MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2006 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Senator(s) Thomas
AN ACT TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR CHANGING THE METHOD OF SELECTING MEMBERS OF LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS BY REFERENDUM PURSUANT TO PETITION OF ELECTORS IN THE COUNTY OR SCHOOL DISTRICT; TO CODIFY SECTION 37-5-20, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE A PETITION FOR THE CALLING OF AN ELECTION ON THE QUESTION OF ESTABLISHING THE POSITION OF MEMBER OF THE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION AS AN APPOINTIVE OFFICE, TO PROVIDE FOR AN ELECTION ON THE QUESTION AND TO PROVIDE THAT IF A MAJORITY VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE PROPOSITION THE OFFICE SHALL BECOME APPOINTIVE AT THE EXPIRATION OF THE PRESENT TERM; TO AUTHORIZE A PETITION FOR THE CALLING OF AN ELECTION ON THE QUESTION OF ESTABLISHING THE POSITION OF MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF MUNICIPAL SEPARATE OR SPECIAL MUNICIPAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AS AN ELECTED OFFICE, TO PROVIDE FOR AN ELECTION ON THE QUESTION AND TO PROVIDE THAT IF A MAJORITY VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE PROPOSITION THE OFFICE SHALL BECOME ELECTED AT THE EXPIRATION OF THE PRESENT TERM; TO AUTHORIZE A PETITION FOR THE CALLING OF AN ELECTION ON THE QUESTION OF ESTABLISHING THE POSITION OF MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT AS AN APPOINTIVE OFFICE, TO PROVIDE FOR AN ELECTION ON THE QUESTION AND TO PROVIDE THAT IF A MAJORITY VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE PROPOSITION THE OFFICE SHALL BECOME APPOINTIVE AT THE EXPIRATION OF THE PRESENT TERM; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-5-1, 37-7-203, 37-7-703, 37-7-201, 37-7-207 AND 37-7-717, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following provision shall be codified as Section 37-5-20, Mississippi Code of 1972:
37-5-20. (1) The office of member of the county board of education may be made appointive in any county in the manner herein provided. Upon the filing of a petition signed by not less than twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of such county residing outside the limits of any municipal separate school district, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of such county, within sixty (60) days after the filing of such petition, to call a special election at which there shall be submitted to the qualified electors of such county residing outside the limits of any municipal separate school district the question of whether the office of member of the county board of education of said county shall continue to be elective or shall be filled by appointment by the board of supervisors of such county in the manner provided in Section 37-7-717(d), Mississippi Code of 1972.
The order calling such special election shall designate the date upon which same shall be held and a notice of such election, signed by the clerk of the board of supervisors, shall be published once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in such county. The first publication of such notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date fixed for such election and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. If no newspaper is published in such county then such notice shall be given by publication of same for the required time in some newspaper having a general circulation in such county and in addition by posting a copy of such notice for at least twenty-one (21) days next preceding such election at three (3) public places in such county, one (1) of which shall be at the door of the county courthouse in each judicial district.
Said election shall be held, as far as is practicable, in the same manner as other elections are held in such county and all qualified electors of the county residing outside the limits of any municipal separate school district in the county may vote therein. If a majority of such qualified electors who vote in such election shall vote in favor of the appointment of the county board of education by the county board of supervisors then, at the expiration of the next term of office of any member of the county board of education then in office, the member of said county board of education shall not be elected but shall thereafter be appointed by the board of supervisors from the appropriate district in the manner provided in Section 37-7-717(d) for a term of four (4) years, otherwise, said office shall remain elective. Such appointments shall be made for other members of the county board of education at the time their respective terms of office expire in the same manner.
No special election shall be held in any county under the provisions of this section more often than once in every four (4) years, and no change from the elective to the appointive method of the selection of the county board of education shall become effective except at the expiration of the term of the member of the term of the county board of education in office at the time such election is held.
Where the office of county board of education has been made appointive under the provisions of this section, the same may thereafter be made elective in such county by a petition filed and election held in the same manner provided in said section, all of the provisions of which shall be applicable to such proceedings.
