School Board members; require to be elected for term of four years at the statewide general election or presidential election.

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To: Education
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representatives Owen, Foster

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 1292

AN ACT TO CODIFY NEW SECTION 37-6-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1
1972, TO REQUIRE THE ELECTION OF ALL SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS; TO GIVE 2
LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS THE OPTION TO CHOOSE WHETHER ITS ELECTION 3
CYCLE WILL RUN CONCURRENT WITH THE STATEWIDE GENERAL ELECTION 4
BEGINNING IN NOVEMBER 2027 OR CONCURRENT WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL 5
ELECTION BEGINNING IN NOVEMBER 2028; TO PROVIDE THAT THE LOCAL 6
SCHOOL BOARD SHALL HAVE THE DISCRETION TO DETERMINE WHETHER ITS 7
MEMBERS WILL BE ELECTED FROM SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICTS OR FROM 8
WITHIN THE DISTRICT AT LARGE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE TERMS OF OFFICE 9
OF ALL SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS SHALL BE FOUR YEARS; TO PROVIDE FOR 10
NOMINATING PETITIONS TO RUN FOR THE OFFICE OF SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER 11
AND TO REQUIRE A UNIFORM NUMBER OF SIGNATURES ON PETITIONS OF 12
NOMINATION; TO ESTABLISH THE PROCEDURE FOR FILLING VACANCIES ON 13
THE SCHOOL BOARD; TO AMEND SECTION 37-5-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 14
1972, TO REQUIRE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DISTRICTS IN COUNTY SCHOOL 15
DISTRICTS TO BE COTERMINOUS WITH THE SUPERVISORS DISTRICTS OF THE 16
COUNTY; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-5-3, 37-5-7, 37-5-9, 37-5-19, 17
37-7-203, 37-7-207, 37-7-221 AND 37-7-703, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 18
1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; TO REPEAL 19
SECTION 37-5-18, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH REQUIRES THE 20
ELECTION OF THE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS FROM TERRITORY 21
OUTSIDE THE FOUR MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN A CERTAIN 22
COUNTY; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 37-7-204, 37-7-209, 37-7-211, 37-7-215, 23
37-7-217, 37-7-219, 37-7-223, 37-7-225, 37-7-227 AND 37-7-229, 24
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE CERTAIN METHODS FOR 25
ELECTING TRUSTEES OF MUNICIPAL AND SPECIAL MUNICIPAL SEPARATE 26
SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND CONSOLIDATED AND LINE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL 27
DISTRICTS; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 37-7-705, 37-7-707, 37-7-709, 28
37-7-711, 37-7-713, 37-7-715 AND 37-7-717, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 29
1972, WHICH PROVIDE ADDITIONAL METHODS FOR SELECTING TRUSTEES OF 30
SPECIAL MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO BRING FORWARD 31
SECTION 37-7-104, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH REQUIRES THE 32
CONSOLIDATION OF CERTAIN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS UNDER 33
CONSERVATORSHIP, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; TO BRING 34
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FORWARD SECTIONS 37-7-104.1, 37-7-104.2, 37-7-104.3, 37-7-104.4, 35
37-7-104.5, 37-7-104.6, 37-7-104.7 AND 37-7-104.8, MISSISSIPPI 36
CODE OF 1972, WHICH REQUIRE THE ADMINISTRATIVE CONSOLIDATION OF 37
SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN CERTAIN COUNTIES, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE 38
AMENDMENTS; TO CODIFY NEW CODE SECTION 37-6-19, MISSISSIPPI CODE 39
OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR A MECHANISM OF REMOVAL OF SCHOOL BOARD 40
MEMBERS OR TRUSTEES THROUGH A RECALL PROCEDURE WHICH SHALL BE 41
INITIATED BY THE FILING OF A PETITION OF QUALIFIED ELECTORS WITH 42
THE GOVERNOR DEMANDING SUCH REMOVAL; TO AMEND SECTION 25-5-7, 43
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING 44
PROVISIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 45
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 46
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 47
37-6-17, Mississippi Code of 1972: 48
37-6-17. (1) For purposes of this section, the term "school 49
board member" means each member of a school board, as the term 50
school board is defined under Section 37-6-3. This term shall be 51
applicable to members of public school boards of every kind and 52
nature within the State of Mississippi, without regard to 53
composition or designation, to include: 54
(a) Countywide school districts; 55
(b) Municipal separate school districts; 56
(c) Special municipal separate school districts; 57
(d) Line consolidated school districts; 58
(e) Consolidated school districts; 59
(f) Agricultural high school districts; and 60
(g) Any other public school governing structure that 61
falls under the jurisdiction and governance of the State Board of 62
Education. 63
The term school board shall not be applicable to the 64
governing board of any authorized charter school. 65
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(2) (a) On July 1, 2027, all public school board member 66
positions shall become elective offices, and shall be elected in 67
accordance with the provisions of this section upon a 68
determination by the local school board as to whether its election 69
cycle will run concurrently with the statewide general election or 70
with the presidential election, and every four (4) years 71
thereafter, respectively and which such determination of preferred 72
election cycle once adopted and spread upon the board minutes 73
shall be final and binding, unless through legislative revision. 74
(b) (i) In addition to the requirement to determine 75
which election cycle its members shall be elected, each local 76
school board, which exists as an appointed board on July 1, 2026, 77
shall also determine whether its members are to be elected from 78
single member election districts or elected as members at-large 79
from the territorial boundaries that constitute the local school 80
district. 81
(ii) In those school districts where the local 82
school board chooses to have the members of its school board 83
elected from single member election districts, those members of 84
the school board who are serving on the board on July 1, 2026, 85
shall, in consultation with the Office of the Secretary of State 86
and the State Board of Education, apportion the school district 87
into five (5) single member election districts, inclusive of any 88
added territory outside of the incorporated limits of the school 89
district from which students are drawn, which are proportionately 90
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representative of the voting-age electorate of the entire school 91
district. The local school board shall thereafter publish the 92
same in some newspaper of general circulation within the county 93
wherein the affected school district is located for at least three 94
(3) consecutive weeks and after having given notice of publication 95
and recording the same upon the minutes of the local school board, 96
the new district lines will thereafter be effective. The 97
apportionment, notification and official adoption of the new 98
district lines shall be completed not less than three (3) months 99
before the qualifying deadlines for individuals seeking the office 100
school board trustee for the immediately subsequent 2027 statewide 101
general election as prescribed in subsection (3), regardless of 102
whether the district opted for an election cycle that runs 103
concurrently with presidential election. 104
(iii) The provisions of this subsection shall not 105
be applicable to any school board that currently elects its 106
members as of July 1, 2026, as those districts shall continue to 107
adhere to the election process currently in place. 108
(3) (a) In those school districts choosing to have the 109
election of its school board members to run concurrently with the 110
statewide general election, on the first Tuesday after the first 111
Monday in November 2027, and every four (4) years thereafter, 112
there shall be an election for all local school board members in 113
the manner provided under this section. Except as otherwise 114
provided in this section, the laws regulating the time and manner 115
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of conducting general elections apply to and govern elections of 116
school board members. 117
(b) In those school districts choosing to have the 118
election of its school board members to run concurrently with the 119
presidential election, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday 120
in November 2028, and every four (4) years thereafter, there shall 121
be an election for all local school board members in the manner 122
provided under this section. Except as otherwise provided in this 123
section, the laws regulating the time and manner of conducting 124
general elections apply to and govern elections of school board 125
members. 126
(4) All school board members elected pursuant to this 127
section shall serve a term of four (4) years. However, in order 128
to provide for an orderly transition, each incumbent school board 129
member holding office on July 1, 2027, in those districts opting 130
to elect board members at the statewide general election, or 131
holding office on July 1, 2028, in those districts opting to elect 132
board members at the presidential election, shall continue holding 133
office until the first Monday of January of the year immediately 134
following the date of the respective election. Any incumbent 135
school board member may qualify to run for office under this 136
section. 137
(5) In order for a person to be eligible to hold the office 138
of school board member, the person must be a bona fide resident 139
and a qualified elector of the territory that the person seeks to 140
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represent on the school board. In the case of a school district 141
lying in two (2) or more counties, such person must be a resident 142
and a qualified elector of the territory entitled to such 143
representation on the board as provided in Section 37-7-201. 144
(6) The name of any qualified elector who is a candidate for 145
the school board must be placed on the ballot used in the general 146
election by the county election commissioners, provided that the 147
candidate files with the county election commissioners, not more 148
than ninety (90) days and not less than sixty (60) days before the 149
date of the general election, a petition of nomination signed by 150
not less than fifty (50) qualified electors of the county residing 151
within the appropriate school board district, as provided in 152
Section 37-5-9, as the case may be. The petition must contain an 153
affidavit certifying that all signatures are the personal 154
signatures of each person whose name appears on the petition and 155
that each person is a qualified elector. The candidate who 156
receives a majority of the votes cast in the election must be 157
declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority of the 158
votes cast in the district, then the two (2) candidates who 159
receive the highest number of votes cast in the district shall 160
have their names submitted as candidates in a runoff election 161
three (3) weeks after the date of the general election, and the 162
candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast in the 163
district in the runoff election must be declared elected. If, 164
after the time for candidates to file the petition and affidavit 165
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required under this subsection, there is only one (1) person who 166
has qualified for the office of school board member, then no 167
election or notice of election is necessary and that person, if 168
otherwise qualified, must be declared elected without opposition. 169
(7) The names of candidates seeking the office of school 170
board member which appear on the ballot at the statewide general 171
election or the presidential election must be grouped together on 172
a separate portion of the ballot clearly identified as school 173
board member elections and must be listed in alphabetical order. 174
(8) At the election for school board members, all qualified 175
electors residing within the appropriate school board election 176
district are qualified to vote for a candidate for the office of 177
school board member. 178
(9) A vacancy in the membership of the school board must be 179
filled by appointment within sixty (60) days after the vacancy 180
occurs by the remaining members of the school board. The 181
appointee must be selected from the qualified electors of the 182
school board member district in which the vacancy occurs. The 183
appointee shall serve until the first Monday of January next 184
succeeding the next state or presidential general election, at 185
which general election a member must be elected to fill the 186
remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner and with the 187
same qualifications applicable to the election of a member for the 188
full term as provided in this section. If a school district is 189
under conservatorship and no members of the applicable school 190
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board remain in office, the Governor shall call a special election 191
to fill the vacancies, and the election will be conducted by the 192
county or municipal election commission, as the case may be. If 193
the vacancy occurs more than five (5) months before the next 194
general state or presidential election and the remaining members 195
of the school board are unable to agree upon an individual to be 196
appointed, any two (2) of the remaining members may certify the 197
disagreement to the county or municipal election commission, as 198
the case may be. Upon the receipt of such a certificate by the 199
county or municipal election commission, or any member thereof, 200
the commission shall hold a special election to fill the vacancy, 201
which election, notice thereof and ballot must be controlled by 202
the laws concerning special elections to fill vacancies in county 203
or municipal offices. The person elected at the special election 204
shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. 205
(10) Each school district shall submit to the Elections 206
Division of the Office of the Secretary of State the election 207
schedule for each school board member or trustee position eligible 208
for election during the applicable election cycle. The election 209
schedule shall indicate whether the local school board has 210
designated the position to be elected concurrently with the 211
statewide general election or the presidential election, which 212
such designation shall be final and binding upon each respective 213
school board, unless revised by legislative enact of the 214
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Mississippi Legislature. The election schedule submitted under 215
this subsection shall include, at a minimum: 216
(a) The length of the term of office; 217
(b) The date of the election; 218
(c) The date on which the term of any defeated 219
incumbent school board member or trustee expires; and 220
(d) The date on which the term of the newly elected or 221
re-elected school board member or trustee begins. 222
(11) The Secretary of State shall administer and oversee 223
elections conducted pursuant to this section in a proper and 224
timely manner, consistent with the procedures governing statewide 225
general elections and presidential elections. The Secretary of 226
State may promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary 227
to implement this section and to ensure that elections for school 228
board members and trustees are conducted without undue delay and 229
in compliance with applicable law, including Section 37-6-17. 230
SECTION 2. Section 37-5-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 231
amended as follows: 232
[Through June 30, 2027, this section shall read as follows:] 233
37-5-1. (1) There is hereby established a county board of 234
education in each county of the State of Mississippi. Said county 235
board of education shall consist of five (5) members, one (1) of 236
which, subject to the further provisions of this chapter and 237
except as is otherwise provided in Section 37-5-1(2), shall be 238
elected by the qualified electors of each board of education 239
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district of the county. Except as is otherwise provided in 240
Section 37-5-3, each member so elected shall be a resident and 241
qualified elector of the district from which he is elected. 242
(2) The county board of education shall apportion the county 243
school district into five (5) single member board of education 244
districts. The county board of education shall place upon its 245
minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) board of 246
education districts. The board of education of said county shall 247
thereafter publish the same in some newspaper of general 248
circulation within said county for at least three (3) consecutive 249
weeks and after having given notice of publication and recording 250
the same upon the minutes of the board of education of said 251
county, said new district lines will thereafter be effective. The 252
board of education of said county shall reapportion the board of 253
education districts in accordance with the procedure described 254
herein for the original apportionment of districts as soon as 255
practicable after the results of the 2000 decennial census are 256
published and as soon as practicable after every decennial census 257
thereafter. 258
(3) In counties where the office of "administrative 259
superintendent" as defined in Section 37-6-3, Mississippi Code of 260
1972, has been abolished, there shall be no county board of 261
education. 262
[From and after July 1, 2027, this section shall read as 263
follows:] 264
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37-5-1. (1) There is * * * established a county board of 265
education in each county of the State of Mississippi. * * * The 266
county board of education shall consist of five (5) members, one 267
(1) of * * * whom shall be elected by the qualified electors of 268
each board of education district of the county at the time and in 269
the manner provided in Section 37-6-17. Except as is otherwise 270
provided in Section 37-5-3, each member so elected shall be a 271
resident and qualified elector of the district from which he is 272
elected. 273
(2) The county board of education shall apportion the county 274
school district into five (5) single member board of education 275
districts, the boundaries of which must be coterminous with the 276
boundaries of the supervisors districts of the county. The county 277
board of education shall place upon its minutes the 278
boundaries * * * for the * * * five (5) board of education 279
districts. * * * 280
(3) In counties where the office of "administrative 281
superintendent" as defined in Section 37-6-3, * * * has been 282
abolished, there shall be no county board of education. 283
SECTION 3. Section 37-5-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 284
amended as follows: 285
[Through June 30, 2027, this section shall read as follows:] 286
37-5-3. No person who is a resident of the territory 287
embraced within a municipal separate school district or a special 288
municipal separate school district shall be eligible to be a 289
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member of the county board of education. Qualified electors 290
residing within a municipal separate school district or special 291
municipal separate school district shall not be eligible to vote 292
or participate in the election of members of the county board of 293
education. 294
The provisions of this section shall be applicable in the 295
case of a special municipal separate school district and a line 296
consolidated school district of which another county is the home 297
county which together occupy all of the territory of a supervisors 298
district of the county. 299
[From and after July 1, 2027, this section shall read as 300
follows:] 301
37-5-3. No person who is a resident of the territory 302
embraced within a municipal separate school district or a special 303
municipal separate school district shall be eligible to be a 304
member of the county board of education. Qualified electors 305
residing within a municipal separate school district or special 306
municipal separate school district shall not be eligible to vote 307
or participate in the election of members of the county board of 308
education provided under Section 37-6-17. 309
The provisions of this section shall be applicable in the 310
case of a special municipal separate school district and a line 311
consolidated school district of which another county is the home 312
county which together occupy all of the territory of a supervisors 313
district of the county. 314
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SECTION 4. Section 37-5-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 315
amended as follows: 316
[Through June 30, 2027, this section shall read as follows:] 317
37-5-7. (1) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in 318
May * * * 1954, an election shall be held in each county in this 319
state in the same manner as general state and county elections are 320
held and conducted, which election shall be held for the purpose 321
of electing the county boards of education established under the 322
provisions of this chapter. At such election, the members of the 323
said board from Supervisors Districts * * * 1 and * * * 2 shall be 324
elected for the term expiring on the first Monday of January * * * 325
1957; members of the board from Supervisors Districts * * * 3 326
and * * * 4 shall be elected for a term expiring on the first 327
Monday of January * * * 1959; and the member of the board from 328
Supervisors District * * * 5 shall be elected for a term expiring 329
on the first Monday of January * * * 1955. Except as otherwise 330
provided in subsection (2), all subsequent members of the board 331
shall be elected for a term of six (6) years at the regular 332
general election held on the first Monday in November next 333
preceding the expiration of the term of office of the respective 334
member or members of such board. All members of the county board 335
of education as herein constituted, shall take office on the first 336
Monday of January following the date of their election. 337
(2) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 338
in any year in which any county shall elect to utilize the 339
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authority contained in Section 37-5-1(2), an election shall be 340
held in each such county in this state for the purpose of electing 341
the county boards of education in such counties. At said election 342
the members of the said county board of education from 343
Districts * * * 1 and * * * 2 shall be elected for a term of four 344
(4) years, the members from Districts * * * 3 and * * * 4 shall be 345
elected for a term of six (6) years, and the member from 346
District * * * 5 shall be elected for a term of two (2) years. 347
Thereafter, members shall be elected at general elections as 348
vacancies occur for terms of six (6) years each. All members of 349
the county board of education shall take office on the first 350
Monday of January following the date of their election. 351
(3) (a) Current members of the Board of Trustees of the 352
Greenwood Public School District serving on November 1, 2017, 353
shall continue in office as the new County Board of Education of 354
the Greenwood-Leflore School District until their successors are 355
elected as follows: 356
(i) The two (2) appointed board members of the 357
Greenwood Public School District whose terms are nearest to 358
expiration shall expire on January 1, 2019, and thereafter become 359
permanently elected positions to be filled by persons elected as 360
board members from Supervisors Districts 2 and 3 in a November 361
2018 election held for that purpose, in the manner prescribed in 362
Section 37-7-203, and the newly elected members will take office 363
on January 1, 2019, for a term of four (4) years; 364
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(ii) The final two (2) appointed board members of 365
the Greenwood Public School District whose terms are the farthest 366
removed from expiration shall expire on January 1, 2020, and 367
thereafter become permanently elected positions to be filled by 368
persons elected as board members from Supervisors Districts 4 and 369
5 in a November 2019 election held for that purpose, in the manner 370
