MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2014 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Senator(s) Tollison
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 1, CHAPTER 572, LAWS OF 2013, AND SECTION 37-7-104.3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STARKVILLE-OKTIBBEHA CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT, TO PRESCRIBE THE POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CONSERVATOR OF THE OKTIBBEHA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, TO CLARIFY THE PROCEDURE FOR THE SELECTION OF THE NEW STARKVILLE-OKTIBBEHA CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES, TO AUTHORIZE AND DIRECT THE CONSERVATOR OF THE OKTIBBEHA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT TO ISSUE SHORT-TERM NOTES TO FUND INITIAL REPAIRS AND IMPROVEMENTS TO CERTAIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND INCREASE CAPACITY FOR THE CONSOLIDATION, TO AUTHORIZE AND DIRECT THE CONSERVATOR OF THE OKTIBBEHA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT TO ISSUE SCHOOL BONDS TO UPGRADE CERTAIN COUNTY SCHOOL FACILITIES SUBJECT TO A REVERSE REFERENDUM ON THE BOND ISSUE, TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE STARKVILLE-OKTIBBEHA CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT TO ISSUE SCHOOL BONDS IN THE NEW DISTRICT ON A REVERSE REFERENDUM BASIS AND TO INCREASE THE DEBT LIMIT CAP ON ASSESSED VALUATION FOR SUCH BONDS, TO CLARIFY THAT THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS SHALL PROVIDE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES FOR THE NEW STARKVILLE-OKTIBBEHA CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-59-7, 37-59-23 AND 37-59-107, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 1, Chapter 572, Laws of 2013, is amended as follows:
Section 1. (1) The Conservator of the Oktibbeha County School District shall fully cooperate and accommodate any and all requests from the Starkville School District regarding the transition to the new Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, which shall include, but is not limited to, planning and assignment of: (a) school grades, (b) school programs, (c) repairs and renovations to school facilities, (d) school services, (e) school operations, (f) school staffing, and (g) alignment of curriculum.
( * * *2) There is hereby created and
established an advisory council to be known as the Commission on Starkville
Consolidated School District Structure. It shall be the responsibility of the
Commission on Starkville Consolidated School District Structure to review the
current structure of the school districts and schools in Starkville,
Mississippi, and in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, and make recommendations on
future actions of the provision and transition of service of the newly
consolidated school district in order to improve both the quality of education
and the efficiency with which it is delivered. The commission shall not decide
the issue of whether or not the districts shall be consolidated. The
commission shall be composed of seven (7) members as follows:
(a) The State Superintendent of Education, or his designee, who shall serve as Chairman of the Commission;
(b) Three (3) representatives of the Starkville School District appointed by the Board of Trustees of the Starkville School District and who may be members of the board or the Superintendent of Schools;
(c) One (1) resident of the former Oktibbeha County School District to be appointed by the State Superintendent of Education;
(d) The Conservator for the Oktibbeha County School District appointed by the State Board of Education; and
(e) One (1) representative of Mississippi State University appointed by the President of Mississippi State University.
(3) The Commission on Starkville Consolidated School District Structure shall meet within thirty (30) days of passage of this act upon the call of the State Superintendent of Education and shall hold hearings and meet as necessary and develop a report to the Legislature, the Governor and the State Board of Education on or before March 1, 2014, with recommendations to accomplish the following:
(a) Review the current structure of school districts and the location of schools in Starkville, Mississippi, and Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, and recommend how they can be consolidated into one (1) school district in order to improve both the quality of education and the efficiency at which it is delivered.
(b) Review the capital facility needs of both school districts and recommend methods of financing necessary improvements, including the possibility of pledging Mississippi Adequate Education Program funds for capital improvement purposes.
(c) Detail in the report how best to implement consolidation and make any other recommendations on how to maximize education quality in Starkville and Oktibbeha County while eliminating duplicative and wasteful administrative spending.