(2) The office of member of the board of trustees of a municipal or special municipal school district may be made an elected office in any county in the manner herein provided. Upon the filing of a petition signed by not less than twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of such municipal or special municipal separate school district, it shall be the duty of the municipal governing authority of the municipality embraced by such school district, within sixty (60) days after the filing of such petition, to call a special election at which there shall be submitted to the qualified electors of such school district the question of whether the office of member of the board of trustees of the municipal or special municipal separate school district shall continue to be appointed or shall be elected in the manner provided in Section 37-7-203(2), Mississippi Code of 1972.
The order calling such special election shall designate the date upon which same shall be held and a notice of such election, signed by the clerk of the municipal governing authority, shall be published once a week for at least (3) three consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in such municipality. The first publication of such notice shall be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. If no newspaper is published in such municipality, then such notice shall be given by publication of same for the required time in some newspaper having a general circulation in such municipality and in addition by posting a copy of such notice for at least twenty-one (21) days next preceding such election at three (3) public places in such municipality, one (1) of which shall be at the door of the county courthouse.
Said election shall be held, as far as is practicable, in the same manner as other elections are held in such municipality and all qualified electors of the municipal or special municipal separate school district may vote therein. If a majority of such qualified electors who vote in such election shall vote in favor of the election of the board of trustees then, at the next general municipal election the members shall be elected from special election districts as provided in Section 37-7-203(2), otherwise, said office shall remain appointive.
No special election shall be held in any municipality under the provisions of this section more often than once in every four (4) years. Where the office of board of trustees of a municipal or special municipal separate school district has been made elected under the provisions of this section, the same may thereafter be made appointive in such municipal separate or special municipal school district by a petition filed and election held in the same manner provided in said section, all of the provisions of which shall be applicable to such proceedings.
(3) The office of member of the consolidated school district board of trustees may be made appointive in any county in the manner herein provided. Upon the filing of a petition signed by not less than twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of such county residing in a consolidated school district, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of such county, within sixty (60) days after the filing of such petition, to call a special election at which there shall be submitted to the qualified electors of such county residing in the consolidated school district the question of whether the office of member of the board of trustees of said consolidated school district shall continue to be elective or shall be filled by appointment by the board of supervisors of such county in the manner provided in Section 37-7-717(d), Mississippi Code of 1972.
The order calling such special election shall designate the date upon which same shall be held and a notice of such election, signed by the clerk of the board of supervisors, shall be published once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in such county. The first publication of such notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date fixed for such election and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. If no newspaper is published in such school district then such notice shall be given by publication of same for the required time in some newspaper having a general circulation in such county and in addition by posting a copy of such notice for at least twenty-one (21) days next preceding such election at three (3) public places in such school district, one (1) of which shall be at the door of the county courthouse.
Said election shall be held, as far as is practicable, in the same manner as other elections are held in such county and all qualified electors of the consolidated school district may vote therein. If a majority of such qualified electors who vote in such election shall vote in favor of the appointment of the board of trustees by the county board of supervisors then, at the expiration of the next term of office of any member of said consolidated school district board of trustees then in office, the member of said board shall not be elected but shall thereafter be appointed by the board of supervisors from the appropriate district in the manner provided in Section 37-7-717(d) for a term of four (4) years, otherwise, said office shall remain elective. Such appointments shall be made for other members of the consolidated school district board of trustees at the time their respective terms of office expire in the same manner.
No special election shall be held in any county under the provisions of this section more often than once in every four (4) years, and no change from the elective to the appointive method of the selection of the consolidated school district board of trustees shall become effective except at the expiration of the term of the member of the board of trustees in office at the time such election is held.
Where the office of consolidated school district board of trustees has been made appointive under the provisions of this section, the same may thereafter be made elective in such district by a petition filed and election held in the same manner provided in said section, all of the provisions of which shall be applicable to such proceedings.
SECTION 2. Section 37-5-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-5-1. (1) There is hereby established a county board of education in each county of the State of Mississippi. Said county board of education shall consist of five (5) members, one (1) of which, subject to the further provisions of this chapter and except as is otherwise provided in Section 37-5-1(2) and except where the electors have chosen the appointive method of selecting the county board of education as provided in Section 37-5-20(1), shall be elected by the qualified electors of each board of education district of the county. Except as is otherwise provided in Section 37-5-3, each member so elected shall be a resident and qualified elector of the district from which he is elected.
