House Bill 848

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-5-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE COUNTY BOARDS OF EDUCATION AT THE SAME TIME AS THE GENERAL STATE AND COUNTY ELECTIONS IN 2011 AND TO ESTABLISH A TERM OF FOUR YEARS FOR THAT OFFICE; TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-207, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE BOARDS OF TRUSTEES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND LINE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE SAME MANNER AND AT THE SAME TIME AS THE GENERAL STATE AND COUNTY ELECTIONS AND TO ESTABLISH A TERM OF FOUR YEARS FOR THOSE OFFICES; TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-713, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE BOARDS OF TRUSTEES OF CERTAIN SPECIAL MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE SAME MANNER AND AT THE SAME TIME AS THE GENERAL STATE AND COUNTY ELECTIONS AND TO ESTABLISH A TERM OF FOUR YEARS FOR THAT OFFICE; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 37-7-221, 37-7-223, 37-7-227 AND 37-7-229, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE CERTAIN METHODS FOR ELECTING TRUSTEES OF CONSOLIDATED AND LINE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 37-7-705, 37-7-707, 37-7-709, 37-7-711, 37-7-715 AND 37-7-717, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE CERTAIN METHODS FOR SELECTING TRUSTEES OF SPECIAL MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-9-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF ALL SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENTS BEGINNING ON JULY 1, 2009, AND TO PROVIDE THAT ELECTED SUPERINTENDENTS HOLDING OFFICE ON THAT DATE MAY SERVE UNTIL THE EXPIRATION OF THE TERM FOR WHICH THEY WERE ELECTED; TO AMEND SECTION 37-9-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; TO AMEND SECTION 37-5-61, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT ELECTED COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF EDUCATION HOLDING OFFICE ON JULY 1, 2009, MAY SERVE THE ENTIRE TERM FOR WHICH THEY WERE ELECTED, TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF SUCCESSORS TO ELECTED COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS UPON THE EXPIRATION OF THEIR TERM, TO DELETE THE PROVISION OF LAW THAT PROVIDES FOR THE ELECTION OF COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF EDUCATION IN THE SAME MANNER AND TIME AS OTHER COUNTY OFFICERS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE REPEAL OF THE SECTION EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2012; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-9-12, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR A REFERENDUM ON THE QUESTION OF RETAINING THE ELECTIVE METHOD OF CHOOSING THE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 37-5-63 THROUGH 37-5-75, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF CERTAIN COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF EDUCATION, ON JULY 1, 2009; TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-297, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37-5-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-5-7. (1) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2008, an election shall be held in each county in this state in the same manner and at the same time as the presidential election is held and conducted, * * * for the purpose of electing the county boards of education established under the provisions of this chapter. * * * All members of the county board of education * * * shall take office on the first Monday of January 2009 and shall serve for a term of three (3) years. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board serving on the date that House Bill No. ____, 2007 Regular Session, becomes effective that otherwise would expire after the first Monday in January 2009, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2009.

(2) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2011 and every four (4) years thereafter, an election shall be held in the same manner and at the same time as the general state and county elections are held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the county boards of education * * *. * * * All members of the county board of education shall take office on the first Monday of January following the date of their election and shall serve for a term of four (4) years.

SECTION 2. Section 37-7-207, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

[Until July 1, 2011, this section shall read as follows:]

37-7-207. (1) All school districts reconstituted or created under the provisions of Article 3 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 this section and Section 37-7-225, with each trustee to be elected for a term of four (4) 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 2008, in each consolidated school district * * * an election shall be held in the same manner and at the same time as the presidential election is held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of such district. At the election, the members of the * * * board * * * shall be elected for a term of three (3) years. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board serving on the date that House Bill No. ____, 2007 Regular Session, becomes effective that otherwise would expire after the first Monday in January 2009, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2009. All members of the * * * 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 in the manner provided for in this section and Section 37-7-225, for a term of four (4) 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, the new district lines shall thereafter be effective. However, 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 the district, each county that is a part of the district was contractually guaranteed to always have at least one (1) representative on the board, in order that the condition precedent may be honored and guaranteed, in any year in which the board of trustees of that 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 adopt a 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 2008, in each line consolidated school district * * * an election shall be held in the same manner and at the same time as the presidential election is held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of such district. At the election, the members of the * * * board * * * shall be elected for a term of three (3) years. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board serving on the date that House Bill No.____, 2007 Regular Session, becomes effective that otherwise would expire after the first Monday in January 2009, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2009. All members of the * * * 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.