prescribed in Section 37-7-203, and the newly elected members will 371
take office on January 1, 2020, for a term of four (4) years; and 372
(iii) One (1) appointed board member of the 373
Greenwood Public School District whose term is next nearest to 374
expiration shall expire on January 1, 2021, and thereafter become 375
a permanently elected position to be filled by a person elected as 376
a board member from Supervisors District 1 in a November 2020 377
election held for that purpose, in the manner prescribed in 378
Section 37-7-203, and the newly elected members will take office 379
on January 1, 2021, for a term of four (4) years. 380
(b) All subsequent members shall be elected for a term 381
of four (4) years at the regular general election held on the 382
first Monday in November next preceding the expiration of the term 383
of office of the respective members, and shall take office on 384
January 1 next succeeding the election. 385
(4) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 386
2017, an election shall be held in Holmes County for the purpose 387
of electing the county board of education in the new Holmes County 388
Consolidated School District. At the election, the members of the 389
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said county board of education shall be elected from single member 390
board of education districts, which shall be consistent with the 391
supervisors district lines in the county, and shall be elected for 392
an initial term of six (6) years. Subsequent elections for the 393
Holmes County Board of Education shall be held on the first 394
Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2023 and every four (4) 395
years thereafter at the same time and manner as other general 396
elections are held, and the member shall be elected for a term of 397
four (4) years. All members of the county board of education in 398
the new Holmes County Consolidated School District shall take 399
office on the first Monday of January following the date of their 400
election. 401
(5) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 402
2023, an election shall be held in Chickasaw County for the 403
purpose of electing the county board of education in the new 404
Chickasaw County School District. The board of supervisors shall 405
declare and designate posts for each member of the new board. At 406
said election, the members of the said county board of education 407
from Posts One and Two shall be elected for a term of four (4) 408
years, the members from Posts Three and Four shall be elected for 409
a term of three (3) years and the member from Post Five shall be 410
elected for a term of two (2) years. Thereafter, members shall be 411
elected at general elections as vacancies occur for terms of four 412
(4) years each. All members of the county board of education in 413
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the new Chickasaw County School District shall take office on the 414
first Monday of January following the date of their election. 415
[From and after July 1, 2027, this section shall read as 416
follows:] 417
37-5-7. * * * 418
( * * *1) Except as otherwise provided, on the first Tuesday 419
after the first Monday in November * * * 2027, and every four (4) 420
years thereafter, an election shall be held in each * * * county 421
in this state for the purpose of electing the county boards of 422
education in * * * those counties as provided in Section 37-6-17. 423
* * * 424
(2) Except as otherwise provided in Section 37-6-17, all 425
members of the county board of education shall be elected for a 426
term of four (4) years and shall take office on the first Monday 427
of January immediately following the date of their election. 428
(3) (a) Current members of the Board of Trustees of the 429
Greenwood Public School District serving on November 1, 2017, 430
shall continue in office as the new County Board of Education of 431
the Greenwood-Leflore School District until their successors are 432
elected as follows: 433
(i) The two (2) appointed board members of the 434
Greenwood Public School District whose terms are nearest to 435
expiration shall expire on January 1, 2019, and thereafter become 436
permanently elected positions to be filled by persons elected as 437
board members from Supervisors Districts 2 and 3 in a November 438
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
2018 election held for that purpose, in the manner prescribed in 439
Section 37-7-203, and the newly elected members will take office 440
on January 1, 2019, for a term of four (4) years; 441
(ii) The final two (2) appointed board members of 442
the Greenwood Public School District whose terms are the farthest 443
removed from expiration shall expire on January 1, 2020, and 444
thereafter become permanently elected positions to be filled by 445
persons elected as board members from Supervisors Districts 4 and 446
5 in a November 2019 election held for that purpose, in the manner 447
prescribed in Section 37-7-203, and the newly elected members will 448
take office on January 1, 2020, for a term of four (4) years; and 449
(iii) One (1) appointed board member of the 450
Greenwood Public School District whose term is next nearest to 451
expiration shall expire on January 1, 2021, and thereafter become 452
a permanently elected position to be filled by a person elected as 453
a board member from Supervisors District 1 in a November 2020 454
election held for that purpose, in the manner prescribed in 455
Section 37-7-203, and the newly elected members will take office 456
on January 1, 2021, for a term of four (4) years. 457
(b) All subsequent members shall be elected for a term 458
of four (4) years at the regular general election held on the 459
first Monday in November next preceding the expiration of the term 460
of office of the respective members, and shall take office on 461
January 1 next succeeding the election. 462
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
(4) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 463
2017, an election shall be held in Holmes County for the purpose 464
of electing the county board of education in the new Holmes County 465
Consolidated School District. At the election, the members of the 466
said county board of education shall be elected from single member 467
board of education districts, which shall be consistent with the 468
supervisors district lines in the county, and shall be elected for 469
an initial term of six (6) years. Subsequent elections for the 470
Holmes County Board of Education shall be held on the first 471
Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2023 and every four (4) 472
years thereafter at the same time and manner as other general 473
elections are held, and the member shall be elected for a term of 474
four (4) years. All members of the county board of education in 475
the new Holmes County Consolidated School District shall take 476
office on the first Monday of January following the date of their 477
election. 478
(5) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 479
2023, an election shall be held in Chickasaw County for the 480
purpose of electing the county board of education in the new 481
Chickasaw County School District. The board of supervisors shall 482
declare and designate posts for each member of the new board. At 483
said election, the members of the said county board of education 484
from Posts One and Two shall be elected for a term of four (4) 485
years, the members from Posts Three and Four shall be elected for 486
a term of three (3) years and the member from Post Five shall be 487
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
elected for a term of two (2) years. Thereafter, members shall be 488
elected at general elections as vacancies occur for terms of four 489
(4) years each. All members of the county board of education in 490
the new Chickasaw County School District shall take office on the 491
first Monday of January following the date of their election. 492
SECTION 5. Section 37-5-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 493
amended as follows: 494
[Through June 30, 2027, this section shall read as follows:] 495
37-5-9. The name of any qualified elector who is a candidate 496
for the county board of education shall be placed on the ballot 497
used in the general elections by the county election 498
commissioners, provided that the candidate files with the county 499
election commissioners, not more than one hundred five (105) days 500
and not less than seventy-five (75) days prior to the date of such 501
general election, a petition of nomination signed by not less than 502
fifty (50) qualified electors of the county residing within each 503
supervisor's district. If the seventy-fifth day before the 504
election falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the 505
petition required under this section shall be filed by 5:00 p.m. 506
on the business day immediately following the Saturday, Sunday or 507
legal holiday. Where there are less than one hundred (100) 508
qualified electors in said supervisor's district, it shall only be 509
required that said petition of nomination be signed by at least 510
twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of such 511
supervisor's district. The candidate in each supervisor's 512
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election or presidential election.
district who receives the majority of votes cast in the district 513
shall be declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority of 514
the votes cast at the election, a runoff shall be held between the 515
two (2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes in the 516
first election. The runoff election, in the event that such is 517
necessary, shall be held four (4) weeks after the first election. 518
When any member of the county board of education is to be 519
elected from the county at large under the provisions of this 520
chapter, then the petition required by the preceding paragraph 521
hereof shall be signed by the required number of qualified 522
electors residing in any part of the county outside of the 523
territory embraced within a municipal separate school district or 524
special municipal separate school district. The candidate who 525
receives the majority of votes cast in the election shall be 526
declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority of the 527
votes cast at the election, a runoff shall be held between the two 528
(2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes in the first 529
election. The runoff election, in the event that such is 530
necessary, shall be held four (4) weeks after the first election. 531
In no case shall any qualified elector residing within a 532
municipal separate school district or special municipal separate 533
school district be eligible to sign a petition of nomination for 534
any candidate for the county board of education under any of the 535
provisions of this section. 536
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
[From and after July 1, 2027, this section shall read as 537
follows:] 538
37-5-9. As specifically provided in Section 37-6-17, the 539
name of any qualified elector who is a candidate for the county 540
board of education shall be placed on the ballot used in the 541
general elections by the county election commissioners * * *. 542
* * * 543
In no case shall any qualified elector residing within a 544
municipal separate school district or special municipal separate 545
school district be eligible to sign a petition of nomination for 546
any candidate for the county board of education * * *. 547
SECTION 6. Section 37-5-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 548
amended as follows: 549
[Through June 30, 2027, this section shall read as follows:] 550
37-5-19. Vacancies in the membership of the county board of 551
education shall be filled by appointment, within sixty (60) days 552
after the vacancy occurs, by the remaining members of the county 553
board of education. Said appointee shall be selected from the 554
qualified electors of the district in which the vacancy occurs, 555
and shall serve until the first Monday of January next succeeding 556
the next general election, at which general election a member 557
shall be elected to fill the remainder of the unexpired term in 558
the same manner and with the same qualifications applicable to the 559
election of a member for the full term. In the event the school 560
district is under conservatorship and no members of the county 561
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
board of education remain in office, the Governor shall call a 562
special election to fill the vacancies and said election will be 563
conducted by the county election commission. 564
In the event the vacancy occurs more than five (5) months 565
prior to the next general election and the remaining members of 566
the county board of education are unable to agree upon an 567
individual to be appointed, any two (2) of the remaining members 568
may certify such disagreement to the county election commission. 569
Upon the receipt of such a certificate by the county election 570
commission, or any member thereof, the commission shall hold a 571
special election to fill the vacancy, which said election, notice 572
thereof and ballot shall be controlled by the laws concerning 573
special elections to fill vacancies in county or county district 574
offices. The person elected at such a special election shall 575
serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. 576
[From and after July 1, 2027, this section shall read as 577
follows:] 578
37-5-19. Vacancies in the membership of the county board of 579
education shall be filled * * * in the manner prescribed in 580
Section 37-6-17(9). 581
SECTION 7. Section 37-7-203, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 582
amended as follows: 583
[Through June 30, 2027, this section shall read as follows:] 584
37-7-203. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsections 585
(3), (4) and (5) of this section, the boards of trustees of all 586
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
municipal separate school districts created under this chapter, 587
either with or without added territory, shall consist of five (5) 588
members, each to be chosen for a term of five (5) years, but so 589
chosen that the term of office of one (1) member shall expire each 590
year. In the event the added territory of a municipal separate 591
school district furnishes fifteen percent (15%) or more of the 592
pupils enrolled in the schools of such district, then at least one 593
(1) member of the board of trustees of such school district shall 594
be a resident of the added territory outside the corporate limits. 595
In the event the added territory of a municipal separate school 596
district furnishes thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils 597
enrolled in the schools of such district, then not more than two 598
(2) members of the board of trustees of such school district shall 599
be residents of the added territory outside the corporate limits. 600
In the event the added territory of a municipal separate school 601
district in a county in which Mississippi Highways 8 and 15 602
intersect furnishes thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils 603
enrolled in the schools of such district, then the five (5) 604
members of the board of trustees of such school district shall be 605
elected at large from such school district for a term of five (5) 606
years each except that the two (2) elected trustees presently 607
serving on such board shall continue to serve for their respective 608
terms of office. The three (3) appointed trustees presently 609
serving on such board shall continue to serve until their 610
successors are elected in March of 1975 in the manner provided for 611
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
in Section 37-7-215. At such election, one (1) trustee shall be 612
elected for a term of two (2) years, one (1) for a term of three 613
(3) years and one (1) for a term of five (5) years. Subsequent 614
terms for each successor trustee shall be for five (5) years. In 615
the event one (1) of two (2) municipal separate school districts 616
located in any county with two (2) judicial districts, District 1 617
being comprised of Supervisors Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5, and 618
District 2 being comprised of Supervisors District 3, with added 619
territory embraces three (3) full supervisors districts of a 620
county, one (1) trustee shall be elected from each of the three 621
(3) supervisors districts outside the corporate limits of the 622
municipality. In the further event that the territory of a 623
municipal separate school district located in any county with two 624
(2) judicial districts, District 1 being comprised of Supervisors 625
Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5, and District 2 being comprised of 626
Supervisors District 3, with added territory embraces four (4) 627
full supervisors districts in the county, and in any county in 628
which a municipal separate school district embraces the entire 629
county in which Highways 14 and 15 intersect, one (1) trustee 630
shall be elected from each supervisors district. 631
Except as otherwise provided herein, the trustees of such a 632
municipal separate school district shall be elected by a majority 633
of the governing authorities of the municipality at the first 634
meeting of the governing authorities held in the month of February 635
of each year, and the term of office of the member so elected 636
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
shall commence on the first Saturday of March following. In the 637
case of a member of the board of trustees who is required to come 638
from the added territory outside the corporate limits as is above 639
provided, such member of the board of trustees shall be elected by 640
the qualified electors of the school district residing in such 641
added territory outside the corporate limits at the same time and 642
in the same manner as is otherwise provided in this article for 643
the election of trustees of school districts other than municipal 644
separate school districts. 645
In the event that a portion of a county school district is 646
reconstituted, in the manner provided by law, into a municipal 647
separate school district with added territory and in the event 648
that the trustees to be elected from the added territory are 649
requested to be elected from separate election districts within 650
the added territory, instead of elected at large, by the Attorney 651
General of the United States as a result of and pursuant to 652
preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as 653
amended and extended, and in the event the added territory of a 654
municipal separate school district of a municipality furnishes 655
thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools 656
of such district, then two (2) members of the board of trustees 657
shall be residents of the added territory outside the corporate 658
limits of such municipality and shall be elected from special 659
trustee election districts by the qualified electors thereof as 660
herein provided. The board of trustees of the school district 661
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
shall apportion the added territory into two (2) special trustee 662
election districts as nearly as possible according to population 663
and other factors heretofore pronounced by the courts. The board 664
of trustees of the school district shall thereafter publish the 665
same in a newspaper of general circulation within that school 666
district for at least two (2) consecutive weeks; and after having 667
given notice of publication and recording the same upon the 668
minutes of the board of trustees of the school district, the new 669
district lines shall thereafter be effective. Any person elected 670
from the new trustee election districts constituted herein shall 671
be elected in the manner provided for in Section 37-7-215 for a 672
term of five (5) years. Any vacancy in the office of a trustee 673
elected from such trustee election district, whether occasioned by 674
redistricting or by other cause, shall be filled by appointment of 675
the governing authorities of the municipality, provided that the 676
person so appointed shall serve only until the next general 677
election following his appointment, at which time a person shall 678
be elected for the remainder of the unexpired term in the manner 679
provided in Section 37-7-215. 680
In any county organizing a countywide municipal separate 681
school district after January 1, 1965, the trustees thereof to be 682
elected from outside the municipality, such trustees shall be 683
elected by the board of supervisors of such county, and the 684
superintendent of such school district shall have authority to pay 685
out and distribute the funds of the district. In the event a 686
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
municipal separate school district should occupy territory in a 687
county other than that in which the municipality is located and 688
fifteen percent (15%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the 689
schools of such district shall come from the territory of the 690
district in the county other than that in which the municipality 691
is located, the territory of such county in which the municipality 692
is not located shall be entitled to one (1) member on the board of 693
trustees of such school district. The trustee shall be a resident 694
of the territory of that part of the district lying in the county 695
in which the municipality is not located and shall be elected by 696
the qualified electors of the territory of such county at the same 697
time and in the same manner as is provided for the election of 698
trustees of school districts other than municipal separate school 699
districts having territory in two (2) or more counties. 700
All vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms by 701
appointment of the governing authorities of the municipality; 702
except that in the case of the trustees coming from the added 703
territory outside the corporate limits, the person so appointed 704
shall serve only until the next general election following his 705
appointment, at which time a person shall be elected for the 706
remainder of the unexpired term in the manner otherwise provided 707
herein. 708
No person who is a member of such governing body, or who is 709
an employee of the municipality, or who is a member of the county 710
board of education, or who is a trustee of any public, private or 711
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
sectarian school or college located in the county, inclusive of 712
the municipal separate school district, or who is a teacher in or 713
a trustee of the school district, shall be eligible for 714
appointment to the board of trustees. 715
(2) In counties of less than fifteen thousand (15,000) 716
people having a municipal separate school district with added 717
territory which embraces all the territory of a county, one or 718
more trustees of the school district shall be nominated from each 719
supervisors district upon petition of fifty (50) qualified 720
electors of that supervisors district, or twenty percent (20%) of 721
the qualified electors of such district, whichever number shall be 722
smaller. One (1) trustee must be elected from each supervisors 723
district of the county. In such counties embraced entirely by a 724
municipal separate school district, there shall be no county board 725
of education after the formation of such district, and the county 726
superintendent of education shall act as superintendent of schools 727
of the district and shall be appointed by the board of trustees of 728
that district, and the provisions of subsection (1) of this 729
section and the first paragraph of Section 37-7-211 shall not 730
apply to such districts. 731
(3) In municipalities designated as having a mayor-council 732
form of government under Chapter 8, Title 21, Mississippi Code of 733
1972, and having a population in excess of one hundred thousand 734
(100,000) according to the 2000 federal decennial census, the 735
boards of trustees of the municipal separate school district 736
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
located in the municipality may, if authorized by ordinance of the 737
municipal governing authority, consist of seven (7) members 738
residing in each of the seven (7) wards in the municipality, to be 739
appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council as 740
follows: (a) each board member shall reside in the ward from 741
which he is appointed; (b) members serving on March 31, 2010, 742
shall continue to serve until a new term commences and new members 743
shall be selected from wards not currently represented on the 744
