MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2004 Regular Session
To: Education; Apportionment and Elections
By: Representative Buck, Carlton, Straughter
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-5-61, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT ALL COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF EDUCATION SHALL BE APPOINTED; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-5-69, 37-5-71, 37-5-75, 37-7-105, 37-7-725, 37-9-23, 37-9-25, 37-17-13, 37-18-7, 37-43-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING PROVISION; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 37-5-63 AND 37-5-65, WHICH PROVIDE FOR AN ELECTION TO BE HELD TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT SHALL BE ELECTED OR APPOINTED; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-5-67, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH AUTHORIZES THE APPOINTMENT OF THE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT BY THE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION IN CERTAIN COUNTIES; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-9-12, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF ANY COUNTY HAVING AN ELECTED COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION ON JULY 1, 1986, TO DECIDE AT THE NOVEMBER 1988 GENERAL ELECTION WHETHER TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THE OFFICE ELECTED OR TO ABOLISH THE OFFICE IN THE COUNTY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-5-61, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-5-61. (1) Except as otherwise provided by law, there shall be a county superintendent of education in each county.
(2) The superintendent shall serve as the executive secretary of the county board of education, but shall have no vote in the proceedings before the board and no voice in fixing the policies thereof.
(3) In addition, the superintendent shall be the director of all schools in the county outside the municipal separate school districts.
(4) The superintendent shall be appointed by the county board of education for a term of not more than four (4) years. Any superintendent whose term of office otherwise would expire after January 1, 2008, shall expire on January 1, 2008.
SECTION 2. Section 37-5-69, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-5-69. In any county organizing a countywide municipal separate school district after the first day of January, 1965, the office of county superintendent of education is * * * abolished. There is excepted from the provisions of subsections (1) and (4) of Section 37-5-61, * * * subsection (1) of Section 37-5-73, and Section 37-5-75, any county of the first class which has a land area of less than four hundred fifty (450) square miles, and has located therein a municipality of more than fifteen thousand (15,000) population, according to the 1950 federal decennial census.
SECTION 3. Section 37-5-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-5-71. * * * The county superintendents of education * * * shall be appointed by the county board of education or by the trustees of a separate school district embracing an entire county with a population of fifteen thousand (15,000) or less, as provided in subsection (2) of Section 37-7-203. In all cases he shall have such qualifications as prescribed by Section 37-9-13 and receive such compensation as established under Section 37-9-37.
* * *
SECTION 4. Section 37-5-75, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-5-75. If a vacancy * * * occurs in the office of county superintendent of education, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the county board of education. * * *
SECTION 5. Section 37-7-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-105. (1) In cases where two (2) or more school boards determine that it is appropriate that their existing boundaries be altered to provide better service to students, each school board shall enter on its minutes the legal description of new district lines and shall publish the order altering the districts in some newspaper published and having a general circulation in the district(s) once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks, which * * * order shall be duly certified by the president of the school board. If no newspaper is published in the school district, then the order shall be published for the required time in some newspaper having a general circulation therein, and, in addition, a copy of the order shall be posted for the required time at three (3) public places in the school district. The order so published shall contain a provision giving notice that the order shall become final thirty (30) days after the first publication of the notice unless a petition is filed protesting against same within such time. If no * * * petition is filed, then the * * * order shall become final at that time. However, if twenty percent (20%) or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is less, of the qualified electors of any school district altered by the order * * * file a petition with the school board, within thirty (30) days after the first publication of the notice, protesting against the alteration of the district, then an election shall be called and held, on order of the school board, by the county election commission(s), after publication of legal notice of the election, which * * * election shall be held within thirty (30) days after the first publication of the notice of the election. At the election the question shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the district or districts in which a petition is filed as to whether or not the district or districts shall be altered as provided in the * * * order of the school board. If a majority of those voting in the election in each district affected and from which a petition is filed * * * vote in favor of the order of the school board, then the order shall become final. If a majority of those voting in the election in any district from which a petition is filed * * * vote against the order of the school board, then the order shall be void and of no effect and no further attempt to make the proposed change in the district shall be made for a period of at least two (2) years after the date of the election.
(2) When the orders of all boards adopting the new lines have been entered and are final, all orders shall be submitted to and considered by the State Board of Education as prescribed in Section 37-7-113. If the new lines are approved by the State Board of Education, the new district lines shall be submitted to the Attorney General of the United States for preclearance or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for a declaratory judgment in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended. If the change in the school district lines are either precleared by the United States Department of Justice, or approved by the United States District Court, then the State Board of Education shall formally declare the new lines as the new boundaries of the school districts.