[From and after July 1, 2011, this section shall read as follows:]

On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2011 and every four (4) years thereafter, in each consolidated school district * * * an election shall be held in the same manner and at the same time as the general state and county elections are held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of such district. At the election, the members of the * * * board * * * shall be elected for a term of * * * four (4) years. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board serving on the date that House Bill No. ____, 2007 Regular Session, becomes effective that otherwise would expire after the first Monday in January 2012, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2012. All members of the * * * 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.

On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2011 and every four (4) years thereafter, in each line consolidated school district * * * an election shall be held in the same manner and at the same time as the general state and county elections are held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of such district. At the election, the members of the * * * board * * * shall be elected for a term of * * * four (4) years. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board serving on the date that House Bill No.____, 2007 Regular Session, becomes effective that otherwise would expire after the first Monday in January 2012, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2012. All members of the * * * 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.

SECTION 3. Section 37-7-713, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

[Until July 1, 2011, this section shall read as follows:]

37-7-713. (1) In all special municipal separate school districts where the district embraces less than the entire area of the county and where the majority of the educable children of such district reside outside the limits of the municipality, * * * the * * * special municipal separate school district shall be governed by a board of trustees consisting of five (5) members, to be elected by the qualified electors of such municipal separate school district * * * in the manner provided by this section. On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2008, an election shall be held in each special municipal separate school district as constituted in this section, in the same manner and at the same time as the presidential election is held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the members of the boards of trustees established under this section. All members of the boards of trustees as constituted in this section shall take office on the first Monday of January 2009 and shall serve for a term of three (3) years. The five (5) members of the board of trustees shall be elected from trustee election districts by the qualified electors of the district, as provided in this section. The governing authorities of the municipality shall apportion the special municipal separate school district into five (5) special trustee election districts as nearly equal as possible according to population, incumbency and other factors pronounced by the courts before the effective date of House Bill No. ____, 2007 Regular Session. The municipal governing authorities shall place upon their minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts. The municipal governing authorities shall thereafter publish the same in a newspaper having general circulation within the 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 municipal governing authorities, the new district lines shall be effective. The term of each incumbent trustee serving on the date that House Bill No. ____, 2007 Regular Session, becomes effective that otherwise would expire after the first Monday of January 2009 shall expire on the first Monday of January 2009.

(2) Vacancies in the membership of the board of trustees of any special municipal separate school district as constituted in this section shall be filled by appointment, within sixty (60) days after the vacancy occurs, by the governing authorities of the municipality. The appointee shall be selected from the qualified electors of the district in which the vacancy occurs. The president of the municipal governing authorities shall certify to the Secretary of State the fact of the appointment, and the Governor shall commission the person appointed. If the unexpired term is longer than six (6) months, the appointee shall serve until a successor is elected as provided in this section, unless the vacancy occurs ninety (90) or fewer days before the general election in a year in which an election would normally be held for that office as provided by law, in which case the person appointed shall serve the unexpired portion of the term. The vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term by the qualified electors at the next regular special election day occurring more than ninety (90) days after the occurrence of the vacancy. The president of the municipal governing authorities, within ten (10) days after the occurrence of the vacancy, shall make an order, in writing, directed to the commissioners of election, directing an election to be held on the next regular special election day to fill the vacancy. The election commissioners shall require each candidate to qualify at least sixty (60) days before the date of the election, and 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 the results of the election, certified by the president of the municipal governing authorities. The Governor shall commission the person elected. The election shall be held in the same manner provided for other municipal office vacancies.

However, where only one (1) person has qualified with the commissioners of election to be a candidate within the time provided by law, the commissioners of election shall certify to the municipal governing authorities that there is only one (1) candidate. The municipal governing authorities shall dispense with the election and shall appoint the certified candidate to fill the unexpired term. The president of the municipal governing authorities shall certify to the Secretary of State the candidate so appointed to serve in the office and the Governor shall commission the candidate. If no person has qualified at least sixty (60) days before the date of the election, the commissioners of election shall certify that fact to the municipal governing authorities, which shall dispense with the election and fill the vacancy by appointment. The president of the municipal governing authorities shall certify to the Secretary of State the fact of the appointment, and the Governor shall commission the appointed person.