board; (c) one (1) of the two (2) additional appointments shall 745
serve a term of five (5) years and one (1) for a term of four (4) 746
years, with all subsequent appointments for a five-year term; and 747
(d) each new appointment shall be made by the mayor and confirmed 748
by the city council of the municipality at the first meeting of 749
the governing authorities held in the month of June following 750
March 31, 2010, and thereafter each year, and the term of office 751
of each member so selected shall commence on the first Saturday of 752
July following. 753
(4) (a) Beginning in 2017, in any municipal separate school 754
district that is traversed by the Escatawpa River and in which 755
Interstate Highway 10 and Mississippi Highway 63 intersect, the 756
board of trustees of the municipal separate school district shall 757
consist of five (5) members, each to be elected for a term of four 758
(4) years in the manner provided in this subsection. Within 759
forty-five (45) days after July 1, 2017, the municipal governing 760
authority shall apportion the municipal separate school district, 761
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
including any added territory outside the corporate limits, into 762
five (5) special trustee election districts as nearly equal as 763
possible according to population, incumbency and other factors 764
pronounced by the courts before August 8, 2017. The municipal 765
governing authority shall place upon its minutes the boundaries 766
determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts and 767
shall publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation 768
within the school district for at least three (3) consecutive 769
weeks. After having given notice of publication and recording the 770
same upon the minutes of the municipal governing authority, the 771
new district lines shall be effective. 772
(b) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in 773
November 2017, and every four (4) years thereafter, an election 774
shall be held in the municipal separate school district for local 775
school board members from trustee election districts 1, 3 and 5 in 776
the same manner and at the same time as the general municipal 777
election is held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the 778
board of trustees of the municipal separate school district. All 779
members of the board of trustees elected pursuant to this 780
paragraph (b) shall take office on the first Monday of January 781
immediately following the date of their election. However, in 782
order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each 783
member of the board of trustees serving on July 1, 2017, which 784
otherwise would expire after the first Monday in July 2018, shall 785
expire on the first Monday of January 2018. If no individual 786
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
qualifies for the elective office of school district trustee, the 787
trustee for that specific trustee district shall be filled by 788
appointment of the municipal governing authority; however, the 789
person so appointed to fill the vacancy may serve only until the 790
first Monday in January 2019, at which time the trustee elected 791
pursuant to this subsection shall take office for the remainder of 792
the unexpired initial term. 793
From and after January 1, 2018, any vacancy on the board of 794
trustees shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members 795
of the board of trustees within sixty (60) days after the vacancy 796
occurs. The appointee must be selected from the qualified 797
electors of the trustee election district in which the vacancy 798
occurs. The appointee shall serve until the first Monday of 799
January succeeding the next general municipal election, at which 800
election a member from that trustee election district shall be 801
elected for a full term. 802
(c) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in 803
November 2018, and every four (4) years thereafter, an election 804
shall be held in the municipal separate school district for local 805
school board members from trustee election districts 2 and 4 in 806
the same manner and at the same time as the Congressional mid-term 807
election is held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the 808
board of trustees of the municipal separate school district. All 809
members of the board of trustees elected pursuant to this 810
paragraph (c) shall take office on the first Monday of January 811
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
immediately following the date of their election. However, in 812
order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each 813
member of the board of trustees serving on July 1, 2018, which 814
otherwise would expire after the first Monday in July 2018, shall 815
expire on the first Monday of January 2019. If no individual 816
qualifies for the elective office of school district trustee, the 817
trustee for that specific trustee district shall be filled by 818
appointment of the municipal governing authority; however, the 819
person so appointed to fill the vacancy may serve only until the 820
first Monday in January 2020, at which time the trustee elected 821
pursuant to this subsection shall take office for the remainder of 822
the unexpired initial term. 823
From and after July 1, 2020, any vacancy on the board of 824
trustees shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members 825
of the board of trustees within sixty (60) days after the vacancy 826
occurs. The appointee must be selected from the qualified 827
electors of the trustee election district in which the vacancy 828
occurs. The appointee shall serve until the first Monday of July 829
succeeding the next general municipal election, at which election 830
a member from that trustee election district shall be elected for 831
a full term. 832
(5) (a) Beginning in 2024, in any municipal separate school 833
district in which Interstate Highway 20 and Mississippi Highway 15 834
intersect, the board of trustees of the municipal separate school 835
district shall consist of five (5) members, each to be elected for 836
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
a term of four (4) years in the manner provided in this 837
subsection. Within forty-five (45) days after July 1, 2024, the 838
municipal governing authority shall apportion the municipal 839
separate school district, including any added territory outside 840
the corporate limits, into five (5) special trustee election 841
districts as nearly equal as possible according to population, 842
incumbency and other factors pronounced by the courts before 843
January 1, 2024. The municipal governing authority shall place 844
upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) 845
trustee election districts and shall publish the same in a 846
newspaper of general circulation within the school district for at 847
least three (3) consecutive weeks. After having given notice of 848
publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the 849
municipal governing authority, the new district lines shall be 850
effective. Candidates for such positions shall file the intent to 851
be a candidate not later than 5:00 p.m. on September 1, 2024, and 852
shall qualify as otherwise provided by law. 853
(b) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in 854
November 2024, an election shall be held in the municipal separate 855
school district for local school board members in the same manner 856
and at the same time as the presidential election is held and 857
conducted, for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of 858
the municipal separate school district. All members of the board 859
of trustees elected pursuant to this paragraph (b) shall take 860
office on the first Monday of January immediately following the 861
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
date of their election, and may serve until the first Monday in 862
January 2028, at which time the trustee elected pursuant to 863
paragraph (c) of this subsection shall take office. If no 864
individual qualifies for the elective office of school district 865
trustee, the trustee for that specific trustee district shall be 866
filled by appointment of the municipal governing authority; 867
however, the person so appointed to fill the vacancy may serve 868
only until the first Monday in January 2028, at which time the 869
trustee elected pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection shall 870
take office. 871
From and after January 1, 2028, any vacancy on the board of 872
trustees shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members 873
of the board of trustees within sixty (60) days after the vacancy 874
occurs. The appointee must be selected from the qualified 875
electors of the trustee election district in which the vacancy 876
occurs. The appointee shall serve until the first Monday of 877
January succeeding the next general election, at which election a 878
member from that trustee election district shall be elected for 879
the remainder of the unexpired term. 880
(c) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in 881
November 2027, and every four (4) years thereafter, an election 882
shall be held in the municipal separate school district for local 883
school board members in the same manner and at the same time as 884
the general elections are held and conducted in accordance with 885
Section 23-15-193, for the purpose of electing the board of 886
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
trustees of the municipal separate school district. All members 887
of the board of trustees elected pursuant to this paragraph (c) 888
shall take office on the first Monday of January immediately 889
following the date of their election. 890
[From and after July 1, 2027, this section shall read as 891
follows:] 892
37-7-203. (1) * * * The boards of trustees of all municipal 893
separate school districts created under this chapter, either with 894
or without added territory, shall consist of five (5) 895
members * * *. On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in 896
November 2027, and every four (4) years thereafter, in those 897
districts opting to elect board members at the statewide general 898
election, or on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in 899
November 2028, and every four (4) years thereafter, in those 900
districts opting to elect board members at the presidential 901
election, an election shall be held pursuant to Section 37-6-17 902
for the purpose of electing the members of the board of trustees 903
of the municipal separate school districts and special municipal 904
separate school districts established under the provisions of this 905
chapter. The five (5) members of the board of trustees of such 906
school district shall be elected from special trustee election 907
districts by the qualified electors thereof. The board of 908
trustees of such school district shall apportion the municipal 909
separate school district, including added territory, into five (5) 910
special trustee election districts as nearly equal as possible 911
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
according to population, incumbency and other factors heretofore 912
pronounced by the courts. The board of trustees shall place upon 913
its minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) special 914
trustee election districts. The board of trustees shall 915
thereafter publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation 916
within the school district for at least three (3) consecutive 917
weeks, and after having given notice of publication and recording 918
the same upon the minutes of the board of trustees, the new 919
district lines shall be effective. The apportionment, 920
notification and official adoption of the new district lines shall 921
be completed not less than three (3) months before the qualifying 922
deadlines for individuals seeking the office of school board 923
trustee for the 2027 statewide general election as prescribed in 924
Section 2(3) of this act, regardless of whether the district opted 925
for an election cycle that runs concurrently with presidential 926
election. All incumbent trustees holding office at the time of 927
the creation of the trustee election districts shall continue 928
holding their respective offices, provided they reside within the 929
new district, for the remainder of the term of office to which 930
they have heretofore been selected, and their successors shall be 931
elected from the new trustee election districts constituted in the 932
manner provided for in this section. 933
* * * 934
(2) * * * Vacancies in the membership of the board of 935
trustees of any municipal separate school district or special 936
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
municipal separate school district shall be filled in the manner 937
provided in Section 37-6-17(9). 938
* * * 939
SECTION 8. Section 37-7-207, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 940
amended as follows: 941
[Through June 30, 2027, this section shall read as follows:] 942
37-7-207. (1) All school districts reconstituted or created 943
under the provisions of Article 1 of this chapter, and which lie 944
wholly within one (1) county, but not including municipal separate 945
and countywide districts, shall be governed by a board of five (5) 946
trustees. The first board of trustees of such districts shall be 947
appointed by the county board of education, and the original 948
appointments shall be so made that one (1) trustee shall be 949
appointed to serve until the first Saturday of March following 950
such appointments, one (1) for one (1) year longer, one (1) for 951
two (2) years longer, one (1) for three (3) years longer, and one 952
(1) for four (4) years longer. After such original appointments, 953
the trustees of such school districts shall be elected by the 954
qualified electors of such school districts in the manner provided 955
for in Sections 37-7-223 through 37-7-229, with each trustee to be 956
elected for a term of five (5) years. The five (5) members of the 957
board of trustees of such consolidated school district shall be 958
elected from special trustee election districts by the qualified 959
electors thereof, as herein provided. The board of trustees of 960
any such consolidated school district shall apportion the 961
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
consolidated school district into five (5) special trustee 962
election districts. The board of trustees of such school district 963
shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new 964
five (5) trustee election districts. The board of trustees shall 965
thereafter publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation 966
within said school district for at least three (3) consecutive 967
weeks; and after having given notice of publication and recording 968
the same upon the minutes of the board of trustees, said new 969
district lines shall thereafter be effective. 970
On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, in 971
any year in which any consolidated school district shall elect to 972
utilize the authority to create single member election districts, 973
an election shall be held in each such district in this state for 974
the purpose of electing the board of trustees of such district. 975
At said election the member of the said board from District One 976
shall be elected for a term of one (1) year, the member from 977
District Two shall be elected for a term of two (2) years, the 978
member from District Three shall be elected for a term of three 979
(3) years, the member from District Four shall be elected for a 980
term of four (4) years, and the member from District Five shall be 981
elected for a term of five (5) years. Thereafter, members shall 982
be elected at general elections as vacancies occur for terms of 983
five (5) years each. Trustees elected from single member election 984
districts as provided above shall otherwise be elected as provided 985
for in Sections 37-7-223 through 37-7-229. All members of the 986
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
said board of trustees shall take office on the first Monday of 987
January following the date of their election. All vacancies which 988
may occur during a term shall be filled by appointment of the 989
consolidated school district trustees, but the person so appointed 990
shall serve only until the next general election following such 991
appointment, at which time a person shall be elected for the 992
remainder of the unexpired term at the same time and in the same 993
manner as a trustee is elected for the full term then expiring. 994
The person so elected to the unexpired term shall take office 995
immediately. Said appointee shall be selected from the qualified 996
electors of the district in which the vacancy occurs. In the 997
event the school district is under conservatorship and no members 998
of the board of trustees remain in office, the Governor shall call 999
a special election to fill the vacancies and the said election 1000
will be conducted by the county election commission. 1001
(2) All school districts reconstituted and created under the 1002
provisions of Article 1 of this chapter, which embrace territory 1003
in two (2) or more counties, but not including municipal separate 1004
school districts, shall be governed by a board of five (5) 1005
trustees. In making the original appointments, the several county 1006
boards of education shall appoint the trustee or trustees to which 1007
the territory in such county is entitled, and, by agreement 1008
between the county boards concerned, one (1) person shall be 1009
appointed to serve until the first Saturday of March following, 1010
one (1) for one (1) year longer, one (1) for two (2) years longer, 1011
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
one (1) for three (3) years longer and one (1) for four (4) years 1012
longer. Thereafter, such trustees shall be elected as is provided 1013
for in Sections 37-7-223 through 37-7-229, for a term of five (5) 1014
years. The five (5) members of the board of trustees of such line 1015
consolidated school district shall be elected from special trustee 1016
election districts by the qualified electors thereof, as herein 1017
provided. The existing board of trustees of such line 1018
consolidated school district shall apportion the line consolidated 1019
school district into five (5) special trustee election districts. 1020
The board of trustees shall place upon its minutes the boundaries 1021
determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts. The 1022
board of trustees shall thereafter publish the same in a newspaper 1023
of general circulation within said school district for at least 1024
three (3) consecutive weeks; and after having given notice of 1025
publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board 1026
of trustees, said new district lines shall thereafter be 1027
effective. Provided, however, that in any line consolidated 1028
school district encompassing two (2) or more counties created 1029
pursuant to Laws, 1953, Extraordinary Session, Chapter 12, Section 1030
8, in which, as a condition precedent to the creation of said 1031
district, each county belonging thereto was contractually 1032
guaranteed to always have at least one (1) representative on said 1033
board, in order that said condition precedent may be honored and 1034
guaranteed, in any year in which the board of trustees of such 1035
line consolidated school district does not have at least one (1) 1036
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
member from each county or part thereof forming such district, the 1037
board of trustees in such district shall be governed by a board of 1038
a sufficient number of trustees to fulfill this guarantee, five 1039
(5) of whom shall be elected from the five (5) special trustee 1040
election districts which shall be as nearly equal as possible and 1041
one (1) member trustee appointed at large from each county not 1042
having representation on the elected board. In such cases, the 1043
board of supervisors of each county shall make written agreement 1044
to guarantee the manner of appointment of at least one (1) 1045
representative from each county in the district, placing such 1046
written agreement on the minutes of each board of supervisors in 1047
each county. 1048
On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, in 1049
any year in which any line consolidated school district shall 1050
elect to utilize the authority to create single member election 1051
districts, an election shall be held in each such district in this 1052
state for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of such 1053
district. At said election the member of the said board from 1054
District One shall be elected for a term of one (1) year, the 1055
member from District Two shall be elected for a term of two (2) 1056
years, the member from District Three shall be elected for a term 1057
of three (3) years, the member from District Four shall be elected 1058
for a term of four (4) years, and the member from District Five 1059
shall be elected for a term of five (5) years. Thereafter, 1060
members shall be elected at general elections as vacancies occur 1061
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
for terms of five (5) years each. Trustees elected from single 1062
member election districts as provided above shall otherwise be 1063
elected as provided for in Sections 37-7-223 through 37-7-229. 1064
All members of the said board of trustees shall take office on the 1065
first Monday of January following the date of their election. In 1066
all elections, the trustee elected shall be a resident and 1067
qualified elector of the district entitled to the representation 1068
upon the board, and he shall be elected only by the qualified 1069
electors of such district. All vacancies which may occur during a 1070
term of office shall be filled by appointment of the consolidated 1071
line school district trustees, but the person so appointed shall 1072
serve only until the next general election following such 1073
appointment, at which time a person shall be elected for the 1074
remainder of the unexpired term at the same time and in the same 1075
manner as the trustee is elected for the full term then expiring. 1076
The person so elected to the unexpired term shall take office 1077
immediately. In the event the school district is under 1078
conservatorship and no members of the board of trustees remain in 1079
office, the Governor shall call a special election to fill the 1080
vacancies and the said election will be conducted by the county 1081
election commission. 1082
[From and after July 1, 2027, this section shall read as 1083
follows:] 1084
37-7-207. (1) All school districts reconstituted or created 1085
under the provisions of Article 1 of this chapter, and which lie 1086
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
wholly within one (1) county, but not including municipal separate 1087
and countywide districts, shall be governed by a board of five (5) 1088
trustees. * * * Beginning with the election on the first Tuesday 1089
after the first Monday in November 2027, and every four (4) years 1090
thereafter, in those districts opting to elect board members at 1091
the statewide general election, or on the first Tuesday after the 1092
first Monday in November 2028, and every four (4) years 1093
thereafter, in those districts opting to elect board members at 1094
the presidential election, the members of the line consolidated 1095
school district board of trustees shall be elected at the same 1096
time and in the same manner provided in Section 37-6-17 for terms 1097
of four (4) years. The five (5) members of the board of trustees 1098
of such consolidated school district shall be elected from special 1099
trustee election districts by the qualified electors 1100
thereof * * *. The board of trustees of any such consolidated 1101
school district shall apportion the consolidated school district 1102
into five (5) special trustee election districts. The board of 1103
trustees of such school district shall place upon its minutes the 1104
boundaries determined for the new five (5) trustee election 1105
districts. The board of trustees shall thereafter publish the 1106
same in a newspaper of general circulation within * * * the school 1107
district for at least three (3) consecutive weeks * * *, and after 1108
having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the 1109
minutes of the board of trustees, * * * the new district lines 1110
shall thereafter be effective. The apportionment, notification 1111
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
and official adoption of the new district lines shall be completed 1112
not less than three (3) months before the qualifying deadlines for 1113
