless authorized by a majority of the qualified property tax-paying voters residing therein at an election to be held for that purpose as hereinafter provided.

Sec. 2. MANAGEMENT; RATE OF EQUALIZATION TAX. The general management, supervision, and control of the public schools and of the educational interests of such counties shall be vested in the County Board of School Trustees, except as otherwise provided by law, and said Board shall perform such duties as are or may be required of it by existing law and by the provisions of this Act and shall constitute the Board of Trustees for such county-wide equalization district. Any such county-wide school equalization district may levy and collect annually on all taxable property in the county an equalization tax not to exceed Twenty-five (25) Cents on the One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars valuation of property situated in said county, and the money derived from said tax shall be known as an equalization fund for the support of the public schools of the county, which funds shall be distributed to the school districts of the county as provided herein.
Sec. 3. ELECTION. On the petition of as many as one hundred (100) legally qualified taxpaying voters of any county, subject to the provisions of this Act, praying for the authority to levy and collect said tax, the County Judge shall immediately order an election to be held throughout the county, said election to be held not more than thirty (30) days, nor less than twenty (20), from the date of such order. The County Judge shall give notice of such election by causing to be published a copy of the order of the election in some newspaper, published in the county once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks prior to the date of such election, the date of the first publication to be not less than twenty (20) days prior to the date fixed by the election. Only legally qualified property taxpaying voters who own property in the county and who have duly rendered the same for taxation shall be allowed to vote in said election. The form of ballot shall be substantially as follows: