Bill 3950

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3950
Ratification Number:       612
Act Number:                593
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Provide for the nonpartisan election and
                           the appointment of the Board of Trustees of
                           School District No. 1 in Clarendon
                           County

(A593, R612, H3950)

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE NONPARTISAN ELECTION AND THE APPOINTMENT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1 IN CLARENDON COUNTY; TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF THE BOARD MEMBERS FROM SEVEN TO NINE IN 1986, 1987, AND 1988; TO DECREASE THE NUMBER TO SEVEN IN 1989 AND AFTER THAT YEAR; TO PROVIDE FOR THE TERMS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE TIME AND MANNER OF THE ELECTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS; TO PROVIDE FOR FILLING OF VACANCIES; AND TO REPEAL ACT 232 OF 1983 RELATING TO THE APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEES FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Election of school board members

SECTION 1. Each member of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 1 in Clarendon County must be elected in nonpartisan elections to be held and conducted in the manner provided by this act, except for three members, who must be appointed in the manner provided by this act.

The board of trustees must consist of nine members after the election in 1986, after the expiration of one appointed member's term and after the appointment in 1987, and after the expiration of two appointed members' terms and after the election and appointment in 1988; and seven members after the expiration of five appointed members' terms and after the election and the appointments in 1989 and each year after 1989.

Further

SECTION 2. The members of the board of trustees elected in 1986 must be elected from the school district at large in a nonpartisan election to be conducted at the same time as the general election of 1986 in the manner provided by this act.

After 1986, the elected members of the board of trustees must be elected from each of the four defined single-member election districts established by the General Assembly in nonpartisan elections to be conducted at the same time as the general election of the applicable year in the manner provided by this act.

Two members must be elected in 1986, and one member must be elected in 1988 for terms of office of four years each. One member must be appointed by the county board of education subsequent to the expiration of the appointed member's term in 1987, one member must be elected in 1989, and two members must be appointed by the county board of education subsequent to the election in 1989 for terms of office of three years each. One member must be appointed by the county board of education subsequent to the expiration of the appointed member's term in 1988 only for one term of office of one year. After the initial elections and appointments, all members, except for the member appointed in 1988 only for one term of office of one year whose term expires in 1989, must be elected or appointed for terms of office of four years each. The members shall serve until their successors are elected or appointed and qualify.

Vacancies occurring on the board of trustees must be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by appointment by the county board of education.

Appointments

SECTION 3. The county board of education shall make the appointments based on merit regardless of race, color, creed, or gender and shall strive to assure that the membership of the board of trustees is representative of all of the citizens of School District No. 1.

Method of election

SECTION 4. The at-large elected members of the board of trustees must be residents of the school district and must be elected from the district at large by the qualified electors of the district. The members of the board of trustees elected from defined single-member election districts must be residents of those election districts and must be elected by the qualified electors of those election districts. All persons desiring to qualify as candidates and be elected to the board of trustees shall file written notice of candidacy with the county board of education at least sixty days before the date set for the election but not earlier than ninety days prior to the election. This notice of candidacy must be a sworn statement and must include the candidate's name, age, voting precinct, period of residence in the district, and other information the county board of education requires. No filing fee may be required of any person desiring to qualify as a candidate.

The county board of education shall conduct and supervise the elections in the manner governed by the election laws of this State mutatis mutandi. The board of education shall prepare the necessary ballots, appoint managers for the voting precincts, and do all things necessary to carry out the elections, including the counting of ballots and declaring the results of the elections. The board of education shall advertise the date of the election ninety days preceding the election in a newspaper of general circulation published in the district and shall publish a second notice thirty days before the election. The costs of the election must be borne by the board of education.

The results of the election must be determined in accordance with the nonpartisan plurality method prescribed by Section 5-15-61 of the 1976 Code.

The members elected in the nonpartisan elections and the members appointed by the county board of education shall take office at the first official meeting of the board of trustees in the month of January following their election or appointment. The current members continue to serve in office until their present terms expire and their successors are elected or appointed and qualify.

Repeal

SECTION 5. Act 232 of 1983 is repealed.

Time effective

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.