individuals seeking the office of school board trustee for the 1114
2027 statewide general election as prescribed in Section 2(3) of 1115
this act, regardless of whether the district opted for an election 1116
cycle that runs concurrently with presidential election. 1117
* * * All members of the * * * board of trustees shall take 1118
office on the first Monday of January immediately following the 1119
date of their election. All vacancies which may occur during a 1120
term shall be filled * * * in the manner provided in Section 1121
37-6-17(9). 1122
(2) All school districts reconstituted and created under the 1123
provisions of Article 1 of this chapter, which embrace territory 1124
in two (2) or more counties, but not including municipal separate 1125
school districts, shall be governed by a board of five (5) 1126
trustees. * * * Beginning with the election on the first Tuesday 1127
after the first Monday in November 2027, and every four (4) years 1128
thereafter, in those districts opting to elect board members at 1129
the statewide general election, or on the first Tuesday after the 1130
first Monday in November 2028, and every four (4) years 1131
thereafter, in those districts opting to elect board members at 1132
the presidential election, the members of such line consolidated 1133
school district board of trustees shall be elected at the same 1134
time and in the same manner provided in Section 37-6-17 for terms 1135
of four (4) years. The five (5) members of the board of trustees 1136
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
of such line consolidated school district shall be elected from 1137
special trustee election districts by the qualified electors 1138
thereof * * *. The existing board of trustees of such line 1139
consolidated school district shall apportion the line consolidated 1140
school district into five (5) special trustee election districts. 1141
The board of trustees shall place upon its minutes the boundaries 1142
determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts. The 1143
board of trustees shall thereafter publish the same in a newspaper 1144
of general circulation within * * * the school district for at 1145
least three (3) consecutive weeks * * *, and after having given 1146
notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of 1147
the board of trustees, said new district lines shall thereafter be 1148
effective. The apportionment, notification and official adoption 1149
of the new district lines shall be completed not less than three 1150
(3) months before the qualifying deadlines for individuals seeking 1151
the office school board trustee for the 2027 statewide general 1152
election as prescribed in Section 2(3) of this act, regardless of 1153
whether the district opted for an election cycle that runs 1154
concurrently with presidential election. * * * However, * * * in 1155
any line consolidated school district encompassing two (2) or more 1156
counties created pursuant to Laws, 1953, Extraordinary Session, 1157
Chapter 12, Section 8, in which, as a condition precedent to the 1158
creation of * * * the district, each county belonging thereto was 1159
contractually guaranteed to always have at least one (1) 1160
representative on said board, in order that * * * the condition 1161
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
precedent may be honored and guaranteed, in any year in which the 1162
board of trustees of such line consolidated school district does 1163
not have at least one (1) member from each county or part thereof 1164
forming such district, the board of trustees in such district 1165
shall be governed by a board of a sufficient number of trustees to 1166
fulfill this guarantee, five (5) of whom shall be elected from the 1167
five (5) special trustee election districts which shall be as 1168
nearly equal as possible and one (1) member trustee * * * elected 1169
at large from each county not having representation on the elected 1170
board in the same manner and at the same time as provided for the 1171
election of school board members under Section 37-6-17. In such 1172
cases, the board of supervisors of each county shall make written 1173
agreement to guarantee the * * * election of at least one (1) 1174
representative from each county in the district, placing such 1175
written agreement on the minutes of each board of supervisors in 1176
each county. 1177
* * * All members of the * * * board of trustees shall take 1178
office on the first Monday of January following the date of their 1179
election. In all elections, the trustee elected shall be a 1180
resident and qualified elector of the district entitled to the 1181
representation upon the board, and he or she shall be elected only 1182
by the qualified electors of such district in the manner provided 1183
in Section 37-6-17. All vacancies which may occur during a term 1184
of office shall be filled * * * in the manner prescribed in 1185
Section 37-6-17(9). 1186
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
SECTION 9. Section 37-7-221, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1187
amended as follows: 1188
[Through June 30, 2027, this section shall read as follows:] 1189
37-7-221. The election of consolidated or consolidated line 1190
school district trustees shall be held in the manner provided for 1191
in Sections 37-7-223 through 37-7-229 rather than the method now 1192
provided by Sections 37-7-209 through 37-7-219. 1193
[From and after July 1, 2027, this section shall read as 1194
follows:] 1195
37-7-221. The election of consolidated or consolidated line 1196
school district trustees shall be held in the manner provided for 1197
in * * * Section 37-6-17. 1198
SECTION 10. Section 37-7-703, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1199
amended as follows: 1200
[Through June 30, 2027, this section shall read as follows:] 1201
37-7-703. In all such special municipal separate school 1202
districts which embrace the entire county in which, according to 1203
the latest available federal census, a majority of the inhabitants 1204
of the county reside within the corporate limits of the 1205
municipality, the board of trustees of such special municipal 1206
separate school district shall be chosen and selected in the 1207
manner provided by subsection (1) of Section 37-7-203, and all of 1208
the provisions thereof shall be fully applicable in all respects 1209
to the selection and constitution of such board of trustees. 1210
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
[From and after July 1, 2027, this section shall read as 1211
follows:] 1212
37-7-703. In all * * * special municipal separate school 1213
districts which embrace the entire * * *, the board of trustees 1214
of * * * that special municipal separate school district shall 1215
be * * * elected in the manner provided * * * in Section 37-6-17, 1216
and all of the provisions thereof shall be fully applicable in all 1217
respects to the selection and constitution of such board of 1218
trustees. The board of trustees of each special municipal 1219
separate school district shall apportion the school district into 1220
five (5) single member trustee election districts, the boundaries 1221
of which must be coterminous with the boundaries of the 1222
supervisors districts of the county embraced by that school 1223
district. 1224
SECTION 11. Section 37-5-18, Mississippi Code of 1972, which 1225
requires the election of the members of the county board of 1226
education in certain counties having four (4) municipal separate 1227
school districts from board of education districts embracing 1228
territory only outside the municipal separate school districts, is 1229
repealed. 1230
SECTION 12. Sections 37-7-204, 37-7-209, 37-7-211, 37-7-215, 1231
37-7-217, 37-7-219, 37-7-223, 37-7-225, 37-7-227 and 37-7-229, 1232
Mississippi Code of 1972, which provide certain methods for 1233
electing trustees of certain municipal and special municipal 1234
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
separate school districts and consolidated and line consolidated 1235
school districts, are repealed. 1236
SECTION 13. Sections 37-7-705, 37-7-707, 37-7-709, 37-7-711, 1237
37-7-713, 37-7-715 and 37-7-717, Mississippi Code of 1972, which 1238
provide certain additional methods for selecting trustees of 1239
special municipal separate school districts, are repealed. 1240
SECTION 14. Section 37-7-104, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1241
brought forward as follows: 1242
37-7-104. (1) In any Mississippi county in which are 1243
located, as of February 8, 2012, three (3) school districts and 1244
only three (3) school districts, all of which are under 1245
conservatorship as defined by the Mississippi Department of 1246
Education as of February 8, 2012, there shall be an administrative 1247
consolidation of all of the school districts in the county into 1248
one (1) countywide school district with one (1) county board of 1249
education. The State Board of Education shall determine the 1250
school district(s) applicable to the provisions of this section 1251
and spread this finding on the minutes of its August 2012 meeting. 1252
On or before September 1, 2012, the State Board of Education shall 1253
serve the local school boards applicable to the provisions of this 1254
section, or the Mississippi Department of Education Conservator 1255
for each of the three (3) school districts, with notice and 1256
instruction regarding the action to be taken to comply with this 1257
section. In such county, there shall be a new county board of 1258
education elected in a November 2013 special election which shall 1259
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
be called for that purpose and the new county board members shall 1260
be elected as provided in Section 37-5-7, Mississippi Code of 1261
1972. No previous board member shall be eligible to serve on the 1262
newly elected board. Provided, however, that it shall be the 1263
responsibility of the board of supervisors of such county to 1264
apportion the countywide school district into five (5) new single 1265
member board of education districts which shall be consistent with 1266
the supervisors district lines in said county. The board of 1267
supervisors of said county shall thereafter publish the same in 1268
some newspaper of general circulation within said county for at 1269
least three (3) consecutive weeks and after having given notice of 1270
publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board 1271
of supervisors of said county, said new district lines will 1272
thereafter be effective for the November 2013 special election. 1273
If necessary, the county board of education of said county shall 1274
reapportion the board of education districts in accordance with 1275
applicable law as soon as practicable after the results of the 1276
2020 decennial census are published and as soon as practicable 1277
after every decennial census thereafter. The new county board of 1278
education, with the written approval of the Mississippi Department 1279
of Education Conservator and the State Board of Education, shall 1280
provide for the administrative consolidation of all school 1281
districts in the county into one (1) countywide school district on 1282
or before July 1 next following the November 2013 election. The 1283
new county board of education shall serve as the school board for 1284
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
the county. Any school district affected by the required 1285
administrative consolidation that does not voluntarily consolidate 1286
with the new school district ordered by the county board of 1287
education shall be administratively consolidated by the State 1288
Board of Education with the countywide school district, to be 1289
effective on July 1 following the election of the new county board 1290
of education. The State Board of Education shall promptly move on 1291
its own motion to administratively consolidate any school district 1292
which does not voluntarily consolidate in order to enable the 1293
affected school districts to reasonably accomplish the resulting 1294
administrative consolidation into one (1) countywide district by 1295
July 1 following the election of the new county board of 1296
education. All affected school districts shall comply with any 1297
consolidation order issued by the county board of education or the 1298
State Board of Education, as the case may be, on or before July 1 1299
following the election of the new county board of education. 1300
(2) On July 1 following the election of the new county board 1301
of education, the former county board of education and the former 1302
board of trustees of any municipal separate, or special municipal 1303
separate school district located in such county shall be 1304
abolished. All real and personal property which is owned or 1305
titled in the name of a school district located in such county 1306
shall be transferred to the new reorganized school district of the 1307
county in which such school district is located. The Mississippi 1308
Department of Education Conservator and the State Board of 1309
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
Education shall be responsible for establishing the contracts for 1310
teachers and principals for the next school year following the 1311
required administrative consolidation with the consultation of the 1312
newly elected successor county board of education. The successor 1313
county board of education shall appoint the new county 1314
superintendent of education for the reorganized school district. 1315
The county superintendent of education of said reorganized school 1316
district shall not be elected but shall thereafter be appointed by 1317
the successor county board of education in the manner provided in 1318
Section 37-9-25. The superintendents of the former 1319
under-performing school districts located in the county shall not 1320
be eligible for appointment as the new superintendent. The 1321
selection of the appointed county superintendent of education and 1322
the assistant superintendent of education in the central 1323
administration office of the successor countywide school district 1324
shall be the responsibility of the successor county board of 1325
education with the approval of the Mississippi Department of 1326
Education Conservator and the State Board of Education. No such 1327
administratively consolidated school district shall have more than 1328
one (1) assistant superintendent of education. It shall be the 1329
responsibility of the successor county board of education, with 1330
approval of the Mississippi Department of Education Conservator 1331
and the State Board of Education, to prepare and approve the 1332
budget of the new reorganized districts, and the county board of 1333
education may use staff from the former school districts to 1334
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
prepare the budget. Any proposed order of the successor county 1335
board of education directing the transfer of the assets, real or 1336
personal property of an affected school district in the county, 1337
shall be submitted and approved by the State Board of Education. 1338
The finding of the State Board of Education shall be final and 1339
conclusive for the purposes of the transfer of property required 1340
by such administrative consolidation. Any person or school 1341
district aggrieved by an order of the successor county school 1342
board of education pursuant to the required administrative 1343
consolidation may appeal therefrom to the State Board of Education 1344
within ten (10) days from the date of the adjournment of the 1345
meeting at which such order is entered. Such appeal shall be de 1346
novo, and the finding of the State Board of Education upon such 1347
question shall be final and conclusive for the purpose of the 1348
approval or disapproval of the action by said county board of 1349
education. 1350
(3) When any school district in such county is abolished 1351
under the provisions of this section, the abolition thereof shall 1352
not impair or release the property of such former school district 1353
from liability for the payment of the bonds or other indebtedness 1354
of such district and it shall be the duty of the board of 1355
supervisors of said county to levy taxes on the property of said 1356
district so abolished from year to year according to the terms of 1357
such indebtedness until same shall be fully paid. 1358
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
(4) In the administratively consolidated countywide school 1359
district created under this section, the ad valorem tax rate shall 1360
be determined as set forth under Section 37-57-1 et seq. 1361
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require or 1362
restrict the closing of any school or school facility, unless such 1363
facility is an unneeded administrative office located within a 1364
school district which has been abolished under the provisions of 1365
this section. All administrative consolidations under this 1366
section shall be accomplished so as not to delay or in any manner 1367
negatively affect the desegregation of another school district in 1368
the county pursuant to court order. 1369
(6) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and 1370
regulations to facilitate the administrative consolidation of the 1371
school districts in a county pursuant to this section. When the 1372
orders of the successor county board of education adopting the 1373
boundaries of the successor countywide school district have been 1374
entered and are final, as approved by the State Board of 1375
Education, the new district lines shall be submitted by the State 1376
Board of Education with the assistance of the Attorney General to 1377
the Attorney General of the United States for preclearance or to 1378
the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for 1379
a declaratory judgment in accordance with the provisions of the 1380
Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended. In the event 1381
the change in the school district lines are precleared or 1382
approved, the State Board of Education shall formally declare the 1383
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
new lines as the new boundaries of the consolidated countywide 1384
school district. 1385
SECTION 15. Section 37-7-104.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1386
brought forward as follows: 1387
37-7-104.1. (1) In Bolivar County, Mississippi, in which 1388
are located, as of January 1, 2012, six (6) school districts, 1389
there shall be an administrative consolidation of all of the 1390
school districts in the county into three (3) school districts as 1391
follows: 1392
(a) One (1) existing school district which shall be the 1393
Cleveland School District; 1394
(b) One (1) new consolidated school district to be 1395
designated as North Bolivar Consolidated School District which 1396
shall consist of the territory of the former North Bolivar School 1397
District and the Mound Bayou Public School District. The central 1398
administrative office of the North Bolivar Consolidated School 1399
District shall be located in Mound Bayou, Mississippi; and 1400
(c) One (1) new consolidated school district to be 1401
designated as West Bolivar Consolidated School District which 1402
shall consist of the territory of the former West Bolivar School 1403
District, Shaw School District and Benoit School District. The 1404
central administrative office of the West Bolivar Consolidated 1405
School District shall be located in Rosedale, Mississippi. 1406
(2) On or before September 1, 2012, the State Board of 1407
Education shall serve the local school boards in Bolivar County 1408
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
with notice and instructions regarding the timetable for action to 1409
be taken to comply with the administrative consolidation required 1410
in this section. The State Board of Education shall provide for 1411
the administrative consolidation of all school districts in the 1412
county outside of the territory of Cleveland School District into 1413
North Bolivar Consolidated School District and West Bolivar 1414
Consolidated School District on or before July 1, 2014. In each 1415
new consolidated school district there shall be a new consolidated 1416
school district board of trustees elected in a November 2013 1417
special election which shall be called by the Governor for that 1418
purpose. The new consolidated school district boards of trustees 1419
shall be elected and the terms of office established as provided 1420
in Section 37-7-207, Mississippi Code of 1972. The State Board of 1421
Education shall determine the boundary lines for the territory of 1422
the two (2) new school districts and shall spread a legal 1423
description of the new school districts on the minutes of its 1424
August 2012 meeting and shall serve the applicable school boards 1425
and the board of supervisors with an adequate legal description of 1426
these new boundaries. It shall be the responsibility of the State 1427
Board of Education with the assistance of the Joint Legislative 1428
Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) 1429
to apportion the territory of the two (2) new school districts 1430
into five (5) new board of trustee election districts for each new 1431
school district. The State Board of Education shall thereafter 1432
publish the same in some newspaper of general circulation in said 1433
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
county for at least three (3) consecutive weeks and after having 1434
given notice of publication and recording the same upon the 1435
minutes of the school boards of each school district in the 1436
county, said new district lines will thereafter be effective for 1437
the November 2013 special election. Any school board member of 1438
the former school district residing in the proper election 1439
district shall be eligible for election to the new board of 1440
trustees for North Bolivar Consolidated School District or West 1441
Bolivar Consolidated School District. The local school board of 1442
each new school district shall reapportion the school board 1443
districts in accordance with the procedure described in Section 1444
37-7-207, Mississippi Code of 1972, as is necessary as soon as 1445
practicable after the 2020 decennial census are published and as 1446
soon as practicable after every decennial census thereafter. Any 1447
school district affected by the required administrative 1448
consolidation in such county that does not voluntarily consolidate 1449
with the two (2) new school districts ordered by the State Board 1450
of Education shall be administratively consolidated by the State 1451
Board of Education with the appropriate school district in which 1452
such district is located, to be effective on July 1 following the 1453
election of the new local school boards. The State Board of 1454
Education shall promptly move on its own motion to 1455
administratively consolidate a school district which does not 1456
voluntarily consolidate in order to enable the affected school 1457
districts to reasonably accomplish the resulting administrative 1458
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
consolidation into two (2) school districts by July 1 following 1459
the election of the new school boards. All affected school 1460
districts shall comply with any consolidation order issued by the 1461
State Board of Education on or before July 1 following the 1462
election of the new school boards. 1463
(3) On July 1 following the election of the new school 1464
district boards of trustees in Bolivar County, the former county 1465
board of education and the former board of trustees of North 1466
Bolivar School District, Mound Bayou Public School District, West 1467
Bolivar School District, Shaw School District and Benoit School 1468
District shall be abolished. All real and personal property which 1469
is owned or titled in the name of a school district located in 1470
such former school district shall be transferred to the new 1471
reorganized school district of Bolivar County in which such former 1472
school district is located. Each former school board shall be 1473
responsible for establishing the contracts for teachers and 1474
principals for the next school year following the required 1475
administrative consolidation with the consultation of the newly 1476
elected successor school boards. The new Board of Trustees for 1477
the North Bolivar Consolidated School District shall appoint the 1478
Superintendent of Schools for said school district, and the Board 1479
of Trustees for the West Bolivar Consolidated School District 1480
shall appoint the Superintendent of Schools for said school 1481
district. The subsequent superintendent of schools of said 1482
reorganized school districts shall not be elected but shall 1483
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
