Bill Text: MS SB2102 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: School board members; elected in all districts.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2019-02-05 - Died In Committee [SB2102 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2019-SB2102-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2019 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Senator(s) Watson
Senate Bill 2102
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-203, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE TRUSTEES OF MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHALL BE ELECTED FROM SPECIAL TRUSTEE ELECTION DISTRICTS BY THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF SUCH DISTRICT BEGINNING WITH THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS IN THE YEAR 2021; TO PROVIDE THAT SUCH ELECTION SHALL BE HELD EVERY FOUR YEARS IN THE SAME MANNER AS ELECTIONS ARE HELD FOR OTHER MUNICIPAL OFFICERS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD SHALL APPORTION THE NEW TRUSTEE ELECTION DISTRICTS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-703, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE TRUSTEES OF SPECIAL MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHALL BE ELECTED IN THE SAME MANNER AS TRUSTEES OF MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 37-7-209, 37-7-211, AND 37-7-215 THROUGH 37-7-219, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE CERTAIN METHODS FOR ELECTING TRUSTEES OF MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS FROM ADDED TERRITORY; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 37-7-705 THROUGH 37-7-717, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE CERTAIN METHODS FOR SELECTING TRUSTEES OF SPECIAL MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-7-203, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-203. (1) Except as
otherwise provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, the boards of
trustees of all municipal separate school districts created under this chapter,
either with or without added territory, shall consist of five (5) members * * *. On the first Tuesday after the
first Monday in June 2021, and every four (4) years thereafter, an election
shall be held in each municipal separate school district in this state, in the
same manner and at the same time as the regular municipal elections are held,
for the purpose of electing the members of the boards of trustees established
under the provisions of this chapter. Provided, however, that in any special
charter municipality where the general municipal election date is different
from June 2021, 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. All members of the boards of trustees as herein
constituted shall take office on the first Monday of July 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 of such school district shall be elected from
special trustee election districts by the qualified electors thereof, as herein
provided. The board of trustees of such school district shall apportion the
municipal separate school district, including added territory, into five (5)
special trustee election districts as nearly equal as possible according to
population, incumbency and other factors heretofore pronounced by the courts.
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. All incumbent trustees holding office at the time of the
creation of such trustee election districts shall continue holding their
respective offices, provided they reside within the new district, for the
remainder of the term of office to which they have heretofore been selected,
and their successors shall be elected from the new trustee election districts
constituted herein in the manner provided for in this section.
* * *
(2) * * * Vacancies in the membership of the board of trustees
of any municipal separate school district shall be filled by appointment,
within sixty (60) days after the vacancy occurs, by the governing authorities
of such municipality. Such appointee shall be selected from the qualified
electors of the district in which the vacancy occurs. The president of the
municipal governing authority shall certify to the Secretary of State the fact
of the appointment, and the person so appointed shall be commissioned by the
Governor; and if the unexpired term be longer than six (6) months, such appointee
shall serve until a successor is elected as hereinafter provided, unless the
vacancy shall occur before ninety (90) days prior to 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 so appointed shall serve the unexpired portion of
the term. Such 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 authority shall, within ten (10) days after the happening
of the vacancy, make an order, in writing, directed to the commissioners of
election, commanding 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, 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
showing the results thereof, certified by the president of the municipal
governing authority. Such election shall be held in the same manner provided
for other municipal office vacancies. The person elected shall be commissioned
by the Governor.
Provided, however, where only one (1) person shall have 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 authority that there is but one (1) candidate. Thereupon, the municipal governing authority shall dispense with the election and shall appoint the candidate so certified to fill the unexpired term. The president of the municipal governing authority shall certify to the Secretary of State the candidate so appointed to serve in such office and that candidate shall be commissioned by the Governor. In the event that no person shall have qualified at least sixty (60) days prior to the date of the election, the commissioners of election shall certify that fact to the municipal governing authority which shall dispense with the election and fill the vacancy by appointment. The president of the municipal governing authority shall certify to the Secretary of State the fact of the appointment, and the person so appointed shall be commissioned by the Governor.
