Opinion ID: 1763887
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: All General Powers Vest in TSD

Text: The city board's final point on appeal asserts that, under section 162.1100, only those powers granted to the city board before August 28, 1998, will vest in the TSD. Therefore, the city board contends that the special administrative board has only those powers granted the school district before August 28, 1998, and the city board retains all other powers that were granted after August 28, 1998. The city board bases its contention on the following statutory provision: In the event that the school district loses its accreditation, upon the appointment of a chief executive officer, any powers granted to any existing school board in a city not within a county on or before August 28, 1998, shall be vested with the special administrative board of the transitional school district containing such school district so long as the transitional school district exists, except as otherwise provided in section 162.621. Section 162.1100.3 (emphasis added). The city board argues that because the phrase on or before August 28, 1998, modifies the phrase any powers granted, only the powers granted to the city board on or before August 28, 1998, would vest in the special administrative board. Specifically, the city board contends that it retains the authority to collect sales tax and collect and expend the debt service levy, as these taxes were authorized after August 28, 1998. The city board is correct in that all powers granted prior to August 28, 1998, will vest in the TSD; however, the city board is incorrect that only those powers vest. Section 162.1100 expressly refers to section 162.621 and must be read in conjunction with that statute. [8] When read in conjunction with section 162.621.2, it is clear that the legislature did not intend for the city board to retain powers granted after August 28, 1998. Section 162.621.1 is the general grant of powers to the city board. [9] Subsection 2 of 162.621 vests those same general powers in the special administrative board if the St. Louis public school district loses its accreditation, except as otherwise provided in that subsection. The subsection otherwise provide[s] that the city board retains only the powers of auditing and public reporting. Section 162.621.2 reads: Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the powers granted in subsection 1 of this section shall be vested, in the manner provided in section 162.1100, in the special administrative board of the transitional school district containing the city not within a county if the school district loses its accreditation from the state board of education. Thereafter, such powers shall immediately revert to the board of directors of the school district for any period of time for which no transitional school district containing the city not within a county is in existence. The board of directors of the school district shall, at all times, retain auditing and public reporting powers. (Emphasis added). The statute does not recognize that powers might be retained by the city board merely because the powers were granted to the city board after August 28, 1998. Section 162.1100 establishes the TSD, its framework, and its function, so that it could provide the transition for the educational system of the city from control and jurisdiction of the federal court school desegregation order to control by a governing body of the school district. The section also provides that the TSD retains the ability to regain authority if the school district loses its accreditation. In the event the school district loses accreditation, subsection 3 of section 162.1100 vests the special administrative board with the powers granted to the city board on or before August 28, 1998, the date the statute went into effect. The statute does indicate that all powers of the school board in existence at the time the statute went into effect would vest in the TSD if accreditation were lost. Section 162.1100, however, in no way limits the ability of section 162.621 to vest powers in the TSD beyond those established before August 28, 1998, which is what section 162.621 doesvests powers in the TSD in addition to those powers in existence prior to August 28, 1998. To interpret the grant of power in section 162.1100.3 as reserving to the city board any powers that are granted to it after August 28, 1998, would conflict with the general grant of power to the special administrative board in section 162.621. In determining the intent and meaning of statutory language, the words must be considered in context and sections of the statutes in pari materia, as well as cognate sections, must be considered in order to arrive at the true meaning and scope of the words. The provisions of a legislative act are not read in isolation but construed together, and if reasonably possible, the provisions will be harmonized with each other. State ex rel. Evans v. Brown Builders Elec. Co., Inc., 254 S.W.3d 31, 35 (Mo. banc 2008) (internal citations and quotations omitted). Although not a model of clarity, the statutes, in pari materia, show that the legislature intended that the transitional board have all powers, other than the powers of auditing and public reporting.