(d) The commission shall also be authorized to recommend that portions of the Oktibbeha County School District be merged into districts in adjoining counties.
The commission shall have the authority to raise and to expend nonstate funds. The State Department of Education shall provide staff and such other support as the commission deems appropriate. After submitting its report on or before March 1, 2014, the commission shall be dissolved.
SECTION 2. Section 37-7-104.3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-104.3. (1) In Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, in which are located, as of January 1, 2013, two (2) school districts, there shall be an administrative consolidation of all of those school districts in the county into one (1) new countywide municipal separate school district to be designated as Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District which shall consist of the territory of the former Oktibbeha County School District and the Starkville School District, effective on July 1, 2015. Until June 30, 2015, preceding the effective date of the required administrative consolidation of school districts in the county, the Oktibbeha County School District shall remain in conservatorship, under the authority and control of the Mississippi Recovery School District of the State Department of Education. At such time that the administrative consolidation becomes effective, the central administrative office of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District shall be located in Starkville, Mississippi.
(2) (a) On or before July 1, 2014, the State Board of Education shall serve the local school board of the Starkville School District with notice and instructions regarding the timetable for action to be taken to comply with the administrative consolidation required in this section.
(b) In the new
consolidated school district there shall be a countywide municipal separate
school district board of trustees, which shall consist of the existing members
of the Board of Trustees of the Starkville School District * * *. However,
upon the first occurrence of a vacancy on the board as a result of an expired
term of an appointed board member, that vacancy shall become an elected
position and shall be filled by the election of a board member * * * as follows:
the 2016 expiring term board member shall remain in office until January 1,
2017. In November 2016, an election will be held for a board member who
resides outside of the incorporated municipal limits in the manner prescribed
in Section 37-7-203, and the elected board member will take office for a five-year
term beginning January 1, 2017. Subsequent board members shall be selected in
the manner prescribed in Section 37-7-203. The Board of Supervisors of
Oktibbeha County shall * * * publish * * * notice of the school board
elections in some newspaper of general circulation in the county for at
least three (3) consecutive weeks * * *.
(c) Any school district affected by the required administrative consolidation in the county that does not voluntarily consolidate as ordered by the State Board of Education shall be administratively consolidated by the State Board of Education, to be effective immediately upon action of the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall promptly move on its own motion to administratively consolidate a school district which does not voluntarily consolidate in order to enable the affected school districts to reasonably accomplish the resulting administrative consolidation into one (1) consolidated school district by July 1 following the motion to consolidate. The affected school districts shall comply with any consolidation order issued by the State Board of Education.
(3) On July 1, 2015,
following the motion of State Board of Education to consolidate school
districts in Oktibbeha County, the Oktibbeha County School District shall be
abolished. All real and personal property which is owned or titled in the name
of the school district located in such former school district shall be
transferred to the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District as
of July 1, 2015. The Conservator of the Oktibbeha County School District is
authorized and directed to execute and record all documents and conveyances
necessary to convey title to all real and personal property of the Oktibbeha
County School District to the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School
District. The conservator is further authorized and directed to sign all
documents and to take all actions necessary to assign contracts and other
property, contract rights and obligations of the Oktibbeha County School
District to the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. The
Board of Trustees of the Starkville * * * School District shall be
responsible for establishing the contracts for operations, teachers,
principals, clerical and administrative staff personnel for the 2015-2016
school year * * * prior to July 1, 2015, and shall consult with the
conservator for the establishment of contracts for teachers, principals,
clerical and administrative staff personnel located in the former Oktibbeha
County School District for the 2015-2016 school year. In order to prepare
for the efficient staffing of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School
District, the Conservator of the Oktibbeha County School District and the
Superintendent of the Starkville School District shall have full authority to
nonrenew the employment contract of any teacher, principal, clerical or
administrative staff located within their respective school districts for the
2015-2016 school year. The superintendent and assistant superintendent(s)
of schools of the former Starkville School District shall continue to serve in
like administrative capacities of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated
School District, but in no instance shall the administrative leadership of the
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District exceed three (3)
assistant superintendents to be appointed by the superintendent of the former
Starkville School District. No superintendent serving in the former Oktibbeha
County School District * * * shall be eligible
for appointment as a superintendent or assistant superintendent in the
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. Likewise, no trustee
serving in the former Oktibbeha County School District * * * shall be eligible
for election to the new Board of Trustees of the Starkville-Oktibbeha
Consolidated School District. It shall be the responsibility of the board of
trustees to prepare and approve the budget of the respective new reorganized
district, and the board of trustees may use staff from the former school
district to prepare the budget. Any * * * transfer of the assets, real or personal property of * * * the
Oktibbeha County School District mandated by this section shall be final
and conclusive for the purposes of the transfer of property required by * * * this section to effectuate the
administrative consolidation.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the closing of any school or school facility, unless the facility is an unneeded administrative office located within a school district which has been abolished under the provisions of this section. All administrative consolidations under this section shall be accomplished so as not to delay or in any manner negatively affect the desegregation of another school district in the county pursuant to court order.