thereafter be appointed by the successor boards of trustees in the 1484
manner provided in Section 37-9-25. Any superintendent serving in 1485
the former school districts shall be eligible for appointment as a 1486
superintendent in North Bolivar Consolidated School District or 1487
West Bolivar Consolidated School District. North Bolivar 1488
Consolidated School District and West Bolivar Consolidated School 1489
District shall not have more than one (1) assistant 1490
superintendent. It shall be the responsibility of the successor 1491
boards of trustees to prepare and approve the budget of the 1492
respective new reorganized districts, and the successor boards of 1493
trustees may use staff from the former school districts to prepare 1494
the budget. Any proposed order of the State Board of Education 1495
directing the transfer of the assets, real or personal property of 1496
an affected school district in the county, shall be final and 1497
conclusive for the purposes of the transfer of property required 1498
by such administrative consolidation. Any person or school 1499
district aggrieved by an order of the successor newly elected 1500
board of trustees of a consolidated school district pursuant to 1501
the required administrative consolidation may appeal therefrom to 1502
the State Board of Education within ten (10) days from the date of 1503
the adjournment of the meeting at which such order is entered. 1504
Such appeal shall be de novo, and the finding of the State Board 1505
of Education upon such question shall be final and conclusive for 1506
the purpose of the approval or disapproval of the action by said 1507
county board of education. 1508
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
(4) When any school district in such county is abolished 1509
under the provisions of this section, the abolition thereof shall 1510
not impair or release the property of such former school district 1511
from liability for the payment of the bonds or other indebtedness 1512
of such district. 1513
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require 1514
the closing of any school or school facility, unless such facility 1515
is an unneeded administrative office located within a school 1516
district which has been abolished under the provisions of this 1517
section. All administrative consolidations under this section 1518
shall be accomplished so as not to delay or in any manner 1519
negatively affect the desegregation of another school district in 1520
the county pursuant to court order. 1521
(6) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and 1522
regulations to facilitate the administrative consolidation of the 1523
school districts in Bolivar County pursuant to this section. The 1524
consolidated districts shall make an election within one (1) year 1525
of consolidation concerning the group term life insurance 1526
described in subsection (7) of Section 25-15-9. When the orders 1527
of the State Board of Education adopting the boundaries of the 1528
successor school districts and the successor board of trustees 1529
election districts have been entered and are final, as directed by 1530
the State Board of Education, the new district lines shall be 1531
submitted by the State Board of Education with the assistance of 1532
the Attorney General to the Attorney General of the United States 1533
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
for preclearance or to the United States District Court for the 1534
District of Columbia for a declaratory judgment in accordance with 1535
the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and 1536
extended. In the event the change in the school district lines 1537
and election districts are precleared or approved, the State Board 1538
of Education shall formally declare the new lines as the new 1539
boundaries of the successor school districts. 1540
SECTION 16. Section 37-7-104.2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1541
brought forward as follows: 1542
37-7-104.2. (1) In Clay County, Mississippi, in which are 1543
located, as of January 1, 2013, two (2) school districts, there 1544
shall be an administrative consolidation of all of those school 1545
districts in the county into one (1) new consolidated school 1546
district to be designated as West Point Consolidated School 1547
District which shall consist of the territory of the former Clay 1548
County School District and the West Point School District. The 1549
central administrative office of the West Point Consolidated 1550
School District shall be located in West Point, Mississippi. 1551
(2) On or before September 1, 2013, the State Board of 1552
Education shall serve the local school boards in Clay County with 1553
notice and instructions regarding the timetable for action to be 1554
taken to comply with the administrative consolidation required in 1555
this section. The State Board of Education shall provide for the 1556
administrative consolidation of the school districts in the county 1557
on or before July 1, 2015. In the new West Point Consolidated 1558
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
School District, there shall be a new board of trustees comprised 1559
of five (5) members selected as follows: (a) the Mayor and Board 1560
of Aldermen of the City of West Point shall appoint three (3) of 1561
the five (5) members, each to be selected for a term of four (4) 1562
years; and (b) two (2) members to be elected for a term of four 1563
(4) years by the electors of Clay County residing outside of the 1564
West Point corporate limits who shall be residents of that 1565
territory and who shall be elected in a November 2014 special 1566
election which shall be called by the Governor for that purpose. 1567
All subsequent members of the board elected from the territory 1568
outside of the West Point corporate limits shall be elected for a 1569
term of four (4) years at the regular general election held on the 1570
first Monday in November next preceding the expiration of the term 1571
of office of the respective member or members. All elected and 1572
appointed members shall take office on the first Monday of January 1573
following the date of their election or appointment. The State 1574
Board of Education, with the assistance of the Joint Legislative 1575
Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER), 1576
shall apportion the territory of the new consolidated school 1577
district located outside the West Point corporate limits into two 1578
(2) new single member board of trustee election districts. The 1579
State Board of Education shall thereafter publish the same in some 1580
newspaper of general circulation in the county for at least three 1581
(3) consecutive weeks and after having given notice of publication 1582
and recording the same upon the minutes of the school boards of 1583
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
each school district in the county, the new district lines will 1584
thereafter be effective for the November 2014 special election. 1585
Any school board member of the former school districts residing in 1586
the proper territory shall be eligible for appointment or election 1587
to the new Board of Trustees for West Point Consolidated School 1588
District. 1589
Any school district affected by the required administrative 1590
consolidation in Clay County that does not voluntarily consolidate 1591
as ordered by the State Board of Education shall be 1592
administratively consolidated by the State Board of Education, to 1593
be effective on July 1 following the election of the new local 1594
school board. The State Board of Education shall promptly move on 1595
its own motion to administratively consolidate a school district 1596
which does not voluntarily consolidate in order to enable the 1597
affected school districts to reasonably accomplish the resulting 1598
administrative consolidation into one (1) consolidated school 1599
district by July 1 following the selection of the new board of 1600
trustees. The affected school districts shall comply with any 1601
consolidation order issued by the State Board of Education on or 1602
before July 1 following the selection of the new school boards. 1603
(3) On July 1 following the selection of the new Board of 1604
Trustees of the West Point Consolidated School District, the 1605
former county board of education and the former Board of Trustees 1606
of the West Point School District shall be abolished. All real 1607
and personal property which is owned or titled in the name of a 1608
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
school district located in such former school district shall be 1609
transferred to the new reorganized school district of West Point 1610
Consolidated School District in which such former school district 1611
is located. Each former school board shall be responsible for 1612
establishing the contracts for teachers and principals for the 1613
next school year following the required administrative 1614
consolidation with the consultation of the newly elected successor 1615
school board. The new Board of Trustees for the West Point 1616
Consolidated School District shall appoint the Superintendent of 1617
Schools for the school district. The Superintendent of Schools 1618
for the West Point Consolidated School District may appoint 1619
assistant superintendent(s) of schools for the district, but in no 1620
instance shall the administrative leadership of the West Point 1621
Consolidated School District exceed the number of assistant 1622
superintendents employed in the former West Point School District. 1623
The subsequent superintendent of schools of the reorganized school 1624
district shall not be elected, but shall thereafter be appointed 1625
by the successor board of trustees in the manner provided in 1626
Section 37-9-25. It shall be the responsibility of the successor 1627
board of trustees to prepare and approve the budget of the new 1628
reorganized district, and the successor board of trustees may use 1629
staff from the former school districts to prepare the budget. Any 1630
proposed order of the State Board of Education directing the 1631
transfer of the assets, real or personal property of an affected 1632
school district in the county, shall be final and conclusive for 1633
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
the purposes of the transfer of property required by such 1634
administrative consolidation. Any person or school district 1635
aggrieved by an order of the successor newly selected Board of 1636
Trustees of the West Point Consolidated School District pursuant 1637
to the required administrative consolidation may appeal therefrom 1638
within ten (10) days from the date of the adjournment of the 1639
meeting at which such order is entered. Said appeal shall be 1640
taken in the same manner as appeals are taken from judgments or 1641
decisions of the board of supervisors as provided in Section 1642
11-51-75, Mississippi Code of 1972, the provisions of which shall 1643
be fully applicable to appeals taken hereunder. The Board of 1644
Trustees of the West Point Consolidated School District shall not 1645
pass upon or approve or disapprove any such order until the time 1646
for an appeal therefrom shall have expired, nor shall said board 1647
pass upon or approve or disapprove any such order from which an 1648
appeal is taken until said appeal shall have been finally 1649
determined. 1650
(4) When any school district in the county is abolished 1651
under the provisions of this section, the abolition thereof shall 1652
not impair or release the property of that former school district 1653
from liability for the payment of the bonds or other indebtedness 1654
of such district. 1655
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require 1656
the closing of any school or school facility, unless the facility 1657
is an unneeded administrative office located within a school 1658
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
district which has been abolished under the provisions of this 1659
section. All administrative consolidations under this section 1660
shall be accomplished so as not to delay or in any manner 1661
negatively affect the desegregation of another school district in 1662
the county pursuant to court order. 1663
(6) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and 1664
regulations to facilitate the administrative consolidation of the 1665
school districts in Clay County pursuant to this section. The 1666
consolidated districts shall make an election within one (1) year 1667
of consolidation concerning the group term life insurance 1668
described in subsection (7) of Section 25-15-9. When the orders 1669
of the State Board of Education adopting the boundaries of the 1670
successor board of trustees election districts have been entered 1671
and are final, as directed by the State Board of Education, the 1672
new district lines shall be submitted by the State Board of 1673
Education with the assistance of the Attorney General to the 1674
Attorney General of the United States for preclearance or to the 1675
United States District Court for the District of Columbia for a 1676
declaratory judgment in accordance with the provisions of the 1677
Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended. In the event 1678
the change in the school district lines and election districts are 1679
precleared or approved, the State Board of Education shall 1680
formally declare the new lines as the new boundaries of the 1681
successor school district. 1682
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
(7) For the initial two (2) years following the 1683
administrative consolidation required by this section, the State 1684
Department of Education may grant a waiver of accountability and 1685
state assessment requirements to the West Point Consolidated 1686
School District for the student population enrolled therein from 1687
the former Clay County School District when determining the new 1688
consolidated school district accreditation level on the 1689
performance and accountability rating model. 1690
SECTION 17. Section 37-7-104.3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1691
brought forward as follows: 1692
37-7-104.3. (1) In Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, in which 1693
are located, as of January 1, 2013, two (2) school districts, 1694
there shall be an administrative consolidation of all of those 1695
school districts in the county into one (1) new countywide 1696
municipal separate school district to be designated as 1697
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District which shall 1698
consist of the territory of the former Oktibbeha County School 1699
District and the Starkville School District, effective on July 1, 1700
2015. Until June 30, 2015, preceding the effective date of the 1701
required administrative consolidation of school districts in the 1702
county, the Oktibbeha County School District shall remain in 1703
conservatorship, under the authority and control of the 1704
Mississippi Recovery School District of the State Department of 1705
Education. At such time that the administrative consolidation 1706
becomes effective, the central administrative office of the 1707
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Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District shall be located 1708
in Starkville, Mississippi. 1709
(2) (a) On or before July 1, 2014, the State Board of 1710
Education shall serve the local school board of the Starkville 1711
School District with notice and instructions regarding the 1712
timetable for action to be taken to comply with the administrative 1713
consolidation required in this section. 1714
(b) In the new consolidated school district there shall 1715
be a countywide municipal separate school district board of 1716
trustees, which shall consist of the existing members of the Board 1717
of Trustees of the Starkville School District. However, upon the 1718
first occurrence of a vacancy on the board as a result of an 1719
expired term of an appointed board member, that vacancy shall 1720
become an elected position and shall be filled by the election of 1721
a board member as follows: the 2016 expiring term board member 1722
shall remain in office until January 1, 2017. In November 2016, 1723
an election will be held for a board member who resides outside of 1724
the incorporated municipal limits in the manner prescribed in 1725
Section 37-7-203, and the elected board member will take office 1726
for a five-year term beginning January 1, 2017. Subsequent board 1727
members shall be selected in the manner prescribed in Section 1728
37-7-203. The Board of Supervisors of Oktibbeha County shall 1729
publish notice of the school board elections in some newspaper of 1730
general circulation in the county for at least three (3) 1731
consecutive weeks. 1732
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(c) Any school district affected by the required 1733
administrative consolidation in the county that does not 1734
voluntarily consolidate as ordered by the State Board of Education 1735
shall be administratively consolidated by the State Board of 1736
Education, to be effective immediately upon action of the State 1737
Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall promptly 1738
move on its own motion to administratively consolidate a school 1739
district which does not voluntarily consolidate in order to enable 1740
the affected school districts to reasonably accomplish the 1741
resulting administrative consolidation into one (1) consolidated 1742
school district by July 1 following the motion to consolidate. 1743
The affected school districts shall comply with any consolidation 1744
order issued by the State Board of Education. 1745
(3) On July 1, 2015, following the motion of the State Board 1746
of Education to consolidate school districts in Oktibbeha County, 1747
the Oktibbeha County School District shall be abolished. All real 1748
and personal property which is owned or titled in the name of the 1749
school district located in such former school district shall be 1750
transferred to the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School 1751
District as of July 1, 2015. The Conservator of the Oktibbeha 1752
County School District is authorized and directed to execute and 1753
record all documents and conveyances necessary to convey title to 1754
all real and personal property of the Oktibbeha County School 1755
District to the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. 1756
The conservator is further authorized and directed to sign all 1757
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documents and to take all actions necessary to assign contracts 1758
and other property, contract rights and obligations of the 1759
Oktibbeha County School District to the Starkville-Oktibbeha 1760
Consolidated School District. The Board of Trustees of the 1761
Starkville School District shall be responsible for establishing 1762
the contracts for operations, teachers, principals, clerical and 1763
administrative staff personnel for the 2015-2016 school year prior 1764
to July 1, 2015, and shall consult with the conservator for the 1765
establishment of contracts for teachers, principals, clerical and 1766
administrative staff personnel located in the former Oktibbeha 1767
County School District for the 2015-2016 school year. In order to 1768
prepare for the efficient staffing of the Starkville-Oktibbeha 1769
Consolidated School District, the Conservator of the Oktibbeha 1770
County School District and the Superintendent of the Starkville 1771
School District shall have full authority to nonrenew the 1772
employment contract of any teacher, principal, clerical or 1773
administrative staff located within their respective school 1774
districts for the 2015-2016 school year. The superintendent and 1775
assistant superintendent(s) of schools of the former Starkville 1776
School District shall continue to serve in like administrative 1777
capacities of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School 1778
District, but in no instance shall the administrative leadership 1779
of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District exceed 1780
three (3) assistant superintendents to be appointed by the 1781
superintendent of the former Starkville School District. No 1782
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superintendent serving in the former Oktibbeha County School 1783
District shall be eligible for appointment as a superintendent or 1784
assistant superintendent in the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated 1785
School District. Likewise, no trustee serving in the former 1786
Oktibbeha County School District shall be eligible for election to 1787
the new Board of Trustees of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated 1788
School District. It shall be the responsibility of the board of 1789
trustees to prepare and approve the budget of the respective new 1790
reorganized district, and the board of trustees may use staff from 1791
the former school district to prepare the budget. Any transfer of 1792
the assets, real or personal property of the Oktibbeha County 1793
School District mandated by this section shall be final and 1794
conclusive for the purposes of the transfer of property required 1795
by this section to effectuate the administrative consolidation. 1796
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require 1797
the closing of any school or school facility, unless the facility 1798
is an unneeded administrative office located within a school 1799
district which has been abolished under the provisions of this 1800
section. All administrative consolidations under this section 1801
shall be accomplished so as not to delay or in any manner 1802
negatively affect the desegregation of another school district in 1803
the county pursuant to court order. 1804
(5) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and 1805
regulations to facilitate the administrative consolidation of the 1806
school districts in Oktibbeha County pursuant to the requirements 1807
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of this section. Beginning with the insurance cafeteria plan year 1808
of November 1, 2014, the consolidated districts shall fall under 1809
all insurance plans and policies elected by the Starkville Public 1810
School District, including the group term life insurance described 1811
in Section 25-15-9(7). 1812
(6) For the initial three (3) years following the 1813
administrative consolidation required by this section, the State 1814
Department of Education shall grant a waiver of accountability and 1815
state assessment requirements to the Starkville-Oktibbeha 1816
Consolidated School District, subject to the approval of the State 1817
Board of Education. 1818
(7) As soon as practicable after March 31, 2015, the 1819
Conservator of the Oktibbeha County School District shall initiate 1820
the issuance of notes or certificates of indebtedness of the 1821
Oktibbeha County School District for the purpose of purchasing 1822
school buses, textbooks, computers and software and other 1823
equipment and fixtures for school facilities, and for any purposes 1824
enumerated in Section 37-59-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, and 1825
making repairs, alterations, utility upgrades and additions to two 1826
(2) elementary school buildings located in the Oktibbeha County 1827
School District in order to meet the same physical and educational 1828
standards as the elementary school buildings in Starkville, and to 1829
contribute funds to the Starkville School District for capital 1830
improvements to accommodate county school district students and 1831
increase capacity for the consolidation. The contribution of such 1832
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funds to the Starkville School District is hereby authorized. 1833
Said notes or certificates of indebtedness shall be issued under 1834
the authority of Sections 37-59-101 through 37-59-115, Mississippi 1835
Code of 1972, including all notice requirements, however, the 1836
resolution as to the necessity for the issuance of the notes and 1837
the execution of the documents shall be made by the Conservator of 1838
the Oktibbeha County School District. The term of any notes or 1839
certificates of indebtedness issued under this section may not 1840
exceed the useful life of the financed project as determined 1841
according to the upper limit of useful life and depreciation 1842
guidelines established under the United States Internal Revenue 1843
Code and regulations. The levying authority for the Oktibbeha 1844
County School District, and after July 1, 2015, the levying 1845
authority for the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School 1846
District, shall annually levy a special tax on all taxable 1847
property of the former Oktibbeha County School District, and after 1848
July 1, 2015, on all taxable property of the Starkville-Oktibbeha 1849
