INTRODUCED
May 5, 2022
H. 5339
Introduced by Reps. Lowe, R. Williams, Jordan, Kirby and Alexander
L. Printed 5/5/22--S.
Read the first time May 5, 2022.
TO PROVIDE, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THAT PURSUANT TO THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION'S EMERGENCY DECLARATION AND MANDATORY CONSOLIDATION OF FLORENCE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT ONE AND FLORENCE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOUR, THE RESULTING CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT MUST BE KNOWN AS FLORENCE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT ONE; TO PROVIDE THAT BEGINNING JULY 1, 2022, FLORENCE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT ONE MUST BE GOVERNED INITIALLY BY A NINE-MEMBER BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO BE APPOINTED BY A MAJORITY OF THE FLORENCE COUNTY LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION; TO ESTABLISH AND REAPPORTION NINE SINGLE-MEMBER ELECTION DISTRICTS FROM THE COMBINED GEOGRAPHIC AREA OF FLORENCE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT ONE AND FLORENCE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOUR FROM WHICH, BEGINNING WITH THE 2022 SCHOOL DISTRICT ELECTIONS, THE GOVERNING BODY OF FLORENCE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT ONE MUST BE ELECTED; TO PROVIDE THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE FLORENCE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT ONE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MUST BE ELECTED IN NONPARTISAN ELECTIONS CONDUCTED AT THE SAME TIME AS THE GENERAL ELECTION AND EVERY TWO OR FOUR YEARS THEREAFTER AS NECESSARY TO STAGGER THE MEMBERS' TERMS; TO PROVIDE FOR A FLORENCE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT ONE MAP THAT DELINEATES THE NINE SINGLE-MEMBER ELECTION DISTRICTS; AND TO PROVIDE DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR THESE NINE SINGLE-MEMBER ELECTION DISTRICTS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. (A) Pursuant to the State Superintendent of Education's emergency declaration and mandatory consolidation of Florence County School District One and Florence County School District Four, and notwithstanding another provision of law, the resulting consolidated school district must be known as Florence County School District One. Beginning July 1, 2022, Florence County School District One must be governed initially by a nine-member board of trustees appointed by a majority of the Florence County Legislative Delegation. Any outstanding debt that was the responsibility of Florence County School District One before July 1, 2022, shall remain attributable to and the responsibility of Florence County School District One as it existed prior to July 1, 2022. Beginning with the 2022 Florence County School District One elections, four school district trustees must be elected in nonpartisan elections from single-member election districts 4, 6, 8, and 9 to be conducted at the same time as the general election and every four years thereafter, except as may be necessary to stagger the members' terms of office. The four trustees elected in the 2022 school district elections shall serve four-year terms and until their successors are elected in the 2026 school district elections and qualify. Beginning with the 2024 school district elections, five school trustees must be elected in nonpartisan elections from single-member election districts 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 to be conducted at the same time as the general election and every four years thereafter, except as may be necessary to stagger the members' terms of office. The five trustees elected in the 2024 school district elections shall serve four-year terms and until their successors are elected in the 2028 school district elections and qualify. The members of the board of trustees must be elected by the qualified electors of Florence County School District One from one of the nine defined single-member districts as shown on the Florence County School District One map on file with the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office and designated as document S-41-01-22. This map, unless subsequently amended by the General Assembly or a court of competent jurisdiction, must be used for school district elections and to fill any vacancies that occur after July 1, 2022. A board member representing a numbered district must be a resident of the school district and the numbered single-member district from which he is elected, and only those electors residing in the particular district are eligible to vote for the trustee who will represent the district.
(B) The members of the Florence County School District One Board of Trustees must be elected for four-year terms and until their successors are elected and qualify. Vacancies on the board must be filled by so many of the members of the House of Representatives and Senate elected from districts wholly or in part within the bounds of School District Number One of Florence County for the unexpired term. If more than half of a term remains and the appointment is made at least forty-five days prior to a school board election, the appointment by such members of the General Assembly shall be only until that election, at which time the unexpired portion of the term shall be filled by election.
