(a)
Upon being so requested by the county board of education, the county committee on school district organization, by a two-thirds vote of the members, may either change the boundaries of any or all of the trustee areas of the county, or propose to increase or decrease the number of members of the county board of education, or both. The trustee areas shall be as nearly equal in population as may be, except that in establishing or changing the boundaries of the trustee areas the county committee may give consideration to the following factors:
(1)
Topography.
(2)
Geography.
(3)
Cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of territory.
(4)
Community of interests of the trustee areas.
In any event, the county committee shall ensure that trustee areas are as nearly equal in population as practicable.
(b)
Following each decennial federal census, and using population figures validated by the Population Research Unit of the Department of Finance as a basis, the county committee shall adjust the boundaries of any or all of the trustee areas of the county board of education as necessary to meet the population criteria set forth in subdivision (a).
(c)
Changes in trustee area boundaries or a proposed reduction in the number of county board of education members shall be made in writing and filed with the county board of supervisors not later than the first day of March of any school year.
(d)
In those counties in which the election of members of county boards of education are required to be held on the same date as prescribed for the election of members of governing boards of school districts, as provided in Section 1007, the county committees on school district organization shall fix the boundaries of trustee areas, insofar as possible, to coincide with the boundaries of school districts.
(e)
Whenever the boundaries of trustee areas are changed so as to be coterminous with those of supervisorial districts of the county, the election for members of the county board of education shall be consolidated with the countywide election.