(5) The State Board of
Education shall promulgate rules and regulations to facilitate the
administrative consolidation of the school districts in Oktibbeha County
pursuant to the requirements of this section. Beginning with the
insurance cafeteria plan year of November 1, 2014, the consolidated
districts shall * * * fall
under all insurance plans and policies elected by the Starkville Public School
District, including the group term life insurance described in Section 25-15-9(7).
(6) For the initial three
(3) years following the administrative consolidation required by this section,
the State Department of Education shall grant a waiver of accountability and
state assessment requirements to the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated
School District * * *, subject
to the approval of the State Board of Education.
* * *
(7) As soon as practicable after passage of this act, the Conservator of the Oktibbeha County School District shall initiate the issuance of notes or certificates of indebtedness of the Oktibbeha County School District for the purpose of purchasing school buses, textbooks, computers and software and other equipment and fixtures for school facilities, and for any purposes enumerated in Section 37-59-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, and making repairs, alterations, utility upgrades and additions to two (2) elementary school buildings located in the Oktibbeha County School District in order to meet the same physical and educational standards as the elementary school buildings in Starkville, and to contribute funds to the Starkville School District for capital improvements to accommodate county school district students and increase capacity for the consolidation. The contribution of such funds to the Starkville School District is hereby authorized. Said notes or certificates of indebtedness shall be issued under the authority of Sections 37-59-101 through 37-59-115, Mississippi Code of 1972, including all notice requirements, however, the resolution as to the necessity for the issuance of the notes and the execution of the documents shall be made by the Conservator of the Oktibbeha County School District. The term of any notes or certificates of indebtedness issued under this section may not exceed the useful life of the financed project as determined according to the upper limit of useful life and depreciation guidelines established under the United States Internal Revenue Code and regulations. The levying authority for the Oktibbeha County School District, and after July 1, 2015, the levying authority for the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, shall annually levy a special tax on all taxable property of the former Oktibbeha County School District in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on such negotiable notes or certificates of indebtedness as the same shall respectively mature and accrue. Said tax shall be levied as provided in Section 37-59-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, except that the levy shall not exceed three (3) mills on the dollar for the payment of all notes that are subject to the levy under Section 37-59-107. Any notes or certificates of indebtedness issued pursuant to this subsection (7) shall become indebtedness of the new Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District from and after July 1, 2015, and the mandatory special ad valorem tax levied to pay the notes or certificates of indebtedness by the levying authority pursuant to Section 37-59-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be levied upon all of the taxable property within the former Oktibbeha County School District.