Consolidated School District, in an amount sufficient to pay the 1850
principal of and interest on such negotiable notes or certificates 1851
of indebtedness as the same shall respectively mature and accrue. 1852
Said tax shall be levied as provided in Section 37-59-107, 1853
Mississippi Code of 1972, except that the levy shall not exceed 1854
three (3) mills on the dollar for the payment of all notes that 1855
are subject to the levy under Section 37-59-107. Any notes or 1856
certificates of indebtedness issued pursuant to this subsection 1857
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(7) shall become indebtedness of the new Starkville-Oktibbeha 1858
Consolidated School District from and after July 1, 2015, and the 1859
mandatory special ad valorem tax levied to pay the notes or 1860
certificates of indebtedness by the levying authority pursuant to 1861
Section 37-59-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be levied upon 1862
all of the taxable property within the Starkville-Oktibbeha 1863
Consolidated School District. 1864
(8) For a period beginning July 1, 2014, and ending June 30, 1865
2015, the Conservator of the Oktibbeha County School District 1866
shall issue negotiable bonds of the Oktibbeha County School 1867
District for the purpose of purchasing school buses, textbooks, 1868
computers and software and other equipment and fixtures for school 1869
facilities, and making repairs, alterations and additions and 1870
utility upgrades, and for any purposes allowed by Section 37-59-3, 1871
Mississippi Code of 1972, to school facilities in the Oktibbeha 1872
County School District and in the Starkville School District to 1873
accommodate students in the former Oktibbeha County School 1874
District who will be attending school in the new 1875
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District and the 1876
increased capacity needs under the consolidation. Said bonds 1877
shall be issued under the authority of Sections 37-59-1 through 1878
37-59-45, however, any resolutions as to the necessity for the 1879
issuance of any bonds and execution of the documents may be made 1880
periodically by the Conservator of the Oktibbeha County School 1881
District. Provided further, that the conservator shall publish 1882
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each resolution of necessity and intent to issue any bonds once 1883
each week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper 1884
having general circulation in the Oktibbeha County School 1885
District, with the first publication thereof to be made not less 1886
than fifteen (15) days prior to the date upon which the 1887
conservator is to take final action upon the question of 1888
authorizing the issuance of said bonds. If no petition requesting 1889
an election is filed prior to the date and time of the meeting at 1890
which the conservator is to take final action on the issuance of 1891
said bonds, then the conservator shall authorize the issuance of 1892
the bonds. If at any time prior to the date and time of the 1893
meeting at which the conservator is to take final action upon the 1894
question of issuing such bonds a petition signed by not less than 1895
twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the Oktibbeha 1896
County School District shall be filed with the Conservator of the 1897
Oktibbeha County School District requesting that an election be 1898
called on the question of issuing the bonds, then the conservator 1899
shall either rescind the applicable resolution of intent or adopt 1900
a resolution calling an election to be held within the territory 1901
of the Oktibbeha County School District upon such question. The 1902
election shall be called and held, and notice thereof shall be 1903
given, in the same manner for elections upon the question of bond 1904
issues under Sections 37-59-11, 37-59-13, 37-59-15 and 37-59-17, 1905
and the results thereof shall be certified by the Oktibbeha County 1906
Election Commission to the Conservator of the Oktibbeha County 1907
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School District. If three-fifths (3/5) of the qualified electors 1908
of the Oktibbeha County School District who voted in such election 1909
vote in favor of the issuance of such bonds, then the conservator 1910
shall authorize the Oktibbeha County School District to issue such 1911
bonds. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the 1912
Oktibbeha County School District may issue bonds pursuant to this 1913
subsection (8) in an amount which, when added to all of the 1914
Oktibbeha County School District's then outstanding bonded 1915
indebtedness, shall not result in the imposition on any of the 1916
property in said district of an indebtedness for school purposes 1917
of more than twenty percent (20%) of the assessed value of the 1918
taxable property within said district, according to the then last 1919
completed assessment for taxation. Any bonds issued pursuant to 1920
this subsection (8) shall become indebtedness of the new 1921
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District from and after 1922
July 1, 2015, and the mandatory special ad valorem tax to be 1923
levied by the levying authority pursuant to Section 37-59-23, 1924
Mississippi Code of 1972, to pay the bonds shall be levied upon 1925
all taxable property within the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated 1926
School District. 1927
(9) For a period beginning July 1, 2015, and ending July 1, 1928
2027, the new Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District 1929
Board of Trustees may periodically issue negotiable bonds in one 1930
or more series of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School 1931
District for the purpose of purchasing school buses, textbooks, 1932
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election or presidential election.
computers and software and other equipment and fixtures for school 1933
facilities and for any purposes enumerated in Section 37-59-3, 1934
Mississippi Code of 1972. The term of any such bonds may not 1935
exceed the useful life of the financed project as determined 1936
according to the upper limit of useful life and depreciation 1937
guidelines established under the United States Internal Revenue 1938
Code and regulations. Said bonds shall be issued under the 1939
authority of Sections 37-59-1 through 37-59-45, including all 1940
notice and publication requirements, however, the necessity for 1941
the issuance of the bonds shall be made pursuant to a reverse 1942
referendum procedure to be followed by the Starkville-Oktibbeha 1943
Consolidated School District Board of Trustees as follows: the 1944
board of trustees shall publish each resolution of necessity and 1945
intent to issue bonds once each week for at least three (3) 1946
consecutive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the 1947
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, with the first 1948
publication thereof to be made not less than fifteen (15) days 1949
prior to the date on which the board of trustees is to take final 1950
action authorizing the issuance of the bonds. If no petition 1951
requesting an election is filed prior to the date and time of the 1952
meeting at which the board of trustees is to take final action on 1953
the issuance of the bonds, the board of trustees shall authorize 1954
the issuance of the bonds. If at any time prior to the date and 1955
time of the meeting at which the board of trustees is to take 1956
final action authorizing the issuance of the bonds a petition 1957
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signed by not less than twenty percent (20%) of the qualified 1958
electors of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District 1959
shall be filed with the Board of Trustees of the 1960
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District requesting that 1961
an election be called on the question of issuing the bonds, then 1962
the board of trustees shall, not later than its next regular 1963
meeting, adopt a resolution calling an election to be held within 1964
the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District upon such 1965
question. The election shall be called and held, and notice 1966
thereof shall be given, in the same manner for elections upon the 1967
question of bond issues under Sections 37-59-11, 37-59-13, 1968
37-59-15 and 37-59-17, and the results thereof shall be certified 1969
to the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of 1970
Trustees, as the case may be. If three-fifths (3/5) of the 1971
qualified electors of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School 1972
District who voted in such election vote in favor of the issuance 1973
of such bonds, then the board of trustees shall issue such bonds. 1974
Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the 1975
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District may issue bonds 1976
pursuant to this subsection (9) in an amount which, when added to 1977
all of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District's 1978
then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall not result in the 1979
imposition on any of the property in said district of an 1980
indebtedness for school purposes of more than twenty percent (20%) 1981
of the assessed value of the taxable property within said 1982
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election or presidential election.
district, according to the then last completed assessment for 1983
taxation. Any bonds issued pursuant to this subsection (9) shall 1984
be indebtedness of the new Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated 1985
School District. The mandatory special ad valorem tax to be 1986
levied by the levying authority pursuant to Section 37-59-23, 1987
Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be levied on all taxable property 1988
of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. 1989
(10) Notwithstanding any law or any provision of any law to 1990
the contrary, from and after July 1, 2015, all outstanding debt of 1991
the former Oktibbeha County School District and the former 1992
Starkville School District shall be assumed by and become the debt 1993
of the new Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. Any 1994
debt assumed by the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School 1995
District secured by a special ad valorem tax shall become secured 1996
by and payable from a mandatory, special ad valorem tax which 1997
shall be levied on all taxable property in the 1998
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District by the levying 1999
authority of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School 2000
District. All debt secured by a pledge by either district of its 2001
education enhancement funds pursuant to Section 37-61-33, 2002
Mississippi Code of 1972, or by a pledge of its Mississippi 2003
Adequate Education Program funds will continue to be secured by 2004
and payable from the same funds after the debt is assumed by the 2005
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District as of July 1, 2006
2015. It is the intent of the Legislature that any such pledges 2007
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will remain in effect and that the pledged funds will be available 2008
to the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District to pay 2009
its debt to which the funds are pledged. 2010
(11) It shall be the responsibility of the Board of 2011
Supervisors of Oktibbeha County to provide office, furnishing and 2012
utilities for the administrative Office of the Superintendent of 2013
the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. 2014
(12) The new Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School 2015
District is authorized and encouraged to develop a partnership 2016
with Mississippi State University to create a model rural 2017
education school to serve all sixth- and seventh-grade students 2018
from Oktibbeha County and a model prekindergarten program which 2019
shall also serve as a model for the education of teachers and 2020
administrators. The Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School 2021
District and Mississippi State University are authorized and 2022
empowered, in each's discretion, to enter into an agreement for 2023
the purpose of designing, constructing, maintaining and operating 2024
a model rural education school to serve all sixth- and 2025
seventh-grade students from Oktibbeha County. The 2026
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District and Mississippi 2027
State University are further authorized and empowered, in each's 2028
discretion, to transfer funds to the other and expend such funds 2029
on mutually agreeable terms and conditions for the construction, 2030
maintenance and operation of such school. 2031
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election or presidential election.
(13) The Board of Supervisors of Oktibbeha County shall be 2032
the "levying authority" for the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated 2033
School District. 2034
SECTION 18. Section 37-7-104.4, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 2035
brought forward as follows: 2036
37-7-104.4. (1) In Montgomery County, Mississippi, in which 2037
are located, as of January 1, 2016, two (2) school districts, 2038
there shall be an administrative consolidation of all of those 2039
school districts in the county into one (1) new countywide 2040
municipal separate school district to be designated as 2041
Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District which shall consist 2042
of the territory of the former Montgomery County School District 2043
and the Winona Municipal Separate School District, effective on 2044
July 1, 2018. At such time that the administrative consolidation 2045
becomes effective, the central administrative office of the 2046
Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District shall be located in 2047
Winona, Mississippi. 2048
(2) As soon as practicable, a financial advisor and/or other 2049
facilitator with school district experience may be assigned by the 2050
Mississippi Department of Education to oversee the budgeting and 2051
financial matters relating to the consolidation of the districts 2052
slated for consolidation. The financial advisor and/or 2053
facilitator may, at the discretion of the Mississippi Department 2054
of Education, continue duties for one (1) year after the 2055
consolidation to ensure that all financial matters are in place. 2056
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election or presidential election.
All financial expenditures of districts that are closing must be 2057
approved by the financial advisor and/or facilitator. If the 2058
superintendent and/or school board approves expenditures outside 2059
of this approval, they shall be personally liable for the excess 2060
expenditures. The State Board of Education shall determine the 2061
compensation to be paid to the financial advisor and/or 2062
facilitator which shall be paid by the local school district to 2063
which the financial advisor and/or facilitator is assigned. 2064
(3) (a) On or before September 1, 2017, the State Board of 2065
Education shall serve the local school board of the Winona 2066
Municipal Separate School District and the local school board of 2067
the Montgomery County School District with notice and instructions 2068
regarding the timetable for action to be taken to comply with the 2069
administrative consolidation required in this section. 2070
(b) The members of the Winona-Montgomery Consolidated 2071
School District Board of Trustees serving on July 1, 2020, shall 2072
continue to serve until January 1, 2021, when the membership shall 2073
be reconstituted as follows: On the first Tuesday after the first 2074
Monday in November 2020, a special election shall be held in 2075
Montgomery County for the purpose of electing a new board of 2076
trustees of such district, which shall be elected from the 2077
Supervisors Districts of Montgomery County. At said election the 2078
member of the said board from District One shall be elected for a 2079
term of one (1) year, the member from District Two shall be 2080
elected for a term of two (2) years, the member from District 2081
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election or presidential election.
Three shall be elected for a term of three (3) years, the member 2082
from District Four shall be elected for a term of four (4) years, 2083
and the member from District Five shall be elected for a term of 2084
five (5) years. Thereafter, members shall be elected at special 2085
elections as vacancies occur for terms of five (5) years each. 2086
All members shall reside in the supervisors district which the 2087
member represents, and shall take office on the first Monday of 2088
January following the date of their election. All trustees of 2089
said school district shall otherwise be elected as provided for in 2090
Sections 37-7-223 through 37-7-229, Mississippi Code of 1972. All 2091
vacancies which may occur during a term shall be filled by 2092
appointment of the consolidated school district trustees from the 2093
qualified electors of the district in which the vacancy occurs. 2094
However, the person so appointed shall serve only until the next 2095
general election following such appointment, at which time a 2096
person shall be elected for the remainder of the unexpired term at 2097
the same time and in the same manner as a trustee is elected for 2098
the full term then expiring and the person so elected to the 2099
unexpired term shall take office immediately. Any school board 2100
member of the former school districts residing in the proper 2101
territory shall be eligible for appointment or election to the new 2102
Board of Trustees for Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School 2103
District. 2104
(c) Any school district affected by the required 2105
administrative consolidation in the county that does not 2106
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voluntarily consolidate as ordered by the State Board of Education 2107
shall be administratively consolidated by the State Board of 2108
Education, to be effective immediately upon action of the State 2109
Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall promptly 2110
move on its own motion to administratively consolidate a school 2111
district which does not voluntarily consolidate in order to enable 2112
the affected school districts to reasonably accomplish the 2113
resulting administrative consolidation into one (1) consolidated 2114
school district by July 1 following the motion to consolidate. 2115
The affected school districts shall comply with any consolidation 2116
order issued by the State Board of Education. 2117
(4) (a) On July 1, 2018, following the motion of the State 2118
Board of Education to consolidate school districts in Montgomery 2119
County, the Montgomery County School District shall be abolished. 2120
All real and personal property which is owned or titled in the 2121
name of the school district located in such former school district 2122
shall be transferred to the Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School 2123
District as of July 1, 2018. 2124
(b) The new board of trustees of the Winona-Montgomery 2125
Consolidated School District shall be responsible for establishing 2126
the contracts for operations, teachers, principals, clerical and 2127
administrative staff personnel for the 2018-2019 school year and 2128
each school year thereafter. 2129
(c) The Superintendent of the Winona-Montgomery 2130
Consolidated School District shall be appointed by the board and 2131
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election or presidential election.
is authorized to appoint an assistant superintendent, but in no 2132
instance shall the administrative leadership of the 2133
Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District exceed three (3) 2134
assistant superintendents to be appointed by the Superintendent of 2135
the Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District. 2136
(d) It shall be the responsibility of the board of 2137
trustees to prepare and approve the budget of the respective new 2138
reorganized district, and the board of trustees may use staff from 2139
the former school district to prepare the budget. Any transfer of 2140
the assets, real or personal property of the Montgomery County 2141
School District mandated by this section shall be final and 2142
conclusive for the purposes of the transfer of property required 2143
by this section to effectuate the administrative consolidation. 2144
(e) Any person or school district aggrieved by an order 2145
of the successor newly selected Board of Trustees of the 2146
Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District pursuant to the 2147
required administrative consolidation may appeal therefrom within 2148
ten (10) days from the date of the adjournment of the meeting at 2149
which such order is entered. The appeal shall be taken in the 2150
same manner as appeals are taken from judgments or decisions of 2151
the board of supervisors as provided in Section 11-51-75, the 2152
provisions of which shall be fully applicable to appeals taken 2153
hereunder. The Board of Trustees of the Winona-Montgomery 2154
Consolidated School District shall not pass upon or approve or 2155
disapprove any such order until the time for an appeal therefrom 2156
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election or presidential election.
has expired, nor shall the board pass upon or approve or 2157
disapprove any such order from which an appeal is taken until said 2158
appeal has been finally determined. 2159
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require 2160
the closing of any school or school facility, unless the facility 2161
is an unneeded administrative office located within a school 2162
district which has been abolished under the provisions of this 2163
section. All administrative consolidations under this section 2164
shall be accomplished so as not to delay or in any manner 2165
negatively affect the desegregation of another school district in 2166
the county pursuant to court order. 2167
(6) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and 2168
regulations to facilitate the administrative consolidation of the 2169
school districts in Montgomery County pursuant to the requirements 2170
of this section. Beginning with the insurance cafeteria plan year 2171
of November 1, 2018, the consolidated districts shall fall under 2172
all insurance plans and policies elected by the Winona-Montgomery 2173
Consolidated School District, including the group term life 2174
insurance described in Section 25-15-9(7). 2175
(7) The County Board of Education and the Superintendent of 2176
Education of the former Montgomery County School District and the 2177
local school board and Superintendent of Schools of the Winona 2178
Municipal Separate School District shall cooperate with the State 2179
Department of Education, as soon as practicable after July 1, 2180
2016, for the planning and transition of programs, services and 2181
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election or presidential election.
alignment of curriculum for the administratively consolidated 2182
school districts. 2183
(8) It shall be the responsibility of the Board of 2184
Supervisors of Montgomery County to provide office, furnishing and 2185
utilities for the administrative Office of the Superintendent of 2186
the Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District. 2187
(9) One (1) year prior to the date of consolidation, a 2188
financial advisor and/or other facilitator with school district 2189
experience may be assigned by the Mississippi Department of 2190
Education to oversee the budgeting and financial matters relating 2191
to the consolidation of the districts slated for consolidation. 2192
The financial advisor and/or facilitator may, at the discretion of 2193
the Mississippi Department of Education, continue duties for one 2194
(1) year after the consolidation to ensure that all financial 2195
matters are in place. All financial expenditures of districts 2196
that are closing must be approved by the financial advisor and/or 2197
facilitator. If the superintendent and/or school board approves 2198
expenditures outside of this approval, they shall be personally 2199
liable for the excess expenditures. The State Board of Education 2200
shall determine the compensation to be paid to the financial 2201
advisor and/or facilitator which shall be paid by the local school 2202
district. 2203
SECTION 19. Section 37-7-104.5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 2204
brought forward as follows: 2205
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election or presidential election.
