Senate Bill 2774 Summary

• Municipal separate school district trustees shall be elected from five special trustee election districts by qualified electors, with elections held every four years beginning June 2017, in the same manner as municipal elections.

• School boards must apportion districts into five equal trustee election districts according to population and other court-established factors, and publish district boundaries in newspapers for three consecutive weeks.

• Special municipal separate school districts shall elect trustees in the same manner as municipal separate school districts, with boards authorized to apportion their own trustee election districts.

• County superintendents of education shall be appointed by school boards effective January 1, 2016, except in counties where the incumbent superintendent chooses to seek reelection and is reelected; such districts remain elective until the incumbent vacates office or is not reelected.

• Repeals numerous sections of Mississippi Code relating to alternative methods for electing municipal school trustees from added territory and selecting special municipal school district trustees, and eliminates the referendum process for choosing between elective or appointive county superintendents.