Judges: GREG ABBOTT, Attorney General of Texas.
Filed Date: 4/4/2007
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/6/2016
The Honorable Homero Ramirez Webb County Attorney Post Office Box 420268 Laredo, Texas 78042-0268
Re: Whether the trustees of an independent school district must change the terms of office of trustees from three to four years to comply with a statute requiring school districts to conduct joint elections with other political subdivisions (RQ-0538-GA)
Dear Mr. Ramirez:
You request an interpretation of certain Education Code provisions applicable to the board of trustees of an independent school district, in particular, the statute providing for the date of school trustee elections and the statute governing a board member's term of office.1 Education Code section
Section
*Page 2(a) A trustee of an independent school district serves a term of three or four years.
(b) Elections for trustees with three-year terms shall be held annually. The terms of one-third of the trustees, or as near to one-third as possible, expire each year.
(c) Elections for trustees with four-year terms shall be held biennially. The terms of one-half of the trustees, or as near to one-half as possible, expire every two years.
(d) A board policy must state the schedule on which specific terms expire.
(e) Expired.
Id. § 11.059 (Vernon 2006).
Your questions relate to the effect of Education Code section
Section
*Page 3(a) An election for trustees of an independent school district shall be held on the same date as:
(1) the election for the members of the governing body of a municipality located in the school district; or
(2) the general election for state and county officers.
(b) Elections held on the same date as provided by Subsection (a) shall be held as a joint election under Chapter 271, Election Code.4
(c) The voters of a joint election under this section shall be served by common polling places consistent with Section
271.003 (b), Election Code.
(d) The board of trustees of an independent school district changing an election date to comply with this section shall adjust the terms of office of its members to conform to the new election date.
Tex. Educ. Code Ann. §
Subsection 11.0581(a) refers to the uniform election dates set out in chapter 41 of the Election Code. Section
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this subchapter, each general or special election in this state shall be held on one of the following dates:
(1) the second Saturday in May; or
(2) the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Tex. Elec. Code Ann. §
At issue here is a school district's ability to comply with section
But some school districts with three-year trustee terms, which must hold trustee elections annually, will not be able to hold all trustee elections as a joint election. See id. § 11.059(b) (Vernon 2006). As you point out, elections for school trustees with three-year terms will necessarily take *Page 4 place in both even-numbered and odd-numbered years. See Request Letter,supra note 1, at 7 app. (chart showing years when the UISD trustee offices will be up for election). An independent school district whose trustees serve three-year terms will be able to hold all trustee elections as a joint election if a city located in its boundaries holds elections for its governing body annually. If there is no such city in the school district, however, the district will be unable to find an election partner for each year. Even if the school district decides to hold elections on the same date as the biennial general election for state and county officers, it will lack an election partner for odd-numbered years. Under these circumstances, school districts with three-year terms of office will be unable to ensure that every election is a joint election as contemplated by section 11.0581(b).
You indicate that the UISD, whose trustees are currently elected in single member districts for three-year terms of office, will not be able to conduct a joint election in every election year. See Request Letter,supra note 1, at 7-8. The UISD would like to conduct its trustee elections on the date of the general election for state and county officers and the date of elections held by the City of El Cenizo, a municipality within a portion of the UISD. See id. at 7. El Cenizo conducts its elections jointly with the state and Webb County in November in even-numbered years. See id. If the UISD chooses these dates, it will not be able to conduct joint elections in odd-numbered years, See id. at 7 app.
Your questions require us to consider the relation of section 11.0581 to section 11.059. In construing these two statutes, we look to the rules of statutory construction as stated in judicial decisions and codified in the Code Construction Act, chapter 311 of the Government Code (the "Act"). See Tex. Gov't Code Ann. ch. 311 (Vernon 2005);id § 311.003 (the rules in the Act "are not exclusive but are meant to describe and clarify common situations"). A court construes a statute, "first, by looking to the plain and common meaning of the statute's words." Argonaut Ins. Co. v. Baker,
You suggest that where section 11.0581 provides that a school district trustee election "shall be held on the same date as" elections for state and county officials or elections for city officials, the term "date" refers to the usual city council election date, for example the second Saturday of May, but does not mean that both elections are held on the same day (in the same year). Tex. Educ. Code Ann. §
Section 11.0581(a) also provides that "[a]n election for trustees of an independent school district shall be held" on dates set out in section 11.0581(a)(1) and (2). Id. § 11.0581(a) (emphasis added). The word "shall" in statutes is generally construed as mandatory, unless legislative intent suggests otherwise. See Albertson's, Inc. v.Sinclair, 984 S.W.2d 958,961 (Tex. 1999); Tex. Gov't Code Ann. §
Education Code section
Your remaining question is whether trustees of the UISD have the authority to vote to change their terms of office to four-year terms.See Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1. Section 11.0581 (d) expressly authorizes a board of trustees to change their terms of office to the extent necessary to comply withsection 11.0581'sjointelectiondaterequirement. Tex. Educ. CODE Ann. §
A district in which trustees serve three-year or four-year terms as of January 1, 1995, continues to elect trustees under that system. The board of trustees of a district in which trustees are elected to two-year or six-year terms shall adopt a resolution providing for three-year or four-year terms. After adoption of the resolution, the board may not alter the length of the terms served by district trustees. [Procedures for transition to a three-or four-year term.] This subsection expires August 31, 2001.
Act of May 27, 1995, 74th Leg., R.S., ch.
Subsection 11.059(e) expired by legislative direction on August 31,2001. An expired statute no longer has any force or effect. See TheIrresistible,
In answer to your questions, and based on the facts you have provided about the UISD Board of Trustees, the UISD will be required to change school board members' terms of office from three-year to four-year terms in order to ensure that every election is a joint election. Section
Section11.0581 of the Education Code requires an independent school district to hold trustee elections as a joint election on the same uniform election date as the election for members of the governing body of a municipality located in the school district or the general election for state and county officers. If a school district with three-year trustee terms cannot comply with the election requirements stated in section 11.0581, it must change to four-year trustee terms.Sections
11.0581 and11.059 of the Education Code authorize the board of trustees of an independent school district to change three-year trustee terms to four-year terms. An expired subsection of section 11.059 has no force or effect.
Very truly yours,
GREG ABBOTT Attorney General of Texas
KENT C. SULLIVAN First Assistant Attorney General
ELLEN L. WITT Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel
NANCY S. FULLER Chair, Opinion Committee
SUSAN L. GARRISON Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee
If the elections ordered by the authorities of two or more political subdivisions are to be held on the same day in all or part of the same territory, the governing bodies of the political subdivisions may enter into an agreement to hold the elections jointly in the election precincts that can be served by common polling places, subject to Section 271.003 [relating to the location of polling places].
Tex. Elec. Code Ann. §
The Irresistible , 5 L. Ed. 520 ( 1822 )
Acker v. Texas Water Commission , 790 S.W.2d 299 ( 1990 )
International Service Insurance Company v. Jackson , 335 S.W.2d 420 ( 1960 )
Texas Department of Transportation v. Needham , 82 S.W.3d 314 ( 2002 )
Argonaut Insurance Co. v. Baker , 87 S.W.3d 526 ( 2002 )