(8) For a period beginning July 1, 2014, and ending June 30, 2015, the Conservator of the Oktibbeha County School District shall issue negotiable bonds of the Oktibbeha County School District for the purpose of purchasing school buses, textbooks, computers and software and other equipment and fixtures for school facilities, and making repairs, alterations and additions and utility upgrades, and for any purposes allowed by Section 37-59-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, to school facilities in the Oktibbeha County School District and in the Starkville School District to accommodate students in the former Oktibbeha County School District who will be attending school in the new Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District and the increased capacity needs under the consolidation. Said bonds shall be issued under the authority of Sections 37-59-1 through 37-59-45, however, the resolution as to the necessity for the issuance of the bonds and execution of the documents may be made by the Conservator of the Oktibbeha County School District. Provided further, that the conservator shall publish notice of the issuance of the bonds once each week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the Oktibbeha County School District, with the first publication thereof to be made not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the date upon which the conservator is to take final action upon the question of authorizing the issuance of said bonds. If no petition requesting an election is filed prior to the date on which the conservator is to take final action on the issuance of the bonds, then the conservator shall authorize the issuance of the bonds. If at any time prior to the date on which the conservator takes final action upon the question of issuing such bonds a petition signed by not less than twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the Oktibbeha County School District shall be filed with the Conservator of the Oktibbeha County School District requesting that an election be called on the question of issuing the bonds, then the conservator shall either rescind the resolution of intent or adopt a resolution calling an election to be held within the territory of the Oktibbeha County School District upon such question. The election shall be called and held, and notice thereof shall be given, in the same manner for elections upon the question of bond issues under Sections 37-59-13, 37-59-15 and 37-59-17, and the results thereof shall be certified by the Oktibbeha County Election Commission to the Conservator of the Oktibbeha County School District. If three-fifths (3/5) of the qualified electors who voted in such election vote in favor of the issuance of such bonds, then the conservator shall authorize the Oktibbeha County School District to issue such bonds. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the Oktibbeha County School District may issue bonds pursuant to this subsection (8) in an amount which, when added to all of the Oktibbeha County School District's then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall not result in the imposition on any of the property in said district of an indebtedness for school purposes of more than twenty percent (20%) of the assessed value of the taxable property within said district, according to the then last completed assessment for taxation. Any bonds issued pursuant to this subsection (8) shall become indebtedness of the new Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District from and after July 1, 2015, and the mandatory special ad valorem tax to be levied by the levying authority pursuant to Section 37-59-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, to pay the bonds shall be levied only upon the taxable real property that was within the former Oktibbeha County School District. The tax for the bonds may not be imposed on the real property within the former Starkville School District.
(9) For a period beginning July 1, 2015, and ending July 1, 2024, the new Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees may issue negotiable bonds of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District for the purpose of purchasing school buses, textbooks, computers and software and other equipment and fixtures for school facilities and for any purposes enumerated in Section 37-59-3, Mississippi Code of 1972. The term of any such bonds may not exceed the useful life of the financed project as determined according to the upper limit of useful life and depreciation guidelines established under the United States Internal Revenue Code and regulations. Said bonds shall be issued under the authority of Sections 37-59-1 through 37-59-45, including all notice and publication requirements, however, the necessity for the issuance of the bonds shall be made pursuant to a reverse referendum procedure to be followed by the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees as follows: the board of trustees shall publish notice of the issuance of the bonds once each week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, with the first publication thereof to be made not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the date on which the board of trustees is to take final action authorizing the issuance of the bonds. If no petition requesting an election is filed prior to the date on which the board of trustees is to take final action on the issuance of the bonds, the board of trustees shall authorize the issuance of the bonds. If at any time prior to the date on which the board of trustees is to take final action authorizing the issuance of the bonds a petition signed by not less than twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District shall be filed with the Board of Trustees of Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District requesting that an election be called on the question of issuing the bonds, then the board of trustees shall, not later than its next regular meeting, adopt a resolution calling an election to be held within the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District upon such question. The election shall be called and held, and notice thereof shall be given, in the same manner for elections upon the question of bond issues under Sections 37-59-13, 37-59-15 and 37-59-17, and the results there shall be certified to the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees, as the case may be. If three-fifths (3/5) of the qualified electors who voted in such election vote in favor of the issuance of such bonds, then the board of trustees shall issue such bonds. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District may issue bonds pursuant to this subsection (9) in an amount which, when added to all of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District's then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall not result in the imposition on any of the property in said district of an indebtedness for school purposes of more than twenty percent (20%) of the assessed value of the taxable property within said district, according to the then last completed assessment for taxation. Any bonds issued pursuant to this subsection (9) shall be indebtedness of the new Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. The mandatory special ad valorem tax to be levied by the levying authority pursuant to Section 37-59-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be levied on all taxable property of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District.