(2) The county board of education shall apportion the county school district into five (5) single member board of education districts. The county board of education shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) board of education districts. The board of education of said county shall thereafter publish the same in some newspaper of general circulation within said county for at least three (3) consecutive weeks and after having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board of education of said county, said new district lines will thereafter be effective. The board of education of said county shall reapportion the board of education districts in accordance with the procedure described herein for the original apportionment of districts as soon as practicable after the results of the 2000 decennial census are published and as soon as practicable after every decennial census thereafter.
(3) In counties where the office of "administrative superintendent" as defined in Section 37-6-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, has been abolished, there shall be no county board of education.
SECTION 3. Section 37-7-203, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-203. (1) The boards of trustees of all municipal separate school districts created under the provisions of Article 1 of this chapter, either with or without added territory, shall consist of five (5) members, each to be chosen for a term of five (5) years, but so chosen that the term of office of one (1) member shall expire each year. In the event the added territory of a municipal separate school district furnishes fifteen percent (15%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of such district, then at least one (1) member of the board of trustees of such school district shall be a resident of the added territory outside the corporate limits. In the event the added territory of a municipal separate school district furnishes thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of such district, then not more than two (2) members of the board of trustees of such school district shall be residents of the added territory outside the corporate limits. In the event the added territory of a municipal separate school district in a county in which Mississippi Highways 8 and 15 intersect furnishes thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of such district, then the five (5) members of the board of trustees of such school district shall be elected at large from such school district for a term of five (5) years each except that the two (2) elected trustees presently serving on such board shall continue to serve for their respective terms of office. The three (3) appointed trustees presently serving on such board shall continue to serve until their successors are elected in March of 1975 in the manner provided for in Section 37-7-215. At such election, one (1) trustee shall be elected for a term of two (2) years, one (1) for a term of three (3) years and one (1) for a term of five (5) years. Subsequent terms for each successor trustee shall be for five (5) years. In the event one (1) of two (2) municipal separate school districts located in any county with two (2) judicial districts, District 1 being comprised of Supervisors Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5, and District 2 being comprised of Supervisors District 3, with added territory embraces three (3) full supervisors districts of a county, one (1) trustee shall be elected from each of the three (3) supervisors districts outside the corporate limits of the municipality. In the further event that the territory of a municipal separate school district located in any county with two (2) judicial districts, District 1 being comprised of Supervisors Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5, and District 2 being comprised of Supervisors District 3, with added territory embraces four (4) full supervisors districts in the county, and in any county in which a municipal separate school district embraces the entire county in which Highways 14 and 15 intersect, one (1) trustee shall be elected from each supervisors district.
Except as otherwise provided herein, the trustees of such a municipal separate school district shall be elected by a majority of the governing authorities of the municipality at the first meeting of the governing authorities held in the month of February of each year, and the term of office of the member so elected shall commence on the first Saturday of March following. In the case of a member of said board of trustees who is required to come from the added territory outside the corporate limits as is above provided, such member of the board of trustees shall be elected by the qualified electors of the school district residing in such added territory outside the corporate limits at the same time and in the same manner as is otherwise provided in this article for the election of trustees of school districts other than municipal separate school districts.
In the event that a portion of a county school district is reconstituted, in the manner provided by law, into a municipal separate school district with added territory and in the event that the trustees to be elected from the added territory are requested to be elected from separate election districts within the added territory, instead of elected at large, by the Attorney General of the United States as a result of and pursuant to preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as amended and extended, and in the event the added territory of a municipal separate school district of a municipality furnishes thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of such district, then two (2) members of the board of trustees shall be residents of the added territory outside the corporate limits of such municipality and shall be elected from special trustee election districts by the qualified electors thereof as herein provided. The board of trustees of the school district shall apportion the added territory into two (2) special trustee election districts as nearly as possible according to population and other factors heretofore pronounced by the courts. The board of trustees of the school district shall thereafter publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation within said school district for at least two (2) consecutive weeks; and after having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board of trustees of the school district, said new district lines shall thereafter be effective. Any person elected from the new trustee election districts constituted herein shall be elected in the manner provided for in Section 37-7-215 for a term of five (5) years. Any vacancy in the office of a trustee elected from such trustee election district, whether occasioned by redistricting or by other cause, shall be filled by appointment of the governing authorities of the municipality, provided that the person so appointed shall serve only until the first Saturday of March following his appointment, at which time a person shall be elected for the remainder of the unexpired term in the manner provided in Section 37-7-215.
