House Bill 1093

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-29-65, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE REVISED COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR THE NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 37-29-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-29-65. (1) Except as provided in this section and in Sections 37-29-409, 37-29-457 and 37-29-505, there shall be five (5) trustees from each county of the junior college district which originally entered into and gave financial aid in establishing the junior college. * * * However, the board of trustees so constituted, by appropriate resolution, may enlarge its number to six (6) trustees from each county. The board of trustees shall also be authorized within its discretion to reduce its number to two (2) trustees at large from each county. In any case in which there is an equal number of trustees the board of trustees may appoint another person to membership.

(2) The county superintendent, if appointed by the county board of supervisors, may, in his discretion, choose not to serve as a member of such board of trustees. Such decision not to serve shall be in writing and entered on the minutes of the board of trustees of the junior college district. The county board of supervisors of any county whose county superintendent of education appointed under the authority of this section, declines the appointment or resigns, pursuant to this subsection (2), shall fill the vacancy caused by such resignation by appointing a member who is a qualified elector of the county at large in accordance with subsection (6) of this section. No county superintendent whose school district is located within the East Mississippi Community College District shall serve on the board of trustees for that community college district.

(3) From and after March 24, 1990, the Board of Trustees of the East Mississippi Community College District shall consist of twelve (12) members. The appointing authorities shall appoint a new board of trustees as follows: Clay County shall be entitled to two (2) members, Kemper County shall be entitled to two (2) members, Lauderdale County shall be entitled to two (2) members, Lowndes County shall be entitled to two (2) members, Noxubee County shall be entitled to two (2) members and Oktibbeha County shall be entitled to two (2) members. No member of the Board of Trustees of the East Mississippi Community College District shall have served on such board prior to March 24, 1990.

(4) The Board of Trustees of the Coahoma Community College District shall consist of nine (9) members. The appointing authorities shall appoint the new board of trustees as follows: Coahoma County shall be entitled to five (5) members appointed in the manner provided herein, Tunica County shall be entitled to one (1) member, Quitman County shall be entitled to one (1) member, Bolivar County shall be entitled to one (1) member, and Tallahatchie County shall be entitled to one (1) member. Persons who are currently serving as members of the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Delta Community College District or Northwest Community College District shall be eligible for appointment to the board.

(5) The terms of office shall be five (5) years; however, upon the first selection of trustees in each county, one (1) shall be elected for a term of five (5) years, one (1) for a term of four (4) years, one (1) for a term of three (3) years, one (1) for a term of two (2) years, and one (1) for a term of one (1) year, so as to prevent the retirement of more than one (1) member of any one (1) county in any one (1) year. Where the board chooses or is required by statute to reduce its number, the board shall specify the expiration dates of such terms of office in order to prevent the retirement of more than one (1) member of any one (1) county in any one (1) year.

(6) From and after July 1, 2020, the Board of Trustees of the Northwest Mississippi Community College District shall consist of twenty-one (21) members from Tate, Desoto, Lafayette, Panola, Marshall, Benton, Calhoun, Quitman, Tallahatchie, Tunica and Yalobusha Counties. The appointing authorities, being the respective county board of supervisors shall appoint the trustees from the county at large, as follows:

(i) Tate County shall be entitled to five (5) members;

(ii) Desoto County shall be entitled to three (3) members;

(iii) Lafayette County shall be entitled to three (3) members;

(iv) Marshall County shall be entitled to two (2) members;

(v) Panola County shall be entitled to two (2) members;

(vi) Benton County shall be entitled to one (1) member;

(vii) Calhoun County shall be entitled to one (1) member;

(viii) Quitman County shall be entitled to one (1) member;

(ix) Tallahatchie County shall be entitled to one (1) member;

(x) Tunica County shall be entitled to one (1) member; and

(xi) Yalobusha County shall be entitled to one (1) member.

(b) Of the members so appointed under paragraph (a) of this subsection, either of the trustees from counties with multiple members or the sole trustee from each county with a single member may be the county superintendent of education. However, each county board of supervisors retains the sole discretion to appoint any qualified elector residing in the county to the board of trustees for the community college district. If a board of supervisors appoints its respective county superintendent of education to the board of trustees, he or she must be a resident of the county, and the term of the county superintendent education's appointment shall be co-terminus with his or her contract for employment, but in no instance the term exceed three (3) years, which is the maximum years for which a school board my contract with an individual for employment as superintendent under Section 37-9-25. If the county board of education renews the employment contract with the county superintendent of education, then the county board of supervisors, may choose to reappoint the superintendent or appoint another qualified elector from the county at-large. In the event that a vacancy occurs on the board as the result of the death, resignation, termination or nonrenewal of the county superintendent, the county board of supervisors within thirty (30) days of such vacancy shall appoint a qualified elector from the county at-large to serve the remainder of the unexpired term of the county superintendent of education. Upon completion of the unexpired term by the appointee, the county board of supervisors shall then make an appointment to the board of trustees for a full term, provided that if such appointee is the county superintendent of education, his or her term shall be as provided in this paragraph (b), otherwise the appointee will serve a term of five (5) years as provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection.

(c) Except as otherwise provided for county superintendents of education in paragraph (b) of this subsection, the terms of office of each trustee shall be five (5) years. The members of the board of trustees serving on July 1, 2020, shall continue to serve until their terms expire. Where the board chooses or is required by statute to reduce or increase its number, the board shall specify the expiration dates of such terms of office in order to prevent the retirement of more than one (1) member of any one (1) county in any one (1) year.

( * * *67) The board of supervisors shall elect the requisite number of discreet persons of good moral character, sufficient education and experience, and of proven interest in public education, who are qualified electors of the county, as trustees of the junior college; and annually thereafter the board of supervisors in like manner shall fill vacancies. All trustees so appointed shall be listed in the minutes of the board of supervisors and their appointment shall be certified by the chancery clerk to the president of the junior college.

( * * *78) Each junior college trustee may be paid, out of junior college funds, a per diem as authorized in Section 25-3-69, Mississippi Code of 1972, per meeting of said board and, in addition thereto, the mileage authorized under Section 25-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, per mile in coming to and returning from said meeting, calculated upon the customary and normally traveled route from the home of such trustee to the campus of said junior college. Such allowance of per diem and mileage shall not, however, be allowed for more than fifteen (15) meetings for any one (1) fiscal year and shall only be paid for meetings actually attended by such trustees.

( * * *89) The provisions of this section, other than those provisions pertaining to per diem compensation and travel allowances for junior college trustees, shall not apply to any existing publicly operated junior college, lying in and operated by a county bordering on the Mississippi River, and the junior college trustees of such junior college shall be appointed and confirmed as heretofore.

( * * *910) No county superintendent of education, by virtue of his or her office, shall be automatically placed on the board of trustees for any community college district to which this section applies. The number of trustees from each county shall be reduced by one (1) member if such member is superintendent of education. However, if the county board of supervisors, in making an appointment to the community college district board of trustees, chooses to appoint the county superintendent of education at the expiration of the term of the at large member, the superintendent may serve, unless otherwise disqualified.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.