37-7-104.5. (1) Not later than July 1, 2019, the local 2206
school boards of the Lumberton Public School District, Lamar 2207
County School District and Poplarville Separate School District 2208
shall, under the authority provided in Section 37-7-103, enter 2209
into an agreement, by which the approval of such agreement shall 2210
be spread upon each board's minutes of their regularly scheduled 2211
meetings or at special meetings called for the specific purpose of 2212
such agreement, to abolish and dissolve the Lumberton School 2213
District and its central administrative office to be effective for 2214
the start of the 2019-2020 school year. The agreement between 2215
each school board made parties thereto must consider: 2216
(a) The composition of the district boundaries of the 2217
Lumberton Public School District, as it existed on January 1, 2218
2016, to ensure that the student population to be transferred to 2219
the Lamar County School District and Poplarville Separate School 2220
District does not disparately impact the desegregation of either 2221
school district entering into agreement; 2222
(b) The territory embraced by Lumberton, Mississippi, 2223
located within the bounded territory of Lamar County, from which 2224
the school district to be abolished by agreement draws a portion 2225
of its student population, shall be absorbed into the boundary 2226
lines of the Lamar County School District, which shall spread a 2227
legal description of the district's new boundaries upon its 2228
minutes. It shall be the responsibility of the board of 2229
supervisors of such county to apportion the school district into 2230
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election or presidential election.
five (5) new single-member board of education election districts, 2231
which shall be consistent with the apportioned population of the 2232
existing Lamar County School District and that portion of the 2233
former Lumberton Public School District situated within Lamar 2234
County as the former district existed on July 1, 2016. The board 2235
of supervisors of the county shall thereafter publish the same in 2236
some newspaper of general circulation in the county for at least 2237
three (3) consecutive weeks and after having given notice of 2238
publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the school 2239
boards of each appropriate school district in the county, the new 2240
district lines will thereafter be effective; and 2241
(c) The territory embraced by Lumberton, Mississippi, 2242
located within the bounded territory of Pearl River County, from 2243
which the school district to be abolished by agreement draws a 2244
portion of its student population, shall be absorbed into the 2245
boundary lines of the Poplarville Separate School District as 2246
added territory, which shall spread a legal description of the 2247
district's new boundaries with added territory upon its minutes. 2248
It shall be the responsibility of the municipal governing 2249
authority having jurisdiction over the territory wherein the 2250
Poplarville Separate School District is located to provide 2251
residents of the added territory with representation on the school 2252
board as authorized under the provisions of Section 37-7-203(1), 2253
which shall be consistent with the apportioned population of the 2254
existing Poplarville Separate School District and the percentage 2255
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election or presidential election.
of the student population from that portion of the former 2256
Lumberton Public School District situated in Pearl River County 2257
within the added territory of the Poplarville Separate School 2258
District as the former district existed on July 1, 2016. The 2259
municipal governing authority shall thereafter publish the same in 2260
some newspaper of general circulation in the county for at least 2261
three (3) consecutive weeks and after having given notice of 2262
publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the school 2263
boards of each appropriate school district in the county, the new 2264
member districts will thereafter be effective; and 2265
(2) (a) There is hereby created and established an advisory 2266
council to be known as the Commission on the Administrative 2267
Consolidation of the Lumberton Public School District. The 2268
commission shall be composed of eleven (11) members as follows: 2269
(i) The State Superintendent of Education, or his 2270
designee, who shall serve as Chairman of the Commission; 2271
(ii) The Superintendent of the Lumberton Public 2272
School District; 2273
(iii) The Superintendent of Education of the Lamar 2274
County School District; 2275
(iv) The Superintendent of the Poplarville 2276
Separate School District; 2277
(v) Two (2) members of the Lamar County Board of 2278
Education to be appointed by the Lamar County Board of Education; 2279
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election or presidential election.
(vi) One (1) member of the Board of Trustees of 2280
the Poplarville Separate School District to be appointed by the 2281
Board of Trustees of the Poplarville Separate School District; 2282
(vii) One (1) member of the Board of Trustees of 2283
the Lumberton Public School District to be appointed by the Board 2284
of Trustees of the Lumberton Public School District; 2285
(viii) One (1) resident of the area which 2286
comprises the Lumberton Public School District to be appointed by 2287
the State Superintendent of Public Education; 2288
(ix) One (1) resident of the area which comprises 2289
the Lamar County School District to be appointed by the Lamar 2290
County Board of Supervisors; and 2291
(x) One (1) resident of the area which comprises 2292
the Poplarville Separate School District to be appointed by the 2293
Pearl River Board of Supervisors. 2294
(b) The Commission on the Administrative Consolidation 2295
of the Lumberton Public School District shall meet within thirty 2296
(30) days of July 1, 2016, upon the call of the State 2297
Superintendent of Education and shall hold hearings and meet as 2298
necessary and develop a report to the Legislature, the Governor 2299
and the State Board of Education on or before December 1, 2017, 2300
with the agreed-upon plan for proceeding with the abolition and 2301
dissolving of the Lumberton Public School District, which shall 2302
include a reasonable effort to maintain and operate a school in 2303
the former Lumberton Public School District by which students 2304
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election or presidential election.
desiring may, in the discretion of the parents of such students, 2305
attend. 2306
(c) The plan may provide an option for students 2307
enrolled in the schools of the Lumberton Public School District on 2308
May 1, 2017, and children registered for kindergarten on that date 2309
with the Lumberton Public School District may be granted an 2310
automatic transfer by the Lamar County Board of Education or the 2311
Poplarville School Board, as determined by the agreed-upon plan. 2312
(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require 2313
the closing or maintenance of any school or school facility, 2314
unless the facility is an unneeded administrative office located 2315
within a school district which has been abolished under the 2316
provisions of this section. 2317
SECTION 20. Section 37-7-104.6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 2318
brought forward as follows: 2319
37-7-104.6. (1) In Leflore County, Mississippi, in which 2320
are located, as of January 1, 2016, two (2) school districts, 2321
there shall be an administrative consolidation of those school 2322
districts in the county into one (1) new countywide school 2323
district to be designated as Greenwood-Leflore School District 2324
which shall consist of the territory of the former Leflore County 2325
School District and the Greenwood Municipal Separate School 2326
District, effective on July 1, 2019. At such time that the 2327
administrative consolidation becomes effective, the central 2328
administrative office of the Greenwood-Leflore School District 2329
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election or presidential election.
shall be current Greenwood Public School District Central Office, 2330
located in Greenwood, Mississippi. 2331
(2) As soon as practicable, a financial advisor and/or other 2332
facilitator with school district experience may be assigned by the 2333
Mississippi Department of Education to oversee the budgeting and 2334
financial matters relating to the consolidation of the districts 2335
slated for consolidation. The financial advisor and/or 2336
facilitator may, at the discretion of the Mississippi Department 2337
of Education, continue duties for one (1) year after the 2338
consolidation to ensure that all financial matters are in place. 2339
All financial expenditures of districts that are closing must be 2340
approved by the financial advisor and/or facilitator. If the 2341
superintendent and/or school board approves expenditures outside 2342
of this approval, they shall be personally liable for the excess 2343
expenditures. The State Board of Education shall determine the 2344
compensation to be paid to the financial advisor and/or 2345
facilitator which shall be paid by the local school district to 2346
which the financial advisor and/or facilitator is assigned. 2347
(3) (a) On July 1, 2018, the State Board of Education shall 2348
serve the local school boards of the Leflore County School 2349
District and the Greenwood Municipal Separate School District with 2350
notice and instructions regarding the timetable for action to be 2351
taken to comply with the administrative consolidation required in 2352
this section. The State Board of Education shall require the 2353
administrative consolidation of Leflore County School District and 2354
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
the Greenwood Municipal Separate School District on or before July 2355
1, 2019. In the new Greenwood-Leflore School District, there 2356
shall be a new phased-in County Board of Education comprised of 2357
five (5) members elected to staggered terms of office from single 2358
member supervisors districts in the manner prescribed in this 2359
subsection. Current members of the Board of Trustees of the 2360
Greenwood Public School District serving on November 1, 2017, 2361
shall continue in office as the new County Board of Education of 2362
the Greenwood-Leflore School District until their successors are 2363
elected as follows: 2364
(i) The two (2) appointed board members of the 2365
Greenwood Public School District whose terms are nearest to 2366
expiration shall expire on January 1, 2019, and thereafter become 2367
permanently elected positions to be filled by persons elected as 2368
board members from Supervisors Districts 2 and 3 in a November 2369
2018 election held for that purpose, in the manner prescribed in 2370
Section 37-7-203, and the newly elected members will take office 2371
on January 1, 2019, for a term of four (4) years; 2372
(ii) The final two (2) appointed board members of 2373
the Greenwood Public School District whose terms are the farthest 2374
removed from expiration shall expire on January 1, 2020, and 2375
thereafter become permanently elected positions to be filled by 2376
persons elected as board members from Supervisors Districts 4 and 2377
5 in a November 2019 election held for that purpose, in the manner 2378
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election or presidential election.
prescribed in Section 37-7-203, and the newly elected members will 2379
take office on January 1, 2020, for a term of four (4) years; and 2380
(iii) One (1) appointed board member of the 2381
Greenwood Public School District whose term is next nearest to 2382
expiration shall expire on January 1, 2021, and thereafter become 2383
a permanently elected position to be filled by a person elected as 2384
a board member from Supervisors District 1 in a November 2020 2385
election held for that purpose, in the manner prescribed in 2386
Section 37-7-203, and the newly elected members will take office 2387
on January 1, 2021, for a term of four (4) years. 2388
(b) All subsequent members shall be elected for a term 2389
of four (4) years at the regular general election held on the 2390
first Monday in November next preceding the expiration of the term 2391
of office of the respective members, and shall take office on 2392
January 1 next succeeding the election. 2393
(c) No previous school board member of the former 2394
school district that was placed under conservatorship residing in 2395
the proper territory shall be eligible for selection to the new 2396
Board of Education for the Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School 2397
District. 2398
(d) The State Board of Education shall declare that the 2399
territory embraced by Leflore County, Mississippi, shall be the 2400
boundary lines for the territory of the new Greenwood-Leflore 2401
School District and shall spread a legal description of the new 2402
school district on the minutes of its August 2018 meeting and 2403
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election or presidential election.
shall serve the applicable school boards and the board of 2404
supervisors with an adequate legal description of these new 2405
boundaries. Any school board member of the former school 2406
districts residing in the proper supervisors district shall be 2407
eligible for election to the new Board of Education for the 2408
Greenwood-Leflore School District unless such person was serving 2409
as a member of the board when either district subject to 2410
consolidation under this section was placed under conservatorship, 2411
which shall render the board member ineligible for election. 2412
(e) Any school district affected by the required 2413
administrative consolidation in the county that does not 2414
voluntarily consolidate as ordered by the State Board of Education 2415
shall be administratively consolidated by the State Board of 2416
Education, to be effective immediately upon action of the State 2417
Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall promptly 2418
move on its own motion to administratively consolidate a school 2419
district which does not voluntarily consolidate in order to enable 2420
the affected school districts to reasonably accomplish the 2421
resulting administrative consolidation into the Greenwood-Leflore 2422
School District by July 1, 2019, following the motion to 2423
consolidate. The affected school districts shall comply with any 2424
consolidation order issued by the State Board of Education. 2425
(4) The successor Greenwood-Leflore Board of Education shall 2426
appoint a new Superintendent of Schools for the Greenwood-Leflore 2427
School District to be selected no later than July 1, 2019, in the 2428
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election or presidential election.
manner provided in Section 37-9-13. The position of 2429
Greenwood-Leflore Superintendent of Schools shall be an appointive 2430
position. The successor Greenwood-Leflore Board of Education 2431
shall also employ central office staff for the Greenwood-Leflore 2432
School District no later than July 1, 2019. 2433
(5) (a) On January 1, 2020, following the motion of the 2434
State Board of Education to consolidate school districts in 2435
Leflore County and the Greenwood Municipal Separate School 2436
Districts, the Leflore County and the Greenwood Municipal Separate 2437
School Districts and the former school boards of those districts 2438
shall be abolished. All real and personal property which is owned 2439
or titled in the name of the school district located in such 2440
former school districts shall be transferred to the new 2441
Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District. 2442
(b) The new board of trustees of the Greenwood-Leflore 2443
Consolidated School District shall be responsible for establishing 2444
the contracts for teachers, principals, clerical and 2445
administrative staff personnel for the 2019-2020 school year and 2446
each school year thereafter. 2447
(c) The new board of trustees for the Greenwood-Leflore 2448
Consolidated School District shall appoint the superintendent of 2449
schools for the school district. The superintendent of schools 2450
for the Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District may appoint 2451
three (3) assistant superintendents of schools for the district, 2452
but in no instance shall the administrative leadership of the 2453
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election or presidential election.
Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District have more than 2454
three (3) assistant superintendents of education. The subsequent 2455
superintendent of schools of the consolidated school district 2456
shall not be elected, but shall thereafter be appointed by the 2457
successor board of trustees in the manner provided in Section 2458
37-9-25. It shall be the responsibility of the successor board of 2459
trustees to prepare and approve the budget of the new consolidated 2460
district, and the successor board of trustees may use staff from 2461
the former school districts to prepare the budget. Any proposed 2462
order of the State Board of Education directing the transfer of 2463
the assets, real or personal property of an affected school 2464
district in the county, shall be final and conclusive for the 2465
purposes of the transfer of property required by such 2466
administrative consolidation. 2467
(d) Any person or school district aggrieved by an order 2468
of the successor newly selected board of trustees of the 2469
Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District pursuant to the 2470
required administrative consolidation may appeal therefrom within 2471
ten (10) days from the date of the adjournment of the meeting at 2472
which such order is entered. The appeal shall be taken in the 2473
same manner as appeals are taken from judgments or decisions of 2474
the board of supervisors as provided in Section 11-51-75, the 2475
provisions of which shall be fully applicable to appeals taken 2476
hereunder. The board of trustees of the Greenwood-Leflore 2477
Consolidated School District shall not pass upon or approve or 2478
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election or presidential election.
disapprove any such order until the time for an appeal therefrom 2479
has expired, nor shall the board pass upon or approve or 2480
disapprove any such order from which an appeal is taken until said 2481
appeal has been finally determined. 2482
(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require 2483
the closing of any school or school facility, unless the facility 2484
is an unneeded administrative office located within a school 2485
district which has been abolished under the provisions of this 2486
section. All administrative consolidations under this section 2487
shall be accomplished so as not to delay or in any manner 2488
negatively affect the desegregation of another school district in 2489
the county pursuant to court order. 2490
(7) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and 2491
regulations to facilitate the administrative consolidation of the 2492
school districts in Leflore County pursuant to this section. The 2493
consolidated districts shall make an election within one (1) year 2494
of consolidation concerning the group term life insurance 2495
described in subsection (6) of Section 25-15-9. 2496
(8) The County Board of Education and the Superintendent of 2497
Education of the former Leflore County School District and the 2498
local school board and Superintendent of Schools of the 2499
Greenwood-Leflore Public School District shall cooperate with the 2500
State Department of Education, as soon as practicable after July 2501
1, 2016, for the planning and transition of programs, services and 2502
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for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
alignment of curriculum for the administratively consolidated 2503
school districts. 2504
SECTION 21. Section 37-7-104.7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 2505
brought forward as follows: 2506
37-7-104.7. (1) In Holmes County, Mississippi, in which are 2507
located, as of January 1, 2016, two (2) school districts, there 2508
shall be an administrative consolidation of all of those school 2509
districts in the county into one (1) new countywide school 2510
district to be designated as Holmes County Consolidated School 2511
District which shall consist of the territory of the former Holmes 2512
County School District and the Durant Public School District, 2513
effective on July 1, 2018. At such time that the administrative 2514
consolidation becomes effective, the central administrative office 2515
of the Holmes County Consolidated School District shall be located 2516
in Lexington, Mississippi. 2517
(2) Within two (2) years prior to the date of consolidation, 2518
or as soon as practicable after July 1, 2016, a financial advisor 2519
and/or other facilitator with school district experience may be 2520
assigned by the Mississippi Department of Education to oversee the 2521
budgeting and financial matters relating to the consolidation of 2522
the districts slated for consolidation. The financial advisor 2523
and/or facilitator may, at the discretion of the Mississippi 2524
Department of Education, continue duties for one (1) year after 2525
the consolidation to ensure that all financial matters are in 2526
place. All financial expenditures of districts that are closing 2527
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election or presidential election.
