| Printed Page 1940, Apr. 25 | Printed Page 1960, Apr. 25 |

DISTRICT TOTAL. . . . . 2,373

(B) The eight present school districts of the county shall be abolished on July 1, 1997, and the powers and duties of the respective boards of trustees of each district devolved upon the board of trustees for the applicable consolidated school district except as hereinafter established.

SECTION 2. (A) Each consolidated school district shall be governed by a board of trustees of seven members who must be elected in nonpartisan elections to be held beginning in 1997 in the manner hereinafter provided. Each member of the board must be a resident of and elected from single-member election districts provided by law. The members of each board shall elect a chairman and such other officers as they deem necessary to serve for terms of one year in these capacities. The 1997 nonpartisan election shall be held on the first Tuesday in January, 1997. After the 1997 election, members of each board shall thereafter be elected at nonpartisan elections to be conducted on the second Tuesday of April, 1998, and on the second Tuesday of April every two or four years thereafter as applicable. Members of each board shall be elected for four-year terms and until their successors are elected and qualify, except that of the seven members of each board elected in 1997, the members elected from election districts one, three, five, and seven shall serve for initial terms to expire in April, 2000, when their successors elected at the 2000 election qualify and take office, and the members elected from election districts two, four, and six shall serve for initial terms to expire in April, 1998, when their successors elected at the 1998 election qualify and take office. In the event of a vacancy on the board occurring for any reason other than expiration of a term, the board shall call a special election to fill the unexpired term, so long as the vacancy does not occur within one hundred eighty days of a regular trustee election. In this case, the vacancy must be filled for the unexpired term through appointment by the county legislative delegation.

Each member of the board must be elected by the qualified electors of the single-member district from which he seeks election. All persons desiring to qualify as a candidate shall file written notice of candidacy with

The county commissioners of election shall conduct and supervise the elections for members of each board in the manner governed by the election laws of this State, mutatis mutandis. The commissioners 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. The commission shall publish notices of the time, polling places, and purpose of the election in a newspaper of general circulation within the district once a week for at least two successive weeks before the election. The results of the elections must be determined by the nonpartisan plurality method as contained in Section 5-15-61 of the 1976 Code.

The members of each board elected in these nonpartisan elections shall take office one week following certification of their election as provided in Section 59-19-315 of the 1976 Code.

(B) Each board shall employ a superintendent for its district. The district superintendent shall be the chief operating officer of the district and shall be responsible to the board for the proper administration of all affairs of the district and subject to all other provisions of law relating to his duties. He shall:

(1) appoint and, when necessary for the good of the district, remove any appointive officer or employee of the district and fix the salaries of these officers and employees, unless otherwise provided by law and except as he may authorize the head of a department or office to appoint and remove subordinates in the department or office;

(2) prepare the budget annually, submit it to the board, and be responsible for its administration after adoption and approval by the county board;

(3) prepare and submit to the board at the end of each fiscal year a complete annual report on the finances and administrative activities of the board for the preceding year and make other financial reports from time to time as may be required by the board or by law;

(5) preform other duties as may be prescribed by law or required of him by the board not inconsistent with the provisions of law.

SECTION 3. (A) There is also established an Orangeburg County Board of Education on July 1, 1997. The county board of education shall consist of seven members elected in nonpartisan elections beginning in 1997 from the same seven single-member election districts as are members of the governing body of the county. The 1997 nonpartisan election shall be held on the first Tuesday in January, 1997. After the 1997 election, members of the board shall thereafter be elected at nonpartisan elections to be conducted on the second Tuesday of April, 1998, and on the second Tuesday of April every two or four years thereafter as applicable. Members of the board shall be elected for four-year terms and until their successors are elected and qualify, except that of the seven members elected in 1997, the four members elected with the largest number of votes shall serve for initial terms to expire in April, 2000, when their successors elected at the 2000 election qualify and take office, and the three members elected with the fewest number of votes shall serve for initial terms to expire in April, 1998, when their successors elected at the 1998 election qualify and take office. In the event of a vacancy on the board occurring for any reason other than expiration of a term, the board shall call a special election to fill the unexpired term, so long as the vacancy does not occur within one hundred eighty days of a regular trustee election. In this case, the vacancy must be filled for the unexpired term through appointment by the county legislative delegation.

Each member of the board must be elected by the qualified electors of the single-member district from which he seeks election. All persons desiring to qualify as a candidate shall file written notice of candidacy with the county election commission on forms furnished by the commission. This notice of candidacy must be a sworn statement and must include the candidate's name, age, election district from which he resides and seeks election, voting precinct, period of residence in the county and election district, and other information as the county election commission requires. The filing period opens on the first day of November, 1996, at noon to run for two weeks for the 1997 election and thereafter opens on the first day of February of the appropriate year at noon to run for two weeks.