(C) Notwithstanding another provision of law, all persons desiring to qualify as a candidate for the Florence County School District One Board of Trustees shall file written notice of candidacy with the Florence County Board of Voter Registration and Elections on forms furnished by the board. The filing period shall open at 12:00 p.m. on August first or, if August first falls on Saturday or Sunday, then 12:00 p.m. on the following Monday and shall run until 12:00 p.m. on August fifteenth or, if August fifteenth falls on Saturday or Sunday, no later than 12:00 p.m. on the following Monday. This notice of candidacy must be a sworn statement and shall include the candidate's name, age, address, election district in which the candidate resides and from which he seeks election, voting precinct, period of residence in the county, and other information that the board requires. Unless otherwise prohibited by law, the nine trustees initially appointed by a majority of the Florence County Legislative Delegation may offer for election to the Florence County School District One Board of Trustees.
(D) The Florence County Board of Voter Registration and Elections shall conduct and supervise the elections for members of the Florence County School District One Board of Trustees in the manner governed by the election laws of this State, mutatis mutandis. The county elections board shall prepare the necessary ballots, appoint managers for the voting precincts, and do all things necessary to carry out the elections, including the counting of ballots and declaring the results. The county elections board shall publish notices of the elections pursuant to Section 7-13-35. The results of the school district elections must be determined by the nonpartisan plurality method pursuant to Section 5-15-61. The members of the Florence County School District One Board of Trustees elected in these nonpartisan elections shall take office one week following certification of their election pursuant to Section 59-19-315.
(E) The members of the Florence County School District One Board of Trustees shall elect a chairman and other officers they consider necessary to serve for terms that are coterminous with their terms of office.
(F) The demographic information for each of the nine single-member election districts shown on the Florence County School District One map is as follows:
District Pop. Dev. % Dev. Hisp. %Hisp.
1 11,587 -213 -1.81% 306 2.64%
2 11,965 165 1.40% 377 3.15%
3 11,469 -331 -2.81% 203 1.77%
4 12,003 203 1.72% 373 3.11%
5 11,711 -89 -0.75% 469 4.00%
6 11,975 175 1.48% 481 4.02%
7 11,932 132 1.12% 423 3.55%
8 11,902 102 0.86% 425 3.57%
9 11,659 -141 -1.19% 361 3.10%
Total: 106,203 3,418 3.22%
District NHWhite %NHWhite NHDOJBlk %NHDOJBlk NH Oth %NH Oth
1 7,789 67.22% 2,897 25.00% 595 5.14%
2 3,784 31.63% 7,436 62.15% 368 3.08%
3 2,937 25.61% 8,027 69.99% 302 2.63%
4 4,903 40.85% 6,309 52.56% 418 3.48%
5 6,564 56.05% 3,851 32.88% 827 7.06%
6 7,835 65.43% 2,662 22.23% 997 8.33%
7 7,298 61.16% 3,664 30.71% 547 4.58%
8 6,067 50.97% 5,022 42.19% 388 3.26%
9 5,233 44.88% 5,721 49.07% 344 2.95%
Total 52,410 49.35% 45,589 42.93% 4,786 4.51%
District VAP HVAP %HVAP NH WVAP %NH WVAP
1 9,111 202 2.22% 6,368 69.89%
2 9,026 248 2.75% 3,179 35.22%
3 8,849 131 1.48% 2,497 28.22%
4 9,199 218 2.37% 3,906 42.46%
5 9,133 312 3.42% 5,403 59.16%
6 9,138 299 3.27% 6,134 67.13%
7 9,316 252 2.71% 6,005 64.46%
8 9,114 285 3.13% 4,945 54.26%
9 9,391 260 2.77% 4,379 46.63%
Total 82,277 2,207 2.68% 42,816 52.04%
NH DOJ %NH DOJ
District BVAP BVAP NHOthVAP %NHOthVAP
1 2,122 23.29% 419 4.60%
2 5,333 59.08% 266 2.95%
3 6,012 67.94% 209 2.36%
4 4,761 51.76% 314 3.41%
5 2,834 31.03% 584 6.39%
6 2,015 22.05% 690 7.55%
7 2,647 28.41% 412 4.42%
8 3,585 39.34% 299 3.28%
9 4,505 47.97% 247 2.63%
Total 33,814 41.10% 3,440 4.18%
SECTION 2. The exterior boundaries of Florence County School District One are not altered by the provisions of this act. These school district lines are as defined by law and any census blocks which may be divided are done so only for statistical purposes and to establish a population base.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.