S 0835 General Bill, By Alexander

Similar(H 4215)
 A Bill to amend Act 613 of 1992, relating to the Oconee County Superintendent
 of Education and the School District of Oconee County, so as to reduce from
 nine to five the number of members on the Board of Trustees, provide that
 after serving the completion of the current at-large terms the district is
 governed by trustees elected only from single-member districts, provide for
 the filling of vacancies, and require a filing fee for a candidate for
 trustee.

   05/11/95  Senate Intd. & placed on local & uncontested cal. w/o
                     reference SJ-15
   02/15/96  Senate Committed to delegation from Oconee County SJ-24

INTRODUCED

May 11, 1995

S. 835

L. Printed 5/11/95--S.

Read the first time May 11, 1995.

A BILL

TO AMEND ACT 613 OF 1992, RELATING TO THE OCONEE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF OCONEE COUNTY, SO AS TO REDUCE FROM NINE TO FIVE THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS ON THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, PROVIDE THAT AFTER SERVING THE COMPLETION OF THE CURRENT AT-LARGE TERMS THE DISTRICT IS GOVERNED BY TRUSTEES ELECTED ONLY FROM SINGLE-MEMBER DISTRICTS, PROVIDE FOR THE FILLING OF VACANCIES, AND REQUIRE A FILING FEE FOR A CANDIDATE FOR TRUSTEE.

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

SECTION 1. (A) An advisory referendum was conducted in Oconee County on August 9, 1994, on the question of reducing the number of the members of the board of trustees of the Oconee County School District from nine to five which would eliminate the at-large members of the board when their terms expire.

(B) The referendum was approved by the qualified electors of Oconee County and the purpose of this act is to comply with their wishes.

SECTION 2. Section 6 of Act 613 of 1992, is amended to read:

"Section 6. The public educational system of Oconee County must be directed and managed by the Board of Trustees of the School District of Oconee County. The members of the board must be elected in nonpartisan elections to be conducted at the same time as the general election in appropriate even-numbered years. The board shall consist of nine five members, at least one of whom shall reside in each of the five single-member election districts from which members of the governing body of Oconee County are elected. The members of the school board of trustees from these districts shall may not be elected by the qualified electors of the county at large but instead must be elected by the qualified electors of the district from which they seek election. Persons seeking election from particular districts must be qualified electors of those districts and must file notice of their candidacy for election from those districts. All other members must be elected by the qualified electors of the county at large. The terms of all members are for four years and until their successors are elected and qualify. The winner shall must be determined by the county election commission and certified to the county superintendent of education. Any person desiring to be elected to the Board of Trustees of the School District of Oconee County in any election shall file notice of his candidacy with the County Superintendent of Education not later than the date by which nominees must be certified for placement upon the ballot for that election as provided by Section 7-13-350 of the 1976 Code.

In the event that no candidate qualifies as a candidate for a trustee from a particular district or any one or more countywide trustees, the Governor shall appoint such the trustee upon the recommendation of a majority of the acting board of trustees, if any. The elected trustees shall assume office upon certification of the election which in no event shall exceed fifteen days after the date of the election.

In the event of a vacancy, the board of trustees may appoint a person to fill such the vacancy with a resident from the district in which the vacancy occurred until the next election.

The filing fee for each candidate for trustee is as prescribed in Section 7-13-40 of the 1976 Code."

SECTION 3. The four at-large members of the Board of Trustees of the School District of Oconee County serving on the effective date of this act shall serve the remainder of the term for which they were elected and after those terms are served ending in November, 1996, no member of the board of trustees may be elected at large and the board reverts to a five-member board, all elected from single-member districts.

SECTION 4. This act takes effect January 1, 1996.