[From and after July 1, 2011, this section shall read as follows:]

37-7-713. (1) In all special municipal separate school districts where the district embraces less than the entire area of the county and where the majority of the educable children of such district reside outside the limits of the municipality, * * * the * * * special municipal separate school district shall be governed by a board of trustees consisting of five (5) members, to be elected by the qualified electors of such municipal separate school district * * * in the manner provided by this section. On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2011, and every four (4) years thereafter, an election shall be held in each special municipal separate school district as constituted in this section, in the same manner and at the same time as the general state and county elections are held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the members of the boards of trustees established under this section. All members of the boards of trustees as constituted in this section shall take office on the first Monday of January following the date of their election and shall serve for a term of four (4) years. The five (5) members of the board of trustees shall be elected from trustee election districts by the qualified electors of the district, as provided in this section. The governing authorities of the municipality shall apportion the special municipal separate school district into five (5) special trustee election districts as nearly equal as possible according to population, incumbency and other factors pronounced by the courts before the effective date of House Bill No. ____, 2007 Regular Session. The municipal governing authorities shall place upon their minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts. The municipal governing authorities shall thereafter publish the same in a newspaper having general circulation within the 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 municipal governing authorities, the new district lines shall be effective. The term of each incumbent trustee serving on the date that House Bill No. ____, 2007 Regular Session, becomes effective that otherwise would expire after the first Monday of January 2012 shall expire on the first Monday of January 2012.

SECTION 4. Sections 37-7-221, 37-7-223, 37-7-227 and 37-7-229, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provide certain methods for electing trustees of consolidated and line consolidated school districts, are repealed.

SECTION 5. Sections 37-7-705, 37-7-707, 37-7-709, 37-7-711, 37-7-715 and 37-7-717, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provide certain methods for selecting trustees of special municipal separate school districts, are repealed.

SECTION 6. Section 37-9-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-9-13. (1) From and after July 1, 2009, in all public school districts, the school board shall appoint the superintendent of the school district. Any school district superintendent in office on July 1, 2009, who was elected to the office for a term that expires after July 1, 2009, may continue to hold the office until the expiration of the term of office for which the superintendent was elected, at which time the school board shall appoint a successor school district superintendent.

(2) No person shall be eligible to the office of superintendent of schools unless such person shall hold a valid administrator's license by the State Department of Education and shall have had not less than four (4) years of classroom or administrative experience.

SECTION 7. 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 such case, contracts shall be entered into with such superintendents, principals and licensed employees for the number of years for which they have been employed. All such 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 should decrease from that existing during the previous year and thus necessitate a reduction in the number of licensed employees during any year after the first year of the contract. However, in all such cases the licensed employee must be released before July 1 or at least thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of the school term, whichever date should occur earlier. The salary to be paid for the years after the first year of such 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 such salary is revised prior to the beginning of a school year, it shall remain for such school year at the amount fixed in such 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 such year may be increased to the extent that such additional funds are available and nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit same.

SECTION 8. Section 37-5-61, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-5-61. (1) 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 elected at the same time and in the same manner as other county officers are elected and shall hold office for a term of four (4) years.

(5) County superintendents of education holding office on July 1, 2009, may continue to serve for the remainder of the term for which they were elected in November 2007. However, if any county superintendent holding office on July 1, 2009, ceases to hold such office before the expiration of that term of office, the school board of the school district shall appoint a successor school district superintendent in accordance with Section 37-9-13. Upon the expiration of the term of office in effect on July 1, 2009, the superintendent will be appointed in accordance with Section 37-9-13. Persons previously elected to the office of county superintendent of education may apply and be considered for appointment to the position by the school board.

(6) This section shall stand repealed on January 1, 2012.

SECTION 9. Section 37-9-12, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for a referendum on the question of retaining the elective method of choosing the county superintendent of education, isrepealed.

SECTION 10. Sections 37-5-63, 37-5-65, 37-5-67, 37-5-69, 37-5-71 and 37-5-75, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provide for the appointment of certain county superintendents of education, are repealed.

SECTION 11. Section 23-15-297, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

23-15-297. All candidates upon entering the race for party nominations for office shall first pay to the proper officer as provided for in Section 23-15-299 for each primary election the following amounts:

(a) Candidates for Governor not to exceed Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00).

(b) Candidates for Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Commissioner of Insurance, Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, State Highway Commissioner and State Public Service Commissioner, not to exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00).

(d) Candidates for State Senator, State Representative, sheriff, chancery clerk, circuit clerk, tax assessor, tax collector, county attorney * * * and board of supervisors, not to exceed Fifteen Dollars ($15.00).

(e) Candidates for county surveyor, county coroner, justice court judge and constable, not to exceed Ten Dollars ($10.00).

(f) Candidates for United States Senator, not to exceed Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00).

(g) Candidates for United States Representative, not to exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00).

SECTION 12. 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 13. Sections 1 through 5 of this act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2007, or the date Sections 1 through 5 are effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended, whichever is later. Sections 6 through 11 of this act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2009, or the date Sections 6 through 11 are effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended, whichever is later.