2010 Mississippi Code
TITLE 37 - EDUCATION
Chapter 17 - Accreditation of Schools.
37-17-13 - Abolition of school districts declared to be in state of emergency; powers of board of education with regard to such school districts; reconstitution, etc., of districts.

§ 37-17-13. Abolition of school districts declared to be in state of emergency; powers of board of education with regard to such school districts; reconstitution, etc., of districts.
 

[Until the date Laws of 2007, ch. 518, § 2, is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, this section will read as follows:]
 

(1)  Whenever the Governor declares a state of emergency in a school district in response to a certification by the State Board of Education and the Commission on School Accreditation made under Section 37-17-6(11)(b), the State Board of Education, in addition to any actions taken under Section 37-17-6, shall abolish the school district and assume control and administration of the schools formerly constituting the district, and appoint a conservator to carry out this purpose under the direction of the State Board of Education. In such case, the State Board of Education shall have all powers which were held by the previously existing school board, and the previously existing superintendent of schools or county superintendent of education, including, but not limited to, those enumerated in Section 37-7-301, and the authority to request tax levies from the appropriate governing authorities for the support of the schools and to receive and expend the tax funds as provided by Section 37-57-1 et seq., and Section 37-57-105 et seq. 

(2)  When a school district is abolished under this section, loans from the School District Emergency Assistance Fund may be made by the State Board of Education for the use and benefit of the schools formerly constituting the district in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 37-17-6(14) for such loans to the district. The abolition of a school district under this section shall not impair or release the property of that school district from liability for the payment of the loan indebtedness, and it shall be the duty of the appropriate governing authorities to levy taxes on the property of the district so abolished from year to year according to the terms of the indebtedness until same shall be fully paid. 

(3)  After a school district is abolished under this section, at such time as the State Board of Education determines that the impairments have been substantially corrected, the State Board of Education shall reconstitute, reorganize or change or alter the boundaries of the previously existing district; however, no partition or assignment of territory formerly included in the abolished district to one or more other school districts may be made by the State Board of Education without the consent of the school board of the school district to which such territory is to be transferred, such consent to be spread upon its minutes. At that time, the State Board of Education, in appropriate cases, shall notify the appropriate governing authority or authorities of its action and request them to provide for the election or appointment of school board members and a superintendent or superintendents to govern the district or districts affected, in the manner provided by law. 
 

[From and after the date Laws of 2007, ch. 518, § 2, is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, this section will read as follows:]

(1)  Whenever the Governor declares a state of emergency in a school district in response to a certification by the State Board of Education and the Commission on School Accreditation made under Section 37-17-6(11)(b), the State Board of Education, in addition to any actions taken under Section 37-17-6, may abolish the school district and assume control and administration of the schools formerly constituting the district, and appoint a conservator to carry out this purpose under the direction of the State Board of Education. In such case, the State Board of Education shall have all powers which were held by the previously existing school board, and the previously existing superintendent of schools or county superintendent of education, including, but not limited to, those enumerated in Section 37-7-301, and the authority to request tax levies from the appropriate governing authorities for the support of the schools and to receive and expend the tax funds as provided by Section 37-57-1 et seq., and Section 37-57-105 et seq. 

(2)  When a school district is abolished under this section, loans from the School District Emergency Assistance Fund may be made by the State Board of Education for the use and benefit of the schools formerly constituting the district in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 37-17-6(14) for such loans to the district. The abolition of a school district under this section shall not impair or release the property of that school district from liability for the payment of the loan indebtedness, and it shall be the duty of the appropriate governing authorities to levy taxes on the property of the district so abolished from year to year according to the terms of the indebtedness until same shall be fully paid. 

(3)  After a school district is abolished under this section, at such time as the State Board of Education determines that the impairments have been substantially corrected, the State Board of Education shall reconstitute, reorganize or change or alter the boundaries of the previously existing district; however, no partition or assignment of territory formerly included in the abolished district to one or more other school districts may be made by the State Board of Education without the consent of the school board of the school district to which such territory is to be transferred, such consent to be spread upon its minutes. At that time, the State Board of Education, in appropriate cases, shall notify the appropriate governing authority or authorities of its action and request them to provide for the election or appointment of school board members and a superintendent or superintendents to govern the district or districts affected, in the manner provided by law. 
 

Sources: Laws,  1996, ch. 302, § 2; Laws, 1999, ch. 421, § 4; Laws, 2007, ch. 518, § 2, eff ____________ (the date the United States Attorney General interposed no objection under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to the amendment of this section.)