(3) In municipalities designated as having a mayor-council form of government under Chapter 8, Title 21, Mississippi Code of 1972, and having a population in excess of one hundred thousand (100,000) according to the 2000 federal decennial census, the boards of trustees of the municipal separate school district located in the municipality may, if authorized by ordinance of the municipal governing authority, consist of seven (7) members residing in each of the seven (7) wards in the municipality, to be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council as follows: (a) each board member shall reside in the ward from which he is appointed; (b) members serving on March 31, 2010, shall continue to serve until a new term commences and new members shall be selected from wards not currently represented on the board; (c) one (1) of the two (2) additional appointments shall serve a term of five (5) years and one (1) for a term of four (4) years, with all subsequent appointments for a five-year term; and (d) each new appointment shall be made by the mayor and confirmed by the city council of the municipality at the first meeting of the governing authorities held in the month of June following March 31, 2010, and thereafter each year, and the term of office of each member so selected shall commence on the first Saturday of July following.
(4) (a) Beginning in 2017, in any municipal separate school district that is traversed by the Escatawpa River and in which Interstate Highway 10 and Mississippi Highway 63 intersect, the board of trustees of the municipal separate school district shall consist of five (5) members, each to be elected for a term of four (4) years in the manner provided in this subsection. Within forty-five (45) days after July 1, 2017, the municipal governing authority shall apportion the municipal separate school district, including any added territory outside the corporate limits, into five (5) special trustee election districts as nearly equal as possible according to population, incumbency and other factors pronounced by the courts before August 8, 2017. The municipal governing authority shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts and shall publish the same 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 same upon the minutes of the municipal governing authority, the new district lines shall be effective.
(b) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2017, and every four (4) years thereafter, an election shall be held in the municipal separate school district for local school board members from trustee election districts 1, 3 and 5 in the same manner and at the same time as the general municipal election is held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of the municipal separate school district. All members of the board of trustees elected pursuant to this paragraph (b) shall take office on the first Monday of January immediately following the date of their election. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board of trustees serving on July 1, 2017, which otherwise would expire after the first Monday in July 2018, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2018. If no individual qualifies for the elective office of school district trustee, the trustee for that specific trustee district shall be filled by appointment of the municipal governing authority; however, the person so appointed to fill the vacancy may serve only until the first Monday in January 2019, at which time the trustee elected pursuant to this subsection shall take office for the remainder of the unexpired initial term.
From and after January 1, 2018, any vacancy on the board of trustees shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the board of trustees within sixty (60) days after the vacancy occurs. The appointee must be selected from the qualified electors of the trustee election district in which the vacancy occurs. The appointee shall serve until the first Monday of January succeeding the next general municipal election, at which election a member from that trustee election district shall be elected for a full term.
(c) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2018, and every four (4) years thereafter, an election shall be held in the municipal separate school district for local school board members from trustee election districts 2 and 4 in the same manner and at the same time as the Congressional mid-term election is held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of the municipal separate school district. All members of the board of trustees elected pursuant to this paragraph (c) shall take office on the first Monday of January immediately following the date of their election. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board of trustees serving on July 1, 2018, which otherwise would expire after the first Monday in July 2018, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2019. If no individual qualifies for the elective office of school district trustee, the trustee for that specific trustee district shall be filled by appointment of the municipal governing authority; however, the person so appointed to fill the vacancy may serve only until the first Monday in January 2020, at which time the trustee elected pursuant to this subsection shall take office for the remainder of the unexpired initial term.
From and after July 1, 2020, any vacancy on the board of trustees shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the board of trustees within sixty (60) days after the vacancy occurs. The appointee must be selected from the qualified electors of the trustee election district in which the vacancy occurs. The appointee shall serve until the first Monday of July succeeding the next general municipal election, at which election a member from that trustee election district shall be elected for a full term.
SECTION 2. Section 37-7-703, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-703. In all such
special municipal separate school districts * * *, the board of
trustees of such special municipal separate school district shall be * * * elected 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. Provided, however, that the
board of trustees of any special municipal separate school district shall have
the authority to apportion the new trustee election districts as provided in
Section 37-7-203(1).
SECTION 3. Sections 37-7-209, 37-7-211, 37-7-215, 37-7-217 and 37-7-219, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provide certain methods for electing trustees of municipal separate school districts from added territory, are repealed.
SECTION 4. Sections 37-7-705, 37-7-707, 37-7-709, 37-7-711, 37-7-713, 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 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.
