Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 37 - EDUCATION (§§ 37-NEW-001 — 37-NEW01-004) › Chapter 7 - SCHOOL DISTRICTS; BOARDS OF TRUSTEES OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS (§§ 37-7-1 — 37-7-1001) › Article 5 - BOARDS OF TRUSTEES; QUALIFICATIONS, SELECTION AND MEETINGS (§§ 37-7-201 — 37-7-231) › Section 37-7-203 - Composition of boards of trustees of municipal separate school districts and certain mayor-council forms of government; qualifications, selection, and terms of office of members of boards

(1)
Except as otherwise provided in subsections (3) , (4) and (5) of this section, the boards of trustees of all municipal separate school districts created under this chapter, either with or without added territory, shall consist of five (5) members, each to be chosen for a term of five (5) years, but so chosen that the term of office of one (1) member shall expire each year. In the event the added territory of a municipal separate school district furnishes fifteen percent (15%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of such district, then at least one (1) member of the board of trustees of such school district shall be a resident of the added territory outside the corporate limits. In the event the added territory of a municipal separate school district furnishes thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of such district, then not more than two (2) members of the board of trustees of such school district shall be residents of the added territory outside the corporate limits. In the event the added territory of a municipal separate school district in a county in which Mississippi Highways 8 and 15 intersect furnishes thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of such district, then the five (5) members of the board of trustees of such school district shall be elected at large from such school district for a term of five (5) years each except that the two (2) elected trustees presently serving on such board shall continue to serve for their respective terms of office. The three (3) appointed trustees presently serving on such board shall continue to serve until their successors are elected in March of 1975 in the manner provided for in Section
37-7-215
. At such election, one (1) trustee shall be elected for a term of two (2) years, one (1) for a term of three (3) years and one (1) for a term of five (5) years. Subsequent terms for each successor trustee shall be for five (5) years. In the event one (1) of two (2) municipal separate school districts located in any county with two (2) judicial districts, District 1 being comprised of Supervisors Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5, and District 2 being comprised of Supervisors District 3, with added territory embraces three (3) full supervisors districts of a county, one (1) trustee shall be elected from each of the three (3) supervisors districts outside the corporate limits of the municipality. In the further event that the territory of a municipal separate school district located in any county with two (2) judicial districts, District 1 being comprised of Supervisors Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5, and District 2 being comprised of Supervisors District 3, with added territory embraces four (4) full supervisors districts in the county, and in any county in which a municipal separate school district embraces the entire county in which Highways 14 and 15 intersect, one (1) trustee shall be elected from each supervisors district.
Except as otherwise provided herein, the trustees of such a municipal separate school district shall be elected by a majority of the governing authorities of the municipality at the first meeting of the governing authorities held in the month of February of each year, and the term of office of the member so elected shall commence on the first Saturday of March following. In the case of a member of the board of trustees who is required to come from the added territory outside the corporate limits as is above provided, such member of the board of trustees shall be elected by the qualified electors of the school district residing in such added territory outside the corporate limits at the same time and in the same manner as is otherwise provided in this article for the election of trustees of school districts other than municipal separate school districts.
In the event that a portion of a county school district is reconstituted, in the manner provided by law, into a municipal separate school district with added territory and in the event that the trustees to be elected from the added territory are requested to be elected from separate election districts within the added territory, instead of elected at large, by the Attorney General of the United States as a result of and pursuant to preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended, and in the event the added territory of a municipal separate school district of a municipality furnishes thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of such district, then two (2) members of the board of trustees shall be residents of the added territory outside the corporate limits of such municipality and shall be elected from special trustee election districts by the qualified electors thereof as herein provided. The board of trustees of the school district shall apportion the added territory into two (2) special trustee election districts as nearly as possible according to population and other factors heretofore pronounced by the courts. The board of trustees of the school district shall thereafter publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation within that school district for at least two (2) consecutive weeks; and after having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board of trustees of the school district, the new district lines shall thereafter be effective. Any person elected from the new trustee election districts constituted herein shall be elected in the manner provided for in Section
37-7-215
for a term of five (5) years. Any vacancy in the office of a trustee elected from such trustee election district, whether occasioned by redistricting or by other cause, shall be filled by appointment of the governing authorities of the municipality, provided that the person so appointed shall serve only until the next general election following his appointment, at which time a person shall be elected for the remainder of the unexpired term in the manner provided in Section
37-7-215
.