The county commissioners of election shall conduct and supervise the elections for members of the county board in the manner governed by the election laws of this State, mutatis mutandis. The commissioners shall

The members of the board elected in these nonpartisan elections shall take office one week following certification of their election as provided in Section 59-19-315 of the 1976 Code.

(B) The primary role of the county board of education shall be to equalize funding among the three consolidated districts in the manner provided by this act.

(C) The county board of education shall have only those powers, duties, and functions as provided in this act and not as provided by the general law, all of the other powers, duties, and functions being reserved to the boards of the particular consolidated school districts.

(D) The county board of education shall employ staff which shall be responsible for managing the centralized functions of the county board granted to it by the provisions of this act.

(E) The county board of education shall:

(1) prescribe a uniform salary schedule for all certified teachers;

(2) appoint the number of countywide personnel as deemed necessary;

(3) borrow in anticipation of the collection of taxes, state aid, or federal aid;

(4) approve the purchase and sale of land, the planning and construction of new school facilities and major repair of existing buildings, and approve long-range planning for facilities;

(5) adopt a system of budgetary controls and annually adopt a budget, sufficient to meet the educational needs of the districts;

(6) serve as fiscal agent for all funds including state allocations for the Education Finance Act, Education Improvement Act, and school facilities; however, formula generated funds shall flow through to the district which generated the funds;

(7) serve as arbitrator in disputes concerning school district lines;

(8) cooperate with the districts in the annual audit of the financial affairs of the school districts of the county; and

(9) adopt a budget for the operations of the county board which at no time may in dollar terms exceed the value of one-half mill.

(B) Each consolidated board shall hold a public hearing prior to its final approval of the budget for the district to be submitted to the county board. The county board also shall hold a public hearing prior to its final approval of the budgets submitted to it for approval by each respective consolidated board. Notice of these public hearings must be placed in a newspaper of general circulation in the district or county, as applicable, at least fifteen days before the public hearing.

(C) For purposes of 1997 only, the millage levied for the previous year must be derived by dividing the total revenue raised by each of the school districts in the county in 1996 divided by the total assessed value for the county.

(D) An equalization of the per pupil funding for each of the three consolidated school districts must be established by the county board in consultation with the county legislative delegation to be phased-in over no more than five years and implemented in such a way as to reflect the special needs of students within the individual school districts, promote effective use of the additional funds, and efficient management of the districts. However, in school year 1997-98, the teacher salary schedule of the various school districts shall be adjusted so as to be equal across the districts.

SECTION 5. For purposes of determining the Education Finance Act index of taxpaying ability, the local required support under EFA, the maintenance of local effort requirement pursuant to Section 59-21-1030 of the 1976 Code, and facilities funding, the school districts of Orangeburg County must be considered together as a countywide district.

SECTION 6. The board of trustees of each consolidated district and the district superintendent shall have the powers, duties, and responsibilities as are provided by law including:

(1) employ a superintendent as the chief executive officer;

(2) establish other administrative departments upon the recommendation of the superintendent;

(3) adopt the proposed budget of the school district and submit it to the county board for approval;

(4) have the power to inquire into the conduct of any office, department, or agency of the school district;

(5) adopt and modify attendance zones of schools within the school district;

(6) provide for an independent annual audit of the books and business affairs of the school district and for a general survey of school district business; and

(7) cooperate to establish and maintain a central purchasing system for the purchase of contractual services, equipment, and supplies; and

(8) cooperate to establish and maintain educational consortia; and

(9) be responsible for policymaking action and the review of regulations established to put these policies into operation.

SECTION 7. (A) On July 1, 1997, the assets, liabilities, and bonded indebtedness of the eight present school districts shall be transferred to the county board. However, assets and any related liabilities thereon given to a district and not acquired with tax revenues or public funds shall remain assets of the consolidated district of which the former acquiring district is now a part. The county board may authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds by a bond ordinance subject to the restrictions and limitations prescribed by law. The records and employees

(B) The constitutional debt limitation on the issuance of general obligation bonds applicable to the county board is computed based on the assessed value of all taxable property in the county. However, to the extent that the qualified electors of any of the eight former school districts of the county by referendum approved exceeding the constitutional debt limitation pertaining to the district in regard to the issuance of general obligation bonds for particular capital projects which are now in progress, that excess, if necessary to complete or pay for those projects after July 1, 1997, applies to the county board and shall be an addition to the amount of general obligation bonds which the county board is permitted to issue without a referendum.

SECTION 8. In creating the consolidated districts, it is anticipated that there will be savings in the total administrative costs from the former individual districts and that consolidated district costs will be no more than four percent of federal, state, and local revenues by July 1, 2000. Therefore, the county board shall ensure that the districts' budgets reflect implementation of these administrative savings before approving the individual district's budget. Administrative costs shall be those defined in the State Department of Education financial analysis model.