In any county organizing a countywide municipal separate school district after January 1, 1965, the trustees thereof to be elected from outside the municipality, such trustees shall be elected by the board of supervisors of such county, and the superintendent of such school district shall have authority to pay out and distribute the funds of said district. In the event a municipal separate school district should occupy territory in a county other than that in which the municipality is located and fifteen percent (15%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of such district shall come from the territory of the district in the county other than that in which the municipality is located, the territory of such county in which the municipality is not located shall be entitled to one (1) member on the board of trustees of such school district. Said trustee shall be a resident of the territory of that part of the district lying in the county in which the municipality is not located and shall be elected by the qualified electors of the territory of such county at the same time and in the same manner as is provided for the election of trustees of school districts other than municipal separate school districts having territory in two (2) or more counties.
All vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms by appointment of the governing authorities of the municipality; except that in the case of the trustees coming from the added territory outside the corporate limits, the person so appointed shall serve only until the first Saturday of March following his appointment, at which time a person shall be elected for the remainder of the unexpired term in the manner otherwise provided herein.
No person who is a member of such governing body, or who is an employee of the municipality, or who is a member of the county board of education, or who is a trustee of any public, private or sectarian school or college located in the county, inclusive of the municipal separate school district, or who is a teacher in or a trustee of said school district, shall be eligible for appointment to said board of trustees.
(2) In counties of less than fifteen thousand (15,000) people having a municipal separate school district with added territory which embraces all the territory of a county, one (1) or more trustees of such district shall be nominated from each supervisors district upon petition of fifty (50) qualified electors of said district, or twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of such district, whichever number shall be smaller, and shall be elected by a plurality of the vote of the qualified electors of said county. One (1) trustee so elected shall reside in each supervisors district of the county. In such counties embraced entirely by a municipal separate school district there shall be no county board of education after the formation of such district and the county superintendent of education shall act as superintendent of schools of said district and shall be appointed by the board of trustees of said district, and the provisions of subsection (1) of this section and the first paragraph of Section 37-7-211 shall not apply to such districts.
[In any municipal separate school district in which the electors have voted to adopt the elected method of selecting school board members under Section 37-5-20(2), this section shall read as follows:]
37-7-203. (1) The school boards * * * of all municipal separate school districts * * * shall consist of five (5) members. Beginning in 2009, or in any year of a general municipal election following the adoption of the elective method of selecting the board of trustees under Section 37-5-20(2), each member shall be elected from a special school board member district, as provided for under subsection (2) of this section, by the qualified electors of that district.
(2) The municipal governing authority shall apportion the municipal separate school district, including any added territory, into five (5) single school board member districts. The school board member districts shall be as nearly equal as possible according to population. The municipal governing authority shall submit the school board member district lines 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 school board member district lines are precleared by the United States Department of Justice or approved by the United States District Court, the municipal governing authority and the school board of the municipal separate school district shall place upon their minutes the boundaries established for the five (5) school board member districts, and the school board shall publish the boundaries in a newspaper of general circulation within the school district for at least three (3) consecutive weeks. After having given notice of publication and recording the publication upon the minutes of the school board, the school board member district lines shall be effective. As soon as practicable after the results of the 2010 decennial census and every decennial census thereafter are published, the municipal governing authority shall reapportion the school board member districts in the manner prescribed in this subsection for the creation of the original districts.
(3) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June 2009, and every four (4) years thereafter, an election shall be held in every municipal separate school district, in the same manner and at the same time as the general municipal elections are held, for the purpose of electing the members of the school board of the municipal separate school district. Provided, however, that in any special charter municipality where the general municipal election date is different from June 2009, the members of the school board of the municipal separate school district shall be elected as provided in this section in the same manner and at the same time as the general municipal elections are held in such special charter municipality. Candidates for the school board of the municipal separate school district shall file with the municipal election commissioners, not more than ninety (90) days and not less than sixty (60) days before the date of the general election, a petition of nomination signed by at least fifty (50) or twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the school board member district, whichever is less. The name of each qualified candidate shall be placed on the ballot. The candidate in each school board member district who receives a majority of the votes cast by the qualified electors in that district shall be elected. However, if no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a runoff election shall be held two (2) weeks after the election. The names of the candidate receiving the highest number of votes and the candidate, or candidates in the event of a tie, receiving the next highest vote for the office shall be placed on the ballot in the runoff election. The person receiving the highest number of votes cast by the qualified electors in the runoff election shall be elected. All persons elected to serve on the school board of the municipal separate school district shall take office on the first Monday of July next following the date of their election and shall serve for a term of four (4) years.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in each municipal separate school district, the terms of all school board members, whether appointed or elected, existing on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June 2009 shall expire when their duly elected successors take office on the first Monday of July 2009, or on the first Monday of July following the general municipal election date in a special charter municipality.