(3) If two (2) or more school districts determine that they wish to consolidate, the following actions shall be taken by the districts to perfect this consolidation: (a) Each board shall state its intent to consolidate with the other district or districts by passing a resolution of the board to that effect and spreading it on the minutes of the districts; and (b) each school board shall publish the order consolidating the districts in some newspaper having a general circulation in the district(s) once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks, which * * * order shall be duly certified by the president of the school board. The order so published shall contain a provision giving notice that the order shall become final thirty (30) days after the first publication of the notice unless a petition is filed protesting against same within that time. If no * * * petition is filed, then the * * * order shall become final on that date. However, if twenty percent (20%) or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is less, of the qualified electors of any one (1) of the school districts affected by the proposed consolidation * * * file a petition with the applicable school board, within thirty (30) days after the first publication of the notice, protesting against the consolidation of the district or districts, then an election shall be called and held in the school districts where petitions were filed, on order of the school board, by the county election commission(s), after publication of legal notice of the election, which * * * election shall be held within thirty (30) days after the first publication of the notice of the election. At the election the question shall be submitted to the qualified electors of any district or districts in which petitions were filed as to whether or not the district or districts shall be consolidated as provided in the * * * order of the school boards. If a majority of those voting in the election * * * vote in favor of the order of the school boards, then the order shall become final. If less than a majority of the electors of any single school district vote in favor of the adoption of the proposed consolidation, that school district shall not participate in any voluntary consolidation as authorized in this subsection, and the proposed consolidation plan adopted by the districts shall be void.
After the order of the local school boards becomes final, it shall be submitted to and considered by the State Board of Education. If approved by the State Board of Education, the consolidation shall be submitted by the local school boards to the appropriate federal agencies for approval. After all preclearance has been received, the State Board of Education shall declare the new boundaries of the consolidated school district and all action shall proceed as outlined under law using the new boundaries.
Upon preclearance of the consolidation, all school boards shall approve a joint resolution for the election of five (5) new board members from single member districts as provided by law. These elections shall be scheduled before May 1 of the year in which the consolidation is to become effective. The new consolidated district shall become effective on July 1 of that same year. The superintendent of any district created through consolidation shall be appointed * * *. The superintendent shall begin work as the superintendent on July 1 of the year when the consolidation becomes effective. The order to consolidate shall invalidate the contracts of the superintendents of the preceding districts * * *. The order to consolidate shall invalidate the term of any school board member after July 1 of that year whether they are elected or appointed. Any school board member from any school district may be eligible to run for election to the new consolidated school board.
Each school board shall be responsible for establishing the contracts for teachers and principals for the next school year with the consultation of the successor school board if they have been selected at the time those decisions are to be made. The selection of administrator in the central administration office shall be the responsibility of the successor school board. No existing dates for renewal of contracts shall invalidate the responsibility of the successor school board in taking that action. The successor school board may enter into these contracts at any time following their election, but no later than July 1 of that year. It shall also be the responsibility of the successor school board to prepare and approve the budget of the new district. The successor school board may use staff from the existing districts to prepare the budget. The school board may approve the budget before the July 1 date and shall follow the time line established for budget preparation under the law. If either district at the time of consolidation have more liabilities than assets, then the successor school board may levy an ad valorem tax upon the taxable property in the territory of the district where the deficit exists, a tax not to exceed five percent (5%) of the existing tax levy for the sole purpose of reducing the deficit. When the deficit is eliminated, then the tax levy shall be terminated. Any taxes levied to bring about the equalization of funding, to equalize pay scales or levied in the territory of a newly created district where a deficit exists, shall constitute a "new program" for the purposes of ad valorem tax limitations as prescribed in Sections 27-39-321 and 37-57-107.
SECTION 6. Section 37-7-725, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-725. When a special municipal separate school district embraces and includes all of the territory of the county, then the office of county superintendent of education in that county shall be abolished and discontinued in that county * * *. In addition, the superintendent of the special municipal separate school district shall thereafter perform and discharge all duties that would otherwise devolve upon the county superintendent of education under the provisions of any applicable statute of this state, and, for that purpose, the superintendent of the special municipal separate school district shall have and be vested with all power and authority conferred by law upon the county superintendents of education.
