Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 37 - EDUCATION (§§ 37-NEW-001 — 37-NEW01-004) › Chapter 59 - SCHOOL BONDS AND OBLIGATIONS (§§ 37-59-1 — 37-59-301) › Article 1 - AUTHORITY TO ISSUE BONDS, NOTES AND CERTIFICATES OF INDEBTEDNESS (§§ 37-59-1 — 37-59-45) › Section 37-59-7 - Issuance of bonds in amount exceeding limitation of Section 37-59-5

(1)
(a)
Any school district in which the total number of pupils enrolled at any one time during the school year shall have increased by at least twenty percent (20%) or an average of three hundred fifty (350) or more annually within the preceding five (5) years, shall not issue bonds for the purposes authorized by law in an amount which when added to all of its then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such district of an indebtedness for school purposes of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the assessed value of the taxable property within such district according to the then last completed assessment for taxation.
(b)
Any school district in which the total number of pupils enrolled at any one time during the school year shall have increased by at least ten percent (10%) within the preceding five (5) years shall not issue bonds for the purposes authorized by law in an amount which, when added to all of its then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such district of an indebtedness for school purposes of more than twenty percent (20%) of the assessed value of the taxable property within such district according to the then last completed assessment for taxation.
(c)
The pupil increase mentioned in this subsection shall apply only to growth in pupil enrollment and shall not apply to pupil increases brought about by consolidation of school districts.
(2)
Any school district may hereafter issue bonds in an amount exceeding the limit of Section
37-59-5
for the purpose of constructing, reconstructing, repairing, equipping, remodeling or enlarging school buildings and related facilities, as described in subsection (a) of Section
37-59-3
, but no such district shall issue bonds in an amount which when added to all of its then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such district of an indebtedness for such school purposes of more than twenty percent (20%) of the assessed value of the taxable property in such district, according to the then last completed assessment for taxation, regardless of whether any of such indebtedness shall have been incurred by such district or by another school district or districts:
(a)
In the event of the damage to or destruction of any school building or school buildings, or related facilities of any such district by fire, windstorm, flood or other providential and unforeseeable cause; or
(b)
In the event such school district has lost its accreditation and the constructing, reconstructing, repairing, equipping, remodeling or enlarging of such school buildings and related facilities is necessary for the restoration of such accreditation; or
(c)
In the event of the establishment of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District as authorized in Section
37-7-104.3(8) and (9)
.
(3)
In any school district wherein more than nine percent (9%) of the total land area of the school district is owned by the federal government and situated in a flood control reservoir or maintained as a part of the national forest system, the said school district may issue bonds in an amount, which when added to all of its then outstanding bonded indebtedness for school purposes, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such school district of an indebtedness for school purposes of not more than twenty percent (20%) of the assessed value of the taxable property within such district, according to the then last completed assessment for taxation, regardless of whether any of such indebtedness shall have been incurred by such district or by another school district or districts. If bonds in an amount in excess of fifteen percent (15%) of the total assessed value of the property of a school district are issued under the provisions of this subsection, not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the total funds received by the school district under the provisions of Section
49-19-23
, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be paid into the bond and interest sinking fund of such district and used for the retirement of the bonds so issued.
(4)
In any district where the assessed valuation per pupil is less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the average of all school districts, such school district may issue bonds for the purposes authorized by Section
37-59-3
in an amount exceeding the fifteen percent (15%) debt limitation set forth in Section
37-59-5
, but not exceeding an amount which, when added to all of the school district's then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such district of an indebtedness for such school purposes of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the assessed value of the taxable property in such district, according to the then last completed assessment for taxation if:
(a)
The board of trustees or board of education of the school district adopts a resolution finding that issuing bonds in an amount exceeding the limitation stated in Section
37-59-5
is necessary to provide or maintain adequate educational facilities within the school district; and
(b)
The notice of the bond election required by Section
37-59-13
contains a provision notifying the qualified electors in the school district:
(i)
Of the fact that the proposed bonds, if issued, will exceed the fifteen percent (15%) debt limit contained in Section
37-59-5
; and
(ii)
Of the reasons why the school district is proposing to exceed said limitation;
(c)
The election is held and the proposed bond issue receives the requisite voter approval as set forth in Section
37-59-17
.
Codes, 1942, § 6532-02; Laws, 1950, ch. 231, § 2; Laws, 1955, Ex Sess, chs. 52, 60; Laws, 1962, ch. 361; Laws, 1968, ch. 403, § 1; Laws, 1986, ch. 492, § 169; brought forwarded and amended, 1987, ch. 307, § 25; Laws, 1995, ch. 440, § 1; Laws, 2008, ch. 377, § 1, eff. 7/1/2008.
Amended by Laws, 2014, ch. 537, SB 2818, 3, eff. 4/24/2014.