(5) Whenever there is a vacancy in the membership of the school board of the municipal separate school district, the vacancy shall be filled, depending upon the length of the unexpired term of the vacated office, in the manner provided under this subsection.
(a) If the unexpired term of the vacated office is six (6) months or less, the remaining members of the school board shall appoint, within sixty (60) days after the vacancy occurs, a person to serve the unexpired portion of the term. The appointee shall be selected from the qualified electors of the school board member district in which the vacancy occurs. The chairman of the school board shall certify to the Secretary of State the fact of the appointment, and the Governor shall commission the person appointed.
(b) If the unexpired term of the vacated office is greater than six (6) months, an election shall be held to fill the vacancy. The school board shall certify in writing the fact of the vacancy to the governing authority of the municipality. At the next regular meeting of the governing authority after its receipt of certification of the vacancy from the school board, the governing authority shall make and enter on its minutes an order for an election to be held in the school board member district in which the vacancy exists and shall fix the date upon which the election shall be held, which date shall not be less than thirty (30) days nor more than forty-five (45) days after the date upon which the order is adopted.
The municipal clerk shall publish notice of the election in a newspaper of general circulation within the municipality once each week for three (3) successive weeks preceding the date of the election. The first notice must be published at least thirty (30) days before the date of the election. Notice also shall be given by the school board by posting a copy of the notice at three (3) public places in the school board member district in which the vacancy exists and at the administrative offices of the school board not less than twenty-one (21) days before the date of the election.
Candidates for the vacated office shall file with the municipal clerk, not less than ten (10) days before the date of the election, a petition of nomination signed by at least fifty (50) or twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the school board member district, whichever is less. The election shall be held, as far as practicable, in the same manner as general elections are conducted under subsection (3) of this section. The candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast by the qualified electors in the school board member district shall be elected. However, if no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a runoff election shall be held two (2) weeks after the election. The names of the candidate receiving the highest number of votes and the candidate, or candidates in the event of a tie, receiving the next highest vote for the office shall be placed on the ballot in the runoff election. The person receiving the highest number of votes cast by the qualified electors in the runoff election shall be elected. The clerk of the municipal election commission shall give a certificate of election to the person elected and shall return to the Secretary of State a copy of the order of holding the election and its results, certified by the municipal clerk. The Governor shall commission the person elected to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
However, if nine (9) days before the date of the election only one (1) person has qualified as a candidate, the governing authority shall dispense with the election, and the remaining members of the school board shall appoint that candidate to fill the unexpired term. If no person has qualified at least nine (9) days before the election, the governing authority shall dispense with the election, and the remaining members of the school board shall appoint a person, selected from the qualified electors of the school board member district in which the vacancy exists, to fill the unexpired term. The chairman of the school board shall certify to the Secretary of State the fact of the appointment, and the Governor shall commission the person appointed.
SECTION 4. Section 37-7-703, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-703. In all such special municipal separate school districts which embrace the entire county in which, according to the latest available federal census, a majority of the inhabitants of the county reside within the corporate limits of the municipality, the board of trustees of such special municipal separate school district shall be chosen and selected in the manner provided by subsection (1) of Section 37-7-203, and all of the provisions thereof shall be fully applicable in all respects to the selection and constitution of such board of trustees.
[In any special municipal school district in which the electors have voted to adopt the elected method of selecting school board members pursuant to Section 37-5-20(2), this section shall read as follows:]
37-7-703. (1) In all * * * special municipal separate school districts, beginning in 2009, or in any year of a general municipal election subsequent to the adoption of the elective method of selecting the board of trustees under Section 37-5-20(2), * * * the school board * * * of such special municipal separate school district shall be elected in the manner provided in this section * * *.