SECTION 7. Section 37-9-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-9-23. The superintendent shall enter into a contract with each assistant superintendent, principal, licensed employee and person anticipating graduation from an approved teacher education program or the issuance of a proper license before October 15 or February 15, as the case may be, who is elected and approved for employment by the school board. The contracts shall be in such form as shall be prescribed by the State Board of Education and shall be executed in duplicate with one (1) copy to be retained by the appropriate superintendent and one (1) copy to be retained by the principal, licensed employee or person recommended for a licensed position contracted with. The contract shall show the name of the district, the length of the school term, the position held (whether an assistant superintendent, principal or licensed employee), the scholastic years that it covers, the total amount of the annual salary and how same is payable. The amount of salary to be shown in the contract shall be the amount that has been fixed and determined by the school board, but, as to the licensed employees paid in whole or in part with minimum education program funds, the salary shall not be less than that required under the provisions of Chapter 19 of this title. The contract entered into with any person recommended for a licensed position who is anticipating either graduation from an approved teacher education program before September 1 or December 31, as the case may be, or the issuance of a proper license before October 15 or February 15, as the case may be, shall be a conditional contract and shall include a provision stating that the contract will be null and void if, as specified in the contract, the contingency upon which the contract is conditioned has not occurred. If any superintendent, * * * principal, licensed employee or person recommended for a licensed position who has been elected and approved does not execute and return the contract within ten (10) days after same has been tendered to him for execution, then, at the option of the school board, the election of the licensed employee and the contract tendered to him shall be void and of no effect.
SECTION 8. Section 37-9-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-9-25. The school board shall have the power and authority, in its discretion, to employ the superintendent * * * for not exceeding four (4) scholastic years and the principals or licensed employees for not exceeding three (3) scholastic years. In that case, contracts shall be entered into with the superintendents, principals and licensed employees for the number of years for which they have been employed. All the contracts with licensed employees shall for the years after the first year thereof be subject to the contingency that the licensed employee may be released if, during the life of the contract, the average daily attendance * * * decreases from that existing during the previous year and thus necessitates a reduction in the number of licensed employees during any year after the first year of the contract. However, in all those cases the licensed employee must be released before July 1 or at least thirty (30) days before the beginning of the school term, whichever date * * * occurs earlier. The salary to be paid for the years after the first year of the contract shall be subject to revision, either upward or downward, in the event of an increase or decrease in the funds available for the payment thereof, but, unless the salary is revised before the beginning of a school year, it shall remain for the school year at the amount fixed in the contract. However, where school district funds, other than adequate education program funds, are available during the school year in excess of the amount anticipated at the beginning of the school year the salary to be paid for that year may be increased to the extent that the additional funds are available and nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit same.
SECTION 9. Section 37-17-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-17-13. (1) Whenever the Governor declares a state of emergency in a school district in response to a certification by the State Board of Education and the Commission on School Accreditation made under Section 37-17-6(11)(b), the State Board of Education, in addition to any actions taken under Section 37-17-6, shall abolish the school district and assume control and administration of the schools formerly constituting the district, and appoint a conservator to carry out this purpose under the direction of the State Board of Education. In that case, the State Board of Education shall have all powers that were held by the previously existing school board, and the previously existing superintendent of schools or county superintendent of education, including, but not limited to, those enumerated in Section 37-7-301, and the authority to request tax levies from the appropriate governing authorities for the support of the schools and to receive and expend the tax funds as provided by Section 37-57-1 et seq., and Section 37-57-105 et seq.
(2) When a school district is abolished under this section, loans from the School District Emergency Assistance Fund may be made by the State Board of Education for the use and benefit of the schools formerly constituting the district in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 37-17-6(14) for those loans to the district. The abolition of a school district under this section shall not impair or release the property of that school district from liability for the payment of the loan indebtedness, and it shall be the duty of the appropriate governing authorities to levy taxes on the property of the district so abolished from year to year according to the terms of the indebtedness until same shall be fully paid.
(3) After a school district is abolished under this section, at such time as the State Board of Education determines that the impairments have been substantially corrected, the State Board of Education shall reconstitute, reorganize or change or alter the boundaries of the previously existing district; however, no partition or assignment of territory formerly included in the abolished district to one or more other school districts may be made by the State Board of Education without the consent of the school board of the school district to which the territory is to be transferred, the consent to be spread upon its minutes. At that time, the State Board of Education, in appropriate cases, shall notify the appropriate governing authority or authorities of its action and request them to provide for the election or appointment of school board members and the appointment of a superintendent or superintendents to govern the district or districts affected, in the manner provided by law.
SECTION 10. Section 37-18-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-18-7. (1) As part of the school improvement plan for a Priority School, a professional development plan shall be prepared for those school administrators, teachers or other employees who are identified by the evaluation team as needing improvement. The State Department of Education shall assist the Priority School in identifying funds necessary to fully implement the school improvement plan.