In any county organizing a countywide municipal separate school district after January 1, 1965, the trustees thereof to be elected from outside the municipality, such trustees shall be elected by the board of supervisors of such county, and the superintendent of such school district shall have authority to pay out and distribute the funds of the district. In the event a municipal separate school district should occupy territory in a county other than that in which the municipality is located and fifteen percent (15%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of such district shall come from the territory of the district in the county other than that in which the municipality is located, the territory of such county in which the municipality is not located shall be entitled to one (1) member on the board of trustees of such school district. The trustee shall be a resident of the territory of that part of the district lying in the county in which the municipality is not located and shall be elected by the qualified electors of the territory of such county at the same time and in the same manner as is provided for the election of trustees of school districts other than municipal separate school districts having territory in two (2) or more counties.
All vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms by appointment of the governing authorities of the municipality; except that in the case of the trustees coming from the added territory outside the corporate limits, the person so appointed shall serve only until the next general election following his appointment, at which time a person shall be elected for the remainder of the unexpired term in the manner otherwise provided herein.
No person who is a member of such governing body, or who is an employee of the municipality, or who is a member of the county board of education, or who is a trustee of any public, private or sectarian school or college located in the county, inclusive of the municipal separate school district, or who is a teacher in or a trustee of the school district, shall be eligible for appointment to the board of trustees.
(2)
In counties of less than fifteen thousand (15,000) people having a municipal separate school district with added territory which embraces all the territory of a county, one or more trustees of the school district shall be nominated from each supervisors district upon petition of fifty (50) qualified electors of that supervisors district, or twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of such district, whichever number shall be smaller. One (1) trustee must be elected from each supervisors district of the county. In such counties embraced entirely by a municipal separate school district, there shall be no county board of education after the formation of such district, and the county superintendent of education shall act as superintendent of schools of the district and shall be appointed by the board of trustees of that district, and the provisions of subsection (1) of this section and the first paragraph of Section
37-7-211
shall not apply to such districts.
(3)
In municipalities designated as having a mayor-council form of government under Chapter 8, Title 21, Mississippi Code of 1972, and having a population in excess of one hundred thousand (100,000) according to the 2000 federal decennial census, the boards of trustees of the municipal separate school district located in the municipality may, if authorized by ordinance of the municipal governing authority, consist of seven (7) members residing in each of the seven (7) wards in the municipality, to be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council as follows:
(a)
each board member shall reside in the ward from which he is appointed;
(b)
members serving on March 31, 2010, shall continue to serve until a new term commences and new members shall be selected from wards not currently represented on the board;
(c)
one (1) of the two (2) additional appointments shall serve a term of five (5) years and one (1) for a term of four (4) years, with all subsequent appointments for a five-year term; and
(d)
each new appointment shall be made by the mayor and confirmed by the city council of the municipality at the first meeting of the governing authorities held in the month of June following March 31, 2010, and thereafter each year, and the term of office of each member so selected shall commence on the first Saturday of July following.
(4)
(a)
Beginning in 2017, in any municipal separate school district that is traversed by the Escatawpa River and in which Interstate Highway 10 and Mississippi Highway 63 intersect, the board of trustees of the municipal separate school district shall consist of five (5) members, each to be elected for a term of four (4) years in the manner provided in this subsection. Within forty-five (45) days after July 1, 2017, the municipal governing authority shall apportion the municipal separate school district, including any added territory outside the corporate limits, into five (5) special trustee election districts as nearly equal as possible according to population, incumbency and other factors pronounced by the courts before August 8, 2017. The municipal governing authority shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts and shall publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation within the school district for at least three (3) consecutive weeks. After having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the municipal governing authority, the new district lines shall be effective.
(b)
On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2017, and every four (4) years thereafter, an election shall be held in the municipal separate school district for local school board members from trustee election districts 1, 3 and 5 in the same manner and at the same time as the general municipal election is held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of the municipal separate school district. All members of the board of trustees elected pursuant to this paragraph (b) shall take office on the first Monday of January immediately following the date of their election. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board of trustees serving on July 1, 2017, which otherwise would expire after the first Monday in July 2018, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2018. If no individual qualifies for the elective office of school district trustee, the trustee for that specific trustee district shall be filled by appointment of the municipal governing authority; however, the person so appointed to fill the vacancy may serve only until the first Monday in January 2019, at which time the trustee elected pursuant to this subsection shall take office for the remainder of the unexpired initial term.