(2) Each member of the school board of the special municipal separate school district shall be elected from a special school board member district by the qualified electors of that district. The municipal governing authority shall apportion the special municipal separate school district, including any added territory, into five (5) single school board member districts. The school board member districts shall be as nearly equal as possible according to population. The municipal governing authority shall submit the school board member district lines 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 school board member district lines are precleared by the United States Department of Justice or approved by the United States District Court, the municipal governing authority and the school board of the special municipal separate school district shall place upon their minutes the boundaries established for the five (5) school board member districts, and the school board shall publish the boundaries in a newspaper of general circulation within the school district for at least three (3) consecutive weeks. After having given notice of publication and recording the publication upon the minutes of the school board, the school board member district lines shall be effective. As soon as practicable after the results of the 2010 decennial census and every decennial census thereafter are published, the municipal governing authority shall reapportion the school board member districts in the manner prescribed in this subsection for the creation of the original districts.
(3) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June 2009, and every four (4) years thereafter, an election shall be held in every special municipal separate school district, in the same manner and at the same time as the general municipal elections are held, for the purpose of electing the members of the school board of the special municipal separate school district. Provided, however, that in any special charter municipality where the general municipal election date is different from June 2009, the members of the school board of the municipal separate school district shall be elected as provided in this section in the same manner and at the same time as the general municipal elections are held in such special charter municipality. Candidates for the school board of the special municipal separate school district shall file with the municipal election commissioners, not more than ninety (90) days and not less than sixty (60) days before the date of the general election, a petition of nomination signed by at least fifty (50) or twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the school board member district, whichever is less. The name of each qualified candidate shall be placed on the ballot. The candidate in each school board member district who receives a majority of the votes cast by the qualified electors in that district shall be elected. However, if no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a runoff election shall be held two (2) weeks after the election. The names of the candidate receiving the highest number of votes and the candidate, or candidates in the event of a tie, receiving the next highest vote for the office shall be placed on the ballot in the runoff election. The person receiving the highest number of votes cast by the qualified electors in the runoff election shall be elected. All persons elected to serve on the school board of the special municipal separate school district shall take office on the first Monday of July next following the date of their election and shall serve for a term of four (4) years.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in each special municipal separate school district, the terms of all school board members, whether appointed or elected, existing on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June 2009 shall expire when their duly elected successors take office on the first Monday of July 2009 or on the first Monday of July following the general municipal election date if such municipality is a special charter municipality.
(5) Whenever there is a vacancy in the membership of the school board of the special municipal separate school district, the vacancy shall be filled, depending upon the length of the unexpired term of the vacated office, in the manner provided under this subsection.
(a) If the unexpired term of the vacated office is six (6) months or less, the remaining members of the school board shall appoint, within sixty (60) days after the vacancy occurs, a person to serve the unexpired portion of the term. The appointee shall be selected from the qualified electors of the school board member district in which the vacancy occurs. The chairman of the school board shall certify to the Secretary of State the fact of the appointment, and the Governor shall commission the person appointed.
(b) If the unexpired term of the vacated office is greater than six (6) months, an election shall be held to fill the vacancy. The school board shall certify in writing the fact of the vacancy to the governing authority of the municipality. At the next regular meeting of the governing authority after its receipt of certification of the vacancy from the school board, the governing authority shall make and enter on its minutes an order for an election to be held in the school board member district in which the vacancy exists and shall fix the date upon which the election shall be held, which date shall not be less than thirty (30) days nor more than forty-five (45) days after the date upon which the order is adopted.
The municipal clerk shall publish notice of the election in a newspaper of general circulation within the municipality once each week for three (3) successive weeks preceding the date of the election. The first notice must be published at least thirty (30) days before the date of the election. Notice also shall be given by the school board by posting a copy of the notice at three (3) public places in the school board member district in which the vacancy exists and at the administrative offices of the school board not less than twenty-one (21) days before the date of the election.