must be approved by the financial advisor and/or facilitator. If 2528
the superintendent and/or school board approves expenditures 2529
outside of this approval, they shall be personally liable for the 2530
excess expenditures. The State Board of Education shall determine 2531
the compensation to be paid to the financial advisor and/or 2532
facilitator which shall be paid by the local school district to 2533
which the financial advisor and/or facilitator is assigned. 2534
(3) (a) On or before July 1, 2017, the State Board of 2535
Education shall serve the local school boards of the Holmes County 2536
School District and the Durant Public School District with notice 2537
and instructions regarding the timetable for action to be taken to 2538
comply with the administrative consolidation required in this 2539
section. The State Board of Education shall provide for the 2540
administrative consolidation of Holmes County School District and 2541
the Durant Public School District on or before July 1, 2018. In 2542
the new Holmes County Consolidated School District, there shall be 2543
a new county board of education elected in a November 2017 special 2544
election, which shall be called by the Governor for that purpose. 2545
The new county board of education shall be elected and the terms 2546
of office established as provided in Section 37-5-7(3). The State 2547
Board of Education shall declare that the territory embraced by 2548
Holmes County, Mississippi, shall be the boundary lines for the 2549
territory of the new Holmes County Consolidated School District 2550
and shall spread a legal description of the new school district on 2551
the minutes of its August 2017 meeting and shall serve the 2552
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election or presidential election.
applicable school boards and the board of supervisors with an 2553
adequate legal description of these new boundaries. It shall be 2554
the responsibility of the board of supervisors of such county to 2555
apportion the newly consolidated school district into five (5) new 2556
single member board of education election districts, which shall 2557
be consistent with the supervisors district lines in the county. 2558
The board of supervisors of the county shall thereafter publish 2559
the same in some newspaper of general circulation in the county 2560
for at least three (3) consecutive weeks and after having given 2561
notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of 2562
the school boards of each appropriate school district in the 2563
county, the new district lines will thereafter be effective for 2564
the November 2017 special election. 2565
(b) Any school district affected by the required 2566
administrative consolidation in Holmes County that does not 2567
voluntarily consolidate as ordered by the State Board of Education 2568
shall be administratively consolidated by the State Board of 2569
Education, to be effective on July 1 following the November 2017 2570
special election of the new school board members. The State Board 2571
of Education shall promptly move on its own motion to 2572
administratively consolidate a school district which does not 2573
voluntarily consolidate in order to enable the affected school 2574
districts to reasonably accomplish the resulting administrative 2575
consolidation into the Holmes County Consolidated School District 2576
by July 1, 2018, following the election of the new board of 2577
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
trustees. The affected school districts shall comply with any 2578
consolidation order issued by the State Board of Education on or 2579
before July 1 following the election of the new board of trustees. 2580
(4) (a) On July 1, 2018, following the election of the new 2581
board of trustees of the Holmes County Consolidated School 2582
District, the former county board of education for Holmes County 2583
and the former board of trustees of the Durant Public School 2584
Districts shall be abolished. All real and personal property 2585
which is owned or titled in the name of the school district 2586
located in such former school districts shall be transferred to 2587
the new Holmes County Consolidated School District. 2588
(b) The new board of trustees of the Holmes County 2589
Consolidated School District shall be responsible for establishing 2590
the contracts for teachers, principals, clerical and 2591
administrative staff personnel for the 2018-2019 school year and 2592
each school year thereafter. 2593
(c) The new board of trustees for the Holmes County 2594
Consolidated School District shall appoint the superintendent of 2595
schools for the school district. The superintendent of schools 2596
for the Holmes County Consolidated School District may appoint an 2597
assistant superintendent of schools for the district, but in no 2598
instance shall the administrative leadership of the Holmes County 2599
Consolidated School District have more than one (1) assistant 2600
superintendent of education. The subsequent superintendent of 2601
schools of the consolidated school district shall not be elected, 2602
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
but shall thereafter be appointed by the successor board of 2603
trustees in the manner provided in Section 37-9-25. It shall be 2604
the responsibility of the successor board of trustees to prepare 2605
and approve the budget of the new consolidated district, and the 2606
successor board of trustees may use staff from the former school 2607
districts to prepare the budget. Any proposed order of the State 2608
Board of Education directing the transfer of the assets, real or 2609
personal property of an affected school district in the county, 2610
shall be final and conclusive for the purposes of the transfer of 2611
property required by such administrative consolidation. 2612
(d) Any person or school district aggrieved by an order 2613
of the successor newly selected board of trustees of the Holmes 2614
County Consolidated School District pursuant to the required 2615
administrative consolidation may appeal therefrom within ten (10) 2616
days from the date of the adjournment of the meeting at which such 2617
order is entered. The appeal shall be taken in the same manner as 2618
appeals are taken from judgments or decisions of the board of 2619
supervisors as provided in Section 11-51-75, the provisions of 2620
which shall be fully applicable to appeals taken hereunder. The 2621
board of trustees of the Holmes County Consolidated School 2622
District shall not pass upon or approve or disapprove any such 2623
order until the time for an appeal therefrom has expired, nor 2624
shall the board pass upon or approve or disapprove any such order 2625
from which an appeal is taken until said appeal has been finally 2626
determined. 2627
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require 2628
the closing of any school or school facility, unless the facility 2629
is an unneeded administrative office located within a school 2630
district which has been abolished under the provisions of this 2631
section. All administrative consolidations under this section 2632
shall be accomplished so as not to delay or in any manner 2633
negatively affect the desegregation of another school district in 2634
the county pursuant to court order. 2635
(6) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and 2636
regulations to facilitate the administrative consolidation of the 2637
school districts in Holmes County pursuant to this section. The 2638
consolidated districts shall make an election within one (1) year 2639
of consolidation concerning the group term life insurance 2640
described in subsection (6) of Section 25-15-9. 2641
(7) The County Board of Education and the Superintendent of 2642
Education of the former Holmes County School District and the 2643
local school board and Superintendent of Schools of the Durant 2644
Public School District shall cooperate with the State Department 2645
of Education, as soon as practicable after July 1, 2016, for the 2646
planning and transition of programs, services and alignment of 2647
curriculum for the administratively consolidated school districts. 2648
SECTION 22. Section 37-7-104.8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 2649
brought forward as follows: 2650
37-7-104.8. (1) In Chickasaw County, Mississippi, in which 2651
are located, as of January 1, 2017, three (3) school districts, 2652
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
there shall be an administrative consolidation of two (2) of those 2653
school districts in the county as a new school district to be 2654
designated as Chickasaw County School District which shall consist 2655
of the territory of the former Chickasaw County School District 2656
and the Houston Municipal Separate School District, effective on 2657
July 1, 2021. At such time that the administrative consolidation 2658
becomes effective, the central administrative office of the new 2659
Chickasaw County School District shall be located in Houston, 2660
Mississippi. 2661
(2) On July 1, 2020, the Superintendent of Schools of the 2662
former Houston Municipal Separate School District shall continue 2663
to serve in like administrative capacity for the purpose of 2664
managing the transition for the consolidation of the former 2665
Chickasaw County School District and the Houston Municipal 2666
Separate School District. The said Superintendent of Schools 2667
shall be responsible for the administration, management and 2668
operation of the school district from July 1, 2020, until July 1, 2669
2021, including, but not limited to, the following activities: 2670
(a) merging the existing budgets with the budget of the new 2671
consolidated school district; (b) nonrenewal of central office 2672
staff as necessary; (c) construction of a new salary scale for 2673
licensed and nonlicensed employees; (d) supplemental duties of 2674
school district employees; (e) assist local officials with school 2675
tax assessment; (f) appointment of assistant superintendents for 2676
the new district not to exceed three (3); and (g) veto authority 2677
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
over decisions of the former school boards until the new Chickasaw 2678
County Board of Education is in place. The said Superintendent of 2679
Schools shall cooperate with the State Department of Education, as 2680
soon as practicable after July 1, 2017, for the planning and 2681
transition of programs, services and alignment of curriculum for 2682
the administratively consolidated school districts. 2683
(3) On July 1, 2020, the State Board of Education shall 2684
serve the Chickasaw County Board of Education and the Board of 2685
Trustees of the Houston Municipal Separate School District with 2686
notice and instructions regarding the timetable for action to be 2687
taken to comply with the administrative consolidation required in 2688
this section. The State Board of Education shall require the 2689
administrative consolidation of the Chickasaw County School 2690
District and the Houston Municipal Separate School District on or 2691
before July 1, 2021. 2692
(4) In the new Chickasaw County School District, there shall 2693
be an Interim County Board of Education elected in a November 2020 2694
special election which shall be called by the Governor for that 2695
purpose. The State Board of Education shall declare that the 2696
following territory shall be the election districts for the 2697
Interim Chickasaw County Board of Education, and members shall be 2698
qualified electors residing in that district: (a) three (3) 2699
members shall be elected at large from the territory of the former 2700
Houston School District; and (b) two (2) members shall be elected 2701
at large from the territory of the former Chickasaw County School 2702
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
District. Members elected in the November 2020 special election 2703
shall serve terms of three (3) years beginning on January 1, 2021. 2704
There shall be a new Chickasaw County Board of Education for the 2705
Chickasaw County School District, elected on the first Tuesday 2706
after the first Monday in November 2023, at the same time and in 2707
the same manner as the statewide general election is held and 2708
conducted, for that purpose. The new county board of education 2709
shall be elected and the terms of office established as provided 2710
in Section 37-5-7(5). Any school board member of the former 2711
school districts residing in the proper territory shall be 2712
eligible for election to the new Chickasaw County Board of 2713
Education. 2714
(5) The State Board of Education shall declare that the 2715
territory embraced by Chickasaw County, Mississippi, excluding the 2716
territory of Okolona Separate School District, shall be the 2717
boundary lines for the territory of the new Chickasaw County 2718
School District and shall spread a legal description of the new 2719
school district on the minutes of its August 2020 meeting and 2720
shall serve the applicable school boards and the board of 2721
supervisors with an adequate legal description of these new 2722
boundaries. Any school district affected by the required 2723
administrative consolidation in the county that does not 2724
voluntarily consolidate as ordered by the State Board of Education 2725
shall be administratively consolidated by the State Board of 2726
Education, to be effective immediately upon action of the State 2727
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall promptly 2728
move on its own motion to administratively consolidate a school 2729
district which does not voluntarily consolidate in order to enable 2730
the affected school districts to reasonably accomplish the 2731
resulting administrative consolidation into the Chickasaw School 2732
District by July 1, 2021, following the motion to consolidate. 2733
The affected school districts shall comply with any consolidation 2734
order issued by the State Board of Education. 2735
(6) The Interim Chickasaw County Board of Education shall 2736
conduct a search for a new Superintendent of Schools for the 2737
Chickasaw County School District to be selected no later than July 2738
1, 2021, in the manner provided in Section 37-9-13 and the 2739
Superintendent of Schools serving on that date may be selected to 2740
continue in office. The position of Chickasaw County 2741
Superintendent of Schools shall be an appointive position. No 2742
superintendent serving in a school district placed under 2743
conservatorship shall be eligible for appointment as a 2744
superintendent or assistant superintendent in the new Chickasaw 2745
County School District. The Interim Chickasaw County Board of 2746
Education shall also employ central office staff for the Chickasaw 2747
County School District no later than July 1, 2021, or as soon 2748
thereafter as is practicable. 2749
(7) On January 1, 2021, following the motion of the State 2750
Board of Education to consolidate school districts in Chickasaw 2751
County and the Houston Municipal Separate School Districts, the 2752
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
Chickasaw County School District and the Houston Municipal 2753
Separate School District and the former school boards of those 2754
districts shall be abolished. All real and personal property 2755
which is owned or titled in the name of the school district 2756
located in such former school districts shall be transferred to 2757
the new Chickasaw County School District. The Superintendent of 2758
Schools and the County Board of Education of the new Chickasaw 2759
County School District shall be responsible for establishing the 2760
contracts for teachers, principals, clerical and administrative 2761
staff personnel for the 2020-2021 school year and thereafter. It 2762
shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent of Schools and 2763
the County Board of Education of the new Chickasaw County School 2764
District to prepare and approve the budget of the new reorganized 2765
district. Any proposed order of the State Board of Education 2766
directing the transfer of the assets, real or personal property of 2767
an affected school district in the county, shall be final and 2768
conclusive for the purposes of the transfer of property required 2769
by such administrative consolidation. 2770
(8) From and after July 1, 2021, all outstanding debt of the 2771
former Chickasaw County School District and the Houston Municipal 2772
Separate School District shall be assumed by and become the debt 2773
of the new Chickasaw County School District. Any debt assumed by 2774
the Chickasaw County School District secured by a special ad 2775
valorem tax shall become secured by and payable from a mandatory, 2776
special ad valorem tax which shall be levied on all taxable 2777
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
property in the territory of the former Houston Municipal Separate 2778
School District or the former Chickasaw County School District, as 2779
the case may be, by the levying authority of the new Chickasaw 2780
County School District. It is the intent of the Legislature that 2781
any such pledges of the former school districts will remain in 2782
effect and that the pledged funds will be available to the new 2783
Chickasaw County School District to pay its debt to which the 2784
funds are pledged. The Board of Supervisors of Chickasaw County 2785
shall be the "levying authority" for the new Chickasaw County 2786
School District. 2787
(9) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require 2788
the closing of any school or school facility, unless the facility 2789
is an unneeded administrative office located within a school 2790
district which has been abolished under the provisions of this 2791
section. All administrative consolidations under this section 2792
shall be accomplished so as not to delay or in any manner 2793
negatively affect the desegregation of another school district in 2794
the county pursuant to court order. 2795
(10) The State Board of Education, acting through the new 2796
Superintendent of Schools, shall promulgate rules and regulations 2797
to facilitate the administrative consolidation of the school 2798
districts in Chickasaw County and Houston, Mississippi, pursuant 2799
to this section. The consolidated district shall make an election 2800
within one (1) year of consolidation concerning the group term 2801
life insurance described in Section 25-15-9(7). 2802
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
(11) For the initial two (2) years following the 2803
administrative consolidation required by this section, conditioned 2804
on approval by the U.S. Department of Education, the State 2805
Department of Education shall grant a waiver of accountability and 2806
state assessment requirements to the new Chickasaw County School 2807
District for the student population enrolled therein from the 2808
former Chickasaw County School District and the Houston Municipal 2809
Separate School District, when determining the new consolidated 2810
school district accreditation level based on the performance and 2811
accountability rating model. 2812
SECTION 23. The following shall be codified as Section 2813
37-6-19, Mississippi Code of 1972: 2814
37-6-19. (1) The reasons or causes for removal of elected 2815
school board members or trustees shall be premised upon one or 2816
more of the following grounds: 2817
(a) Malfeasance in office; 2818
(b) Misfeasance in office; 2819
(c) Nonfeasance in office; or 2820
(d) For other just cause, including, 2821
(i) Knowingly or willfully failing, neglecting or 2822
refusing to perform any of the official duties associated with the 2823
conduct of public schools and programs under the provisions of 2824
Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972; 2825
(ii) Breach of public trust; or 2826
(iii) Abuse of authority. 2827
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ST: School Board members; require to be elected
for term of four years at the statewide general
election or presidential election.
(2) The Governor shall consider the removal from office of 2828
any elective school board member or trustee, upon the receipt of 2829
a petition filed with him, signed by not less than thirty percent 2830
(30%) of the qualified electors of the single member board of 2831
education election district or the supervisors district from which 2832
they were originally elected, or if board members or trustees are 2833
elected at-large, then not less than thirty percent (30%) of the 2834
qualified electors of the whole of the municipality or county from 2835
which they were originally elected, demanding the removal of the 2836
board member or trustee. The petition shall contain a general 2837
statement, in not more than two hundred (200) words, of the ground 2838
or grounds on which such removal is demanded, which statement 2839
shall be for the information of the board member or trustee 2840
involved, for the information of the removal council of chancery 2841
judges appointed by the Governor, for the information of the 2842
qualified electors, for adherence to the procedural processes 2843
prescribed in Chapter 5, Title 25, Mississippi Code of 1972, for 2844
the removal of certain elected officials. 2845
SECTION 24. Section 25-5-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 2846
amended as follows: 2847
25-5-7. Before the Governor shall consider the removal from 2848
a county office of any elective county officer or any elective 2849
school board member or trustee, there shall be first filed with 2850
him a petition signed by not less than thirty percent (30%) of the 2851
qualified electors of said county demanding the removal of said 2852
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officer. Such petition shall contain a general statement, in not 2853
more than two hundred (200) words, of the ground or grounds on 2854
which such removal is demanded, which statement shall be for the 2855
information of the officer involved, for the information of the 2856
council hereinafter provided, and for the information of the 2857
qualified electors of the county. 2858
All removal petitions with reference to only supervisors, 2859
justice court judges and constables must be signed by at least 2860
fifty-one percent (51%) of the qualified electors of the beat or 2861
district from which they were originally elected. 2862
Upon the request of any qualified elector, it shall be the 2863
duty of the county and district prosecuting attorney to advise 2864
such person as to the provisions of Sections 25-5-3 through 2865
25-5-37 and how to comply with the same. 2866
SECTION 25. This act shall take effect and be in force from 2867
and after July 1, 2026. 2868