(2) (a) If a principal is deemed to be in need of improvement by the evaluation team, a professional development plan shall be developed for the principal, and the principal's full participation in the professional development plan shall be a condition of continued employment. The plan shall provide professional training in the roles and behaviors of an instructional leader and shall offer training specifically identified for that principal's needs. The principal of a Priority School may be assigned mentors who have demonstrated expertise as an exemplary-performing principal. Mentors shall make a personal time commitment to this process and may not be evaluators of the principals being mentored. The local school administration shall continue to monitor and evaluate all school personnel during this period, evaluate their professional development plans and make personnel decisions as appropriate.
(b) At the end of the second year, if a school continues to be a Priority School and a principal has been at that school for three (3) or more years, the administration shall recommend and the local school board shall dismiss the principal in a manner consistent with Section 37-9-59, and the State Board of Education may initiate the school district conservatorship process authorized under Section 37-17-6. If extenuating circumstances exist, such as the assignment of a principal at a Priority School for less than two (2) years, other options may be considered, subject to approval by the State Board of Education.
(3) (a) If a teacher is deemed to be in need of professional development by the independent evaluation team, that teacher shall be required to participate in a professional development plan. This plan will provide professional training and will be based on each teacher's specific needs and teaching assignments. The teacher's full participation in the professional development plan shall be required. This process shall be followed by a performance-based evaluation, which shall monitor the teacher's teaching skills and teaching behavior over a period of time. This monitoring shall include announced and unannounced reviews. Additionally, the teacher also may be assigned a mentor who has demonstrated expertise as a high-performing teacher.
(b) If, after one (1) year, the teacher fails to perform, the local school administration shall reevaluate the teacher's professional development plan, make any necessary adjustments to it, and require his participation in the plan for a second year.
(c) If, after the second year, the teacher fails to perform, the administration shall recommend and the local school shall dismiss the teacher in a manner consistent with Section 37-9-59.
(4) (a) If the evaluation report reveals a school district central office problem, a superintendent of the school district having a Priority School shall be required to participate in a professional development plan. Additionally, the superintendent may be assigned mentors who are high-performing superintendents and have demonstrated expertise and knowledge of high-performing schools. The local school board will continue to evaluate the performance of the superintendent and his participation in a professional development plan, making appropriate revisions to the plan as needed.
(b) If a school continues to be a Priority School after a second year, the local school board may take one (1) of the following actions:
(i) Impose a cap on the superintendent's salary; or
(ii) Make any necessary adjustments to his professional development plan and require his continued participation in a plan.
(c) If a school continues to be designated a Priority School after three (3) years of implementing a school improvement plan the State Board of Education shall, or if more than fifty percent (50%) of the schools within the school district are designated as Priority Schools in any one (1) year the State Board of Education may, issue a written request with documentation to the Governor asking that the office of the superintendent of the school district be subject to recall. Whenever the Governor declares that the office of the superintendent of the school district is subject to recall, the local school board * * * shall take the following action: * * * The name of the superintendent shall be submitted by the president of the local school board at the next regular meeting of the school board for retention in office or dismissal from office. If a majority of the school board voting on the question vote against retaining the superintendent in office, a vacancy shall exist that shall be filled as provided by law, otherwise the superintendent shall remain in office for the duration of his employment contract.
(5) If a school continues to be designated a Priority School after three (3) years of implementing a school improvement plan the State Board of Education shall, or if more than fifty percent (50%) of the schools within the school district are designated as Priority Schools in any one (1) year the State Board of Education may, issue a written request with documentation to the Governor that the membership of the school board of the school district shall be subject to recall. Whenever the Governor declares that the membership of the school board shall be subject to recall, the county election commission or the local governing authorities, as the case may be, shall take the following action:
(a) If the members of the local school board are elected to office, in those years in which the specific member's office is not up for election, the name of the school board member shall be submitted by the State Board of Education to the county election commission at least sixty (60) days before the next regular special election, and the county election commission at the next regular special election shall submit the question to the voters eligible to vote for the particular member's office within the county or school district, as the case may be. The ballot shall read substantially as follows:
"Members of the _______________ (here the title of the school district shall be inserted) School Board who are not up for election this year are subject to recall because of the school district's continued designation as a Priority School. Shall the member of the school board representing this area, ______________ (here the name of the school board member holding the office shall be inserted), be retained in office? Yes _____ No _____"
If a majority of those voting on the question vote against retaining the member of the school board in office, a vacancy in that board member's office shall exist which shall be filled in the manner provided by law; otherwise, the school board member shall remain in office for the term of that office, and at the expiration of the term of office, the member shall be eligible for qualification and election to another term or terms of office. However, if a majority of the school board members are recalled in the regular special election, the Governor shall authorize the board of supervisors of the county in which the school district is situated to appoint members to fill the offices of the members recalled. The board of supervisors shall make the appointments in the manner provided by law for filling vacancies on the school board, and the appointed members shall serve until the office is filled at the next regular special election or general election.