Candidates for the vacated office shall file with the municipal clerk, not less than ten (10) days before the date of the election, a petition of nomination signed by at least fifty (50) or twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the school board member district, whichever is less. The election shall be held, as far as practicable, in the same manner as general elections are conducted under subsection (3) of this section. The candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast by the qualified electors in the school board member district shall be elected. However, if no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a runoff election shall be held two (2) weeks after the election. The names of the candidate receiving the highest number of votes and the candidate, or candidates in the event of a tie, receiving the next highest vote for the office shall be placed on the ballot in the runoff election. The person receiving the highest number of votes cast by the qualified electors in the runoff election shall be elected. The clerk of the municipal election commission shall give a certificate of election to the person elected and shall return to the Secretary of State a copy of the order of holding the election and its results, certified by the municipal clerk. The Governor shall commission the person elected to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
However, if nine (9) days before the date of the election only one (1) person has qualified as a candidate, the governing authority shall dispense with the election, and the remaining members of the school board shall appoint that candidate to fill the unexpired term. If no person has qualified at least nine (9) days before the election, the governing authority shall dispense with the election, and the remaining members of the school board shall appoint a person, selected from the qualified electors of the school board member district in which the vacancy exists, to fill the unexpired term. The chairman of the school board shall certify to the Secretary of State the fact of the appointment, and the Governor shall commission the person appointed.
SECTION 5. Section 37-7-201, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-201. In order for a person to be eligible to hold the office of school board member of any school district, such person must be a bona fide resident and a qualified elector of * * * the school board member district entitled to such representation on the school board.
SECTION 6. Section 37-7-207, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-207. (1) All school districts reconstituted or created under the provisions of Article 1 of this chapter, and which lie wholly within one (1) county, but not including municipal separate and countywide districts, shall be governed by a board of five (5) trustees. The first board of trustees of such districts shall be appointed by the county board of education, and the original appointments shall be so made that one (1) trustee shall be appointed to serve until the first Saturday of March following such appointments, one (1) for one (1) year longer, one (1) for two (2) years longer, one (1) for three (3) years longer, and one (1) for four (4) years longer. After such original appointments, the trustees of such school districts shall be elected by the qualified electors of such school districts in the manner provided for in Sections 37-7-223 through 37-7-229, with each trustee to be elected for a term of five (5) years. The five (5) members of the board of trustees of such consolidated school district shall be elected from special trustee election districts by the qualified electors thereof, as herein provided. The board of trustees of any such consolidated school district shall apportion the consolidated school district into five (5) special trustee election districts. The board of trustees of such school district shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts. The board of trustees shall thereafter publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation within said school district for at least three (3) consecutive weeks; and after having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board of trustees, said new district lines shall thereafter be effective.
On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, in any year in which any consolidated school district shall elect to utilize the authority to create single member election districts, an election shall be held in each such district in this state for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of such district. At said election the member of the said board from District One shall be elected for a term of one (1) year, the member from District Two shall be elected for a term of two (2) years, the member from District Three shall be elected for a term of three (3) years, the member from District Four shall be elected for a term of four (4) years, and the member from District Five shall be elected for a term of five (5) years. Thereafter, members shall be elected at general elections as vacancies occur for terms of five (5) years each. Trustees elected from single member election districts as provided above shall otherwise be elected as provided for in Sections 37-7-223 through 37-7-229. All members of the said board of trustees shall take office on the first Monday of January following the date of their election. All vacancies which may occur during a term shall be filled by appointment of the consolidated school district trustees, but the person so appointed shall serve only until the next general election following such appointment, at which time a person shall be elected for the remainder of the unexpired term at the same time and in the same manner as a trustee is elected for the full term then expiring. The person so elected to the unexpired term shall take office immediately. Said appointee shall be selected from the qualified electors of the district in which the vacancy occurs.
(2) All school districts reconstituted and created under the provisions of Article 1 of this chapter, which embrace territory in two (2) or more counties, but not including municipal separate school districts, shall be governed by a board of five (5) trustees. In making the original appointments, the several county boards of education shall appoint the trustee or trustees to which the territory in such county is entitled, and, by agreement between the county boards concerned, one (1) person shall be appointed to serve until the first Saturday of March following, one (1) for one (1) year longer, one (1) for two (2) years longer, one (1) for three (3) years longer and one (1) for four (4) years longer. Thereafter, such trustees shall be elected as is provided for in Sections 37-7-223 through 37-7-229, for a term of five (5) years. The five (5) members of the board of trustees of such line consolidated school district shall be elected from special trustee election districts by the qualified electors thereof, as herein provided. The existing board of trustees of such line consolidated school district shall apportion the line consolidated school district into five (5) special trustee election districts. The board of trustees shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts. The board of trustees shall thereafter publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation within said school district for at least three (3) consecutive weeks; and after having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board of trustees, said new district lines shall thereafter be effective. Provided, however, that in any line consolidated school district encompassing two (2) or more counties created pursuant to Laws, 1953, Extraordinary Session, Chapter 12, Section 8, in which, as a condition precedent to the creation of said district, each county belonging thereto was contractually guaranteed to always have at least one (1) representative on said board, in order that said condition precedent may be honored and guaranteed, in any year in which the board of trustees of such line consolidated school district does not have at least one (1) member from each county or part thereof forming such district, the board of trustees in such district shall be governed by a board of a sufficient number of trustees to fulfill this guarantee, five (5) of whom shall be elected from the five (5) special trustee election districts which shall be as nearly equal as possible and one (1) member trustee appointed at large from each county not having representation on the elected board. In such cases, the board of supervisors of each county shall make written agreement to guarantee the manner of appointment of at least one (1) representative from each county in the district, placing such written agreement on the minutes of each board of supervisors in each county.