(10) From and after July 1, 2015, all outstanding debt of the former Oktibbeha County School District and the former Starkville School District shall be assumed by and become the debt of the new Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. Any debt assumed by the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District secured by a special ad valorem tax shall be secured by and payable from a special ad valorem tax levied on taxable property in the former Starkville School District and the former Oktibbeha County School District, by its respective levying authority. All debt secured by a pledge by either district of its education enhancement funds pursuant to Section 37-61-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, or by a pledge of its Mississippi Adequate Education Program funds will continue to be secured by and payable from the same funds after the debt is assumed by the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District as of July 1, 2015. It is the intent of the Legislature that any such pledges will remain in effect and that the pledged funds will be available to the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District to pay its debt to which the funds are pledged.
(11) It shall be the responsibility of the Board of Supervisors of Oktibbeha County to provide office, furnishing and utilities for the administrative Office of the Superintendent of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District.
(12) The new Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District is authorized and encouraged to develop a partnership with Mississippi State University to create a model rural education school to serve all sixth- and seventh-grade students from Oktibbeha County and a model prekindergarten program which shall also serve as a model for the education of teachers and administrators.
(13) The Board of Supervisors of Oktibbeha County shall be the "levying authority" for the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District.
SECTION 3. Section 37-59-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-59-7. (1) (a) Any school district in which the total number of pupils enrolled at any one time during the school year shall have increased by at least twenty percent (20%) or an average of three hundred fifty (350) or more annually within the preceding five (5) years, shall not issue bonds for the purposes authorized by law in an amount which when added to all of its then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such district of an indebtedness for school purposes of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the assessed value of the taxable property within such district according to the then last completed assessment for taxation.
(b) Any school district in which the total number of pupils enrolled at any one time during the school year shall have increased by at least ten percent (10%) within the preceding five (5) years shall not issue bonds for the purposes authorized by law in an amount which, when added to all of its then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such district of an indebtedness for school purposes of more than twenty percent (20%) of the assessed value of the taxable property within such district according to the then last completed assessment for taxation.
(c) The pupil increase mentioned in this subsection shall apply only to growth in pupil enrollment and shall not apply to pupil increases brought about by consolidation of school districts.
(2) Any school district may hereafter issue bonds in an amount exceeding the limit of Section 37-59-5 for the purpose of constructing, reconstructing, repairing, equipping, remodeling or enlarging school buildings and related facilities, as described in subsection (a) of Section 37-59-3, but no such district shall issue bonds in an amount which when added to all of its then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such district of an indebtedness for such school purposes of more than twenty percent (20%) of the assessed value of the taxable property in such district, according to the then last completed assessment for taxation, regardless of whether any of such indebtedness shall have been incurred by such district or by another school district or districts:
(a) In the event of the damage to or destruction of any school building or school buildings, or related facilities of any such district by fire, windstorm, flood or other providential and unforeseeable cause; or
(b) In the event such
school district has lost its accreditation and the constructing,
reconstructing, repairing, equipping, remodeling or enlarging of such school
buildings and related facilities is necessary for the restoration of such
accreditation * * *;
or
(c) In the event of the establishment of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District as authorized in Section 37-7-104.3(8) and (9).