(b) If the local school board is an appointed school board, the name of all school board members shall be submitted as a collective board by the president of the municipal or county governing authority, as the case may be, at the next regular meeting of the governing authority for retention in office or dismissal from office. If a majority of the governing authority voting on the question vote against retaining the board in office, a vacancy shall exist in each school board member's office, which shall be filled as provided by law; otherwise, the members of the appointed school board shall remain in office for the duration of their term of appointment, and the members may be reappointed.
(c) If the local school board is comprised of both elected and appointed members, the elected members shall be subject to recall in the manner provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection. Appointed members shall be subject to recall in the manner provided in paragraph (b).
(6) If a school continues to be designated a Priority School after three (3) years of implementing a school improvement plan, or if more than fifty percent (50%) of the schools within the school district are designated as Priority Schools in any one (1) year, the State Board of Education may request that the Governor declare a state of emergency in that school district. Upon the declaration of the state of emergency by the Governor, the State Board of Education may take all such action for dealing with school districts as is authorized under subsection (11) or (14) of Section 37-17-6, including the appointment of an interim conservator.
(7) The State Department of Education shall make a semiannual report to the State Board of Education identifying the number and names of schools classified as Priority Schools, which shall include a description of the deficiencies identified and the actions recommended and implemented. The department shall also notify the State Board of Education of any Priority School that has successfully completed their improvement plans and shall notify the Governor and the Legislature of the school's progress.
(8) The State Board of Education shall direct and provide comprehensive staff development training for school administrators and teachers on the new requirements of this chapter. Any new assessment instruments to be used in conjunction with any evaluation required by this chapter shall be made available for review by teachers, administrators and other staff. Before evaluation of individual teachers, administrators and other staff pre-evaluation interviews will be conducted. Likewise, after any evaluation is complete, post-evaluation interviews will be conducted. During the post-interviews, evaluators shall identify and discuss the following: teaching techniques used, teaching strengths and weaknesses and an overall assessment of performance.
(9) No later than July 1 of each year the State Board of Education shall report to the State Legislature and the public at large:
(a) An itemized accounting of the use of state funds to provide technical, legal and financial assistance to each Priority School, and to the schools that had been designated as Priority Schools within the previous three (3) years, if the schools received that assistance at any time during the previous three (3) years;
(b) An explanation of the problems sought to be addressed in each such school receiving this assistance and for which such expenditure of funds was undertaken;
(c) The actions taken in each school district to utilize the funds to address the problems identified in paragraph (b) immediately above;
(d) An evaluation of the impact of the effort to address the problems identified;
(e) An assessment of what further actions need to be undertaken to address these problems, if the problems have not been entirely alleviated; and
(f) An assessment of the impact that Laws, 1999, Chapter 421, and Laws, 2000, Chapter 610 are having on the educational goals that these statutes sought to address.
SECTION 11. Section 37-43-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-43-39. No teacher in any of the schools of the state, and no county or municipal superintendent of schools, and no person officially connected with the government of or direction of any school shall, during the term of his office as the superintendent or during the time of his or her employment as teacher, act as agent or attorney for any textbook publishing company selling textbooks in this state. If, after election as * * * municipal superintendent, appointment of county superintendent or employment as teacher, any person filling that position accepts the agency or attorneyship of any textbook publishing company, the acceptance of the agency or attorneyship shall work a forfeiture of the office or position as teacher held at the time of the acceptance of the agency or attorneyship.
SECTION 12. Sections 37-5-63 and 37-5-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provide for an election to be held to determine whether the office of the county superintendent shall be elected or appointed, are repealed.
SECTION 13. Section 37-5-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, which authorizes the appointment of the county superintendent by the county board of education in certain counties, is repealed.
SECTION 14. Section 37-9-12, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the qualified electors of any county having an elected county superintendent of education on July 1, 1986, to decide at the November 1988 general election whether to continue to have the office elected or to abolish the office in the county, is repealed.
SECTION 15. The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.
SECTION 16. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended, or from and after January 1, 2008, whichever is later.