On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, in any year in which any line consolidated school district shall elect to utilize the authority to create single member election districts, an election shall be held in each such district in this state for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of such district. At said election the member of the said board from District One shall be elected for a term of one (1) year, the member from District Two shall be elected for a term of two (2) years, the member from District Three shall be elected for a term of three (3) years, the member from District Four shall be elected for a term of four (4) years, and the member from District Five shall be elected for a term of five (5) years. Thereafter, members shall be elected at general elections as vacancies occur for terms of five (5) years each. Trustees elected from single member election districts as provided above shall otherwise be elected as provided for in Sections 37-7-223 through 37-7-229. All members of the said board of trustees shall take office on the first Monday of January following the date of their election. In all elections, the trustee elected shall be a resident and qualified elector of the district entitled to the representation upon the board, and he shall be elected only by the qualified electors of such district. All vacancies which may occur during a term of office shall be filled by appointment of the consolidated line school district trustees, but the person so appointed shall serve only until the next general election following such appointment, at which time a person shall be elected for the remainder of the unexpired term at the same time and in the same manner as the trustee is elected for the full term then expiring. The person so elected to the unexpired term shall take office immediately.
(3) In any consolidated school wherein the electors have selected the appointive method of choosing members of the board of trustees as provided in Section 37-5-20(3), the members of the board shall be appointed by the board of supervisors of the county in which the consolidated school district is located in the manner provided in Section 37-7-717(d).
SECTION 7. Section 37-7-717, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-717. Upon complying with the terms and provisions of Section 37-7-715 hereof, the board of supervisors of any county wherein there is a special municipal separate school district and the governing authorities of the municipality may provide that the board of trustees of such special municipal separate school district shall be organized and constituted in one of the following manners:
(a) The said board may consist of five (5) members, all of whom shall be bona fide residents of and qualified electors of such school districts and who shall be appointed by either the board of supervisors, the governing authorities of the municipality, or by both of said bodies in such proportion as the governing bodies may agree upon. The first such board shall be appointed so that one (1) trustee shall be appointed to serve for one (1) year, one for one (1) year longer, one for two (2) years longer, one (1) for three (3) years longer, and one (1) for four (4) years longer. Upon the expiration of each such original term, each appointment shall be for five (5) years and shall be made by the authority making the original appointment. In case of the occurrence of a vacancy, the authority which made the appointment of the trustee responsible for such vacancy shall appoint a successor to serve the remainder of the term of such trustee.
(b) In case of a special municipal separate school district which embraces the entire county, the board of trustees may be constituted and selected in accordance with the terms and provisions of Sections 37-7-707 through 37-7-711, with the exception that one (1) member of such board shall be elected by each supervisors district and shall be a resident and qualified elector of the district from which he is elected.
(c) In case of a special municipal separate school district embracing the entire county, the board of trustees may be constituted and selected in accordance with the terms and provisions of Section 37-7-713.
(d) In the case of a county or consolidated school district in which the electors have chosen pursuant to the referendum provided in Section 37-5-20(1) or (3) to change from the elected method of selecting local school board members to an appointive method, the said board shall consist of five (5) members, all of whom shall be residents of and qualified electors of such school districts, and who shall be appointed by the board of supervisors of the county in which the school district is located. Each member shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years upon the expiration of the preceding term of office. In the case of the occurrence of a vacancy, the board of supervisors shall appoint a successor to serve the remainder of the term of such local school board member.
SECTION 8. 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 9. 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.