(3) In any school district wherein more than nine percent (9%) of the total land area of the school district is owned by the federal government and situated in a flood control reservoir or maintained as a part of the national forest system, the said school district may issue bonds in an amount, which when added to all of its then outstanding bonded indebtedness for school purposes, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such school district of an indebtedness for school purposes of not more than twenty percent (20%) of the assessed value of the taxable property within such district, according to the then last completed assessment for taxation, regardless of whether any of such indebtedness shall have been incurred by such district or by another school district or districts. If bonds in an amount in excess of fifteen percent (15%) of the total assessed value of the property of a school district are issued under the provisions of this subsection, not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the total funds received by the school district under the provisions of Section 49-19-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be paid into the bond and interest sinking fund of such district and used for the retirement of the bonds so issued.
(4) In any district where the assessed valuation per pupil is less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the average of all school districts, such school district may issue bonds for the purposes authorized by Section 37-59-3 in an amount exceeding the fifteen percent (15%) debt limitation set forth in Section 37-59-5, but not exceeding an amount which, when added to all of the school district's then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such district of an indebtedness for such school purposes of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the assessed value of the taxable property in such district, according to the then last completed assessment for taxation if:
(a) The board of trustees or board of education of the school district adopts a resolution finding that issuing bonds in an amount exceeding the limitation stated in Section 37-59-5 is necessary to provide or maintain adequate educational facilities within the school district; and
(b) The notice of the bond election required by Section 37-59-13 contains a provision notifying the qualified electors in the school district:
(i) Of the fact that the proposed bonds, if issued, will exceed the fifteen percent (15%) debt limit contained in Section 37-59-5; and
(ii) Of the reasons why the school district is proposing to exceed said limitation;
(c) The election is held and the proposed bond issue receives the requisite voter approval as set forth in Section 37-59-17.
SECTION 4. Section 37-59-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-59-23. The levying authority, as defined in Section 37-57-1(1)(b), acting for and on behalf of any school district, shall annually levy a special tax upon all of the taxable property within such school district, except as provided in Section 37-7-104.3(8) and (9), which shall be sufficient to provide for the payment of the principal of and the interest on school bonds issued under the provisions of this article according to the terms thereof, including any school bonds issued pursuant to Section 37-7-104.3(8) and (9).
In the case of school bonds issued under the provisions of Section 37-59-21, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of the county having the greater assessed valuation of taxable property within such district to annually levy upon all of the taxable property within such district, without regard to county lines, a special tax, which shall be sufficient to provide for the payment of the principal of and interest on such bonds according to the terms thereof. Such board shall annually certify to the board of supervisors of the other county or counties in which a portion of the district is situated the rate of taxation so fixed, and it shall be the duty of such other board or boards to cause such rate of taxation to be levied upon all of the taxable property within the boundaries of such district situated within their respective counties. Said taxes shall be collected and deposited as other taxes are collected and deposited in such county or counties, and the tax collector thereof shall thereupon cause such taxes to be remitted to the county depository of the county for which the bonds were issued.
SECTION 5. Section 37-59-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-59-107. The levying authority for the school district shall annually levy a special tax on all of the taxable property of the school district on whose behalf the notes or certificates of indebtedness are issued, except as provided in Section 37-7-104.3(7), in an amount which shall be sufficient to pay the principal of and interest upon such negotiable notes or certificates of indebtedness as the same shall respectively mature and accrue, including any notes issued under the direction of a conservator of a school district pursuant to the authority of Section 37-7-104.3(7). Said tax shall be levied and collected at the same time and in the same manner as other taxes are collected and said tax shall be in addition to all other taxes authorized by law. It is expressly provided, however, that, except as provided in Section 37-7-104.3(7), such annual tax levy shall not exceed three (3) mills on the dollar for the payment of all notes issued under the provisions of this article and all notes previously issued under the statutes hereby repealed. The special tax so levied shall be collected by the tax collector of the county at the same time and in the same manner as other taxes are collected, and the proceeds thereof shall be paid to the school district and shall be used exclusively for the payment of principal of and interest upon such negotiable notes or certificates of indebtedness.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after is passage.