From and after January 1, 2018, any vacancy on the board of trustees shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the board of trustees within sixty (60) days after the vacancy occurs. The appointee must be selected from the qualified electors of the trustee election district in which the vacancy occurs. The appointee shall serve until the first Monday of January succeeding the next general municipal election, at which election a member from that trustee election district shall be elected for a full term.
(c)
On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2018, and every four (4) years thereafter, an election shall be held in the municipal separate school district for local school board members from trustee election districts 2 and 4 in the same manner and at the same time as the Congressional mid-term election is held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of the municipal separate school district. All members of the board of trustees elected pursuant to this paragraph (c) shall take office on the first Monday of January immediately following the date of their election. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board of trustees serving on July 1, 2018, which otherwise would expire after the first Monday in July 2018, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2019. If no individual qualifies for the elective office of school district trustee, the trustee for that specific trustee district shall be filled by appointment of the municipal governing authority; however, the person so appointed to fill the vacancy may serve only until the first Monday in January 2020, at which time the trustee elected pursuant to this subsection shall take office for the remainder of the unexpired initial term.
From and after July 1, 2020, any vacancy on the board of trustees shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the board of trustees within sixty (60) days after the vacancy occurs. The appointee must be selected from the qualified electors of the trustee election district in which the vacancy occurs. The appointee shall serve until the first Monday of July succeeding the next general municipal election, at which election a member from that trustee election district shall be elected for a full term.
(5)
(a)
Beginning in 2024, in any municipal separate school district in which Interstate Highway 20 and Mississippi Highway 15 intersect, the board of trustees of the municipal separate school district shall consist of five (5) members, each to be elected for a term of four (4) years in the manner provided in this subsection. Within forty-five (45) days after July 1, 2024, the municipal governing authority shall apportion the municipal separate school district, including any added territory outside the corporate limits, into five (5) special trustee election districts as nearly equal as possible according to population, incumbency and other factors pronounced by the courts before January 1, 2024. The municipal governing authority shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts and shall publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation within the school district for at least three (3) consecutive weeks. After having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the municipal governing authority, the new district lines shall be effective. Candidates for such positions shall file the intent to be a candidate not later than 5:00 p.m. on September 1, 2024, and shall qualify as otherwise provided by law.
(b)
On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2024, an election shall be held in the municipal separate school district for local school board members in the same manner and at the same time as the presidential election is held and conducted, for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of the municipal separate school district. All members of the board of trustees elected pursuant to this paragraph (b) shall take office on the first Monday of January immediately following the date of their election, and may serve until the first Monday in January 2028, at which time the trustee elected pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection shall take office. If no individual qualifies for the elective office of school district trustee, the trustee for that specific trustee district shall be filled by appointment of the municipal governing authority; however, the person so appointed to fill the vacancy may serve only until the first Monday in January 2028, at which time the trustee elected pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection shall take office.
From and after January 1, 2028, any vacancy on the board of trustees shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the board of trustees within sixty (60) days after the vacancy occurs. The appointee must be selected from the qualified electors of the trustee election district in which the vacancy occurs. The appointee shall serve until the first Monday of January succeeding the next general election, at which election a member from that trustee election district shall be elected for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(c)
On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2027, and every four (4) years thereafter, an election shall be held in the municipal separate school district for local school board members in the same manner and at the same time as the general elections are held and conducted in accordance with Section
23-15-193
, for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of the municipal separate school district. All members of the board of trustees elected pursuant to this paragraph (c) shall take office on the first Monday of January immediately following the date of their election.
Codes, 1942, §§ 6238-07, 6328-21; Laws, 1953, Ex Sess, ch. 12, § 7; ch. 17, § 1; Laws, 1956, ch. 273; Laws, 1964, ch. 391, § 1; Laws, 1966, ch. 409, § 1; Laws, 1966, ch. 410, § 1; Laws, 1968, ch. 400; Laws, 1975, ch. 306; Laws, 1985, ch. 509, § 1; Laws, 2002, ch. 598, § 3; Laws, 2009, ch. 470, § 2; Laws, 2010, ch. 454, § 1, eff. 3/31/2010.
Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 491, SB 2232,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2024.
Amended by Laws, 2017, ch. 436, SB 2463, 4, eff. 7/1/2017.