Judges: MIKE BEEBE, Attorney General.
Filed Date: 12/22/2006
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/5/2016
The Honorable Randy Laverty State Senator Post Office Box 165 Jasper, AR 72641
Dear Senator Laverty:
I am writing in response to your request for an opinion on the following question concerning the election of school board members:
RESPONSEThe Searcy County School District currently interprets state law to provide that a person running for a school board position from a certain school zone must reside in the zone but be elected by the entire district. Is this a proper interpretation of the law?
The answer to this question is "no," in my opinion. While certain statutes require residency in the zone when there is a zoned school board and a zone- election system, it is clear, in my opinion, that a school board candidate is not required to reside in a zone when the position is to be filled by a vote of all of the electors of the district. State law instead provides that a candidate for the latter so-called "at large" position must simply be a resident of the district.
This conclusion follows, in my opinion, from a reading of the relevant constitutional and statutory provisions regarding the qualification and selection of a school district's board of directors. Article
All civil officers for the State at large shall reside within the State, and all district, county and township officers within their respective districts, counties, and townships, and shall keep their offices at such places therein as are now or may hereafter be required by law.
Emphasis added. See Davis v. Holt,
The Arkansas Code echoes the constitutional requirement that school board directors must reside in the districts they serve. Arkansas Code Annotated
In addition to requiring residency in the district, certain statutes require that a candidate for a school board position to be elected by zone must be a resident of the zone. See A.C.A. §§
Section
With the exception of statutes such as these that either authorize or require election by zone, there are no statutes that require candidates for school board to be residents of a zone.2 In other words, the requirement that a candidate must reside in a zone corresponds with zone elections only, such that a candidate must reside in a zone only if he or she is to be to be elected by the residents of the zone. One of my predecessors expressed this principle as follows after citing the above statutes:
The above provisions reflect legislative intent for directors to be voted upon by the electors of the zones from which they are candidates, where the district has been divided into zones. There is, on the other hand, no provision for dividing a district by zone and electing the board members at — large. Nor is there authority for requiring members elected at — large to reside in zones. Rather, Section
6-13-630 states that candidates elected by zones shall reside in the zone. It may be implied from this affirmative statement that candidates for at — large positions are generally not required to reside in zones. See generally Gosnell v. State,284 Ark. 299 ,681 S.W.2d 385 (1984) (legislature's affirmative statement of the effect of a statute is an implied denial of its having some other effect.)3
Op. 91-271.
To summarize, if the candidate is to be elected by all of the electors of the district, i.e., "at large," there is no zone residency requirement. To be eligible, the "at large" candidate must only be a resident of the district. The interpretation suggested in your question recited above is therefore incorrect, in my opinion.
Assistant Attorney General Elisabeth A. Walker prepared the foregoing opinion, which I hereby approve.
Sincerely,
MIKE BEEBE, Attorney General