SECTION 9. (A) The eight present school districts of Orangeburg County shall be abolished on July 1, 1997, at which time the consolidated school districts of the county as herein provided shall be established. The terms of all members of the boards of trustees of the eight present school districts of the county shall expire on this date. However, the members of the board of trustees of each consolidated school district elected at the 1997 nonpartisan election shall take office one week following certification of their election as provided in Section 59-19-315 of the 1976 Code. From this date and until July 1, 1997, the boards may organize, begin planning for the changeover to a consolidated district, enter into contracts to effectuate these purposes, and perform other related matters pertaining thereto, except that the responsibility and authority to manage the schools of the county rests solely with the individual boards for each of the eight present districts until July 1, 1997, and no consolidated board may do anything to interfere with this authority.

(B) Any member of one of the eight present school boards of the county may seek election to a consolidated school district board or to the county board of education in 1997. However, if they are elected to such office, prior to assuming the duties thereof, they must first resign as a

(C) The members of the county board of education elected at the 1997 election shall take office one week following certification of their election as provided in Section 59-19-315 of the 1976 Code. From this date until July 1, 1997, the county board may organize, begin planning for the changeover to the new school system of the county, enter into contracts to effectuate these purposes, and perform other related matters thereto, except that the responsibility and authority to manage the schools of the county rests solely with the individual boards for each of the eight present districts until July 1, 1997, and the county board may do nothing to interfere with this authority.

SECTION 10. All local acts pertaining to any school district of Orangeburg County inconsistent with the provisions of this act are repealed as of July 1, 1997, it being the intent of the General Assembly to have this act and the general law be the only provisions of law governing the consolidated school districts of the county and the county board of education.

SECTION 11. If any provision of this act for any reason is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act. The General Assembly hereby declares that it would have passed this act and each and every provision herein irrespective of the fact that any one or more provisions hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.

SECTION 12. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor./

Amend title to read:

/TO PROVIDE THAT ORANGEBURG COUNTY ON JULY 1, 1997, SHALL CONSIST OF THREE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICTS, EACH TO BE COMPOSED OF CERTAIN OF THE EIGHT PRESENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF THE COUNTY WITH THESE EIGHT PRESENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF THE COUNTY BEING ABOLISHED ON JULY 1, 1997; TO PROVIDE THAT EACH CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY A BOARD OF TRUSTEES WHO SHALL BE ELECTED IN NONPARTISAN ELECTIONS ON SPECIFIED DATES; TO PROVIDE FOR THE COMPOSITION AND MANNER OF ELECTION OF EACH CONSOLIDATED BOARD; TO ESTABLISH AN ORANGEBURG COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION ON JULY 1, 1997, TO BE

Renumber sections to conform.

Amend totals and title to conform.

There being no further amendments, the Bill was read the third time and ordered sent to the House of Representatives.

S. 556 -- Senator Russell: A JOINT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 4, ARTICLE II OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, RELATING TO VOTER QUALIFICATIONS, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE A PERSON WHO ATTAINS THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN BY THE FIRST TUESDAY FOLLOWING THE FIRST MONDAY IN NOVEMBER TO BE AN ELECTOR FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR IN WHICH THE PERSON HAS ATTAINED THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN.

The Senate proceeded to a consideration of the Joint Resolution. The question being the second reading of the Joint Resolution.

Senator McCONNELL moved that the text of the Joint Resolution be printed upon the pages of the Journal and the Joint Resolution be ordered to receive a third reading:

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

SECTION 1. It is proposed that Section 4, Article II of the Constitution of this State be amended to read:

"Section 4.Every Each citizen of the United States and of this State of who has attained the age of eighteen on or before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November and upwards who is properly registered shall be is entitled to be an elector for the calendar year in which the citizen has attained the age of eighteen years and vote in the precinct of his residence and not elsewhere. Provided, however, that any a registered elector who has moved his place of residence within the State during the thirty days immediately prior to before the date of any election shall be is entitled to vote in his previous precinct of residence in such only that election only."

SECTION 2. The proposed amendment must be submitted to the qualified electors at the next general election for representatives. Ballots must be provided at the various voting precincts with the following words printed or written on the ballot:

"Must Section 4, Article II of the Constitution of this State be amended so as to authorize a person who attains the age of eighteen by the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November to be an elector for the calendar year in which the person has attained the age of eighteen?

Those voting in favor of the question shall deposit a ballot with a check or cross mark in the square after the word `Yes', and those voting against the question shall deposit a ballot with a check or cross mark in the square after the word `No'."

The question then was the third reading of the Joint Resolution.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

| Printed Page 1940, Apr. 25 | Printed Page 1960, Apr. 25 |

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