SPONSOR: Rep. Maier & Rep. Ulbrich &
Sen. Blevins & Sen. Connor; Reps. Spence, Smith, Welch, Boulden, Capano, D. Ennis, DiLiberto, DiPinto, Oberle, Cloutier, Sens. McDowell, Bunting, Marshall, Venables, Still
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 14, 15 AND 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE TO PROVIDE FOR A "SCHOOL BOARD ACCOUNTABILITY ACT" PERTAINING TO THE QUALIFICATIONS, ELECTIONS, AND TAX CREDITS FOR MEMBERS OF SCHOOL BOARDS OF THE STATE'S REORGANIZED SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
WHEREAS, the Boards of Education of the various school districts of the State have a fundamental authority for overseeing the operation of the State’s public schools and for charting the education of the State’s children; and
WHEREAS, despite the important role of the boards of education it has become difficult to attract candidates to stand for election and there has been increasing voter apathy about school board elections; and
WHEREAS, the process of selecting members of the boards of education of the various school districts has become a complicated and confusing process, which contributes to voter apathy; and
WHEREAS, school board members must devote considerable time and attention to their duties and their responsibilities will increase as a result of education reforms now occurring in the State; and
WHEREAS, despite the time required and the importance of their responsibilities, school board members are not now compensated for their service; and
WHEREAS, simplification in the methods by which school board members are elected and modest compensation of school board members for their service would increase voter participation in school board elections, stimulate interest in seeking election to the boards, and promote the accountability of the board members to those who elect them.
NOW, THEREFORE:
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend § 1028(k)(12)(b), Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code, by striking said paragraph in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof the following:
"b. Boundaries of subsections within the school district or school districts shall also be described and these subsections shall hereafter be known as nominating districts. A nominating district shall be described in terms similar to those authorized for the definition of boundaries of a school district. Each school district shall be divided into 7 nominating districts. Each nominating district shall encompass an area in which approximately 15% of the total population of the school district is resident. The data base for the determination of population in residence shall be census data from the most recent United States Decennial Census. The approximation of 15% may vary in a range from 10 percent to 20 percent of the population of the school district.".
Section 2. Amend § 1028(k)(12), Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code by adding new subparagraph "c" to read as follows:
"c. the creation of new nominating district boundary lines shall occur within one (1) year of the enactment of this act and thereafter shall occur within one (1) year of the release of the United States Decennial Census.".
Section 3. Amend Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code, Subchapter III, Section 1045 by striking subsections (b) and (c) and by inserting in lieu thereof new subsections (b) and (c) to read as follows:
"(b) At its first regular monthly meeting in the month of December following the general election at which members of the school board are elected, the school board shall elect one of its members as President and another of its members as Vice-president, who, in the absence or disability of the President, shall act in the President’s stead.
(c) The Board shall designate the chief school officer or superintendent to serve as executive secretary of the school board.".
Section 4. Amend § 1045 (a), Title 14 of the Delaware Code by striking the word "July and substituting thereof the word "December".
Section 5. Amend Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code, Subchapter III, Section 1051 by striking the section in its entirety and substituting the following new section in lieu thereof:
"Section 1051. Election of School Board Members.
School board members shall be elected in each reorganized school district by electors who are residents of the district and who have registered and are qualified to vote in a general election in this state, except as otherwise provided by Section 1064 and Section 1066 of this title.".
Section 6. Amend Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code, Subchapter III, Section 1052 by striking the section in its entirety and substituting the following new section in lieu thereof:
"Section 1052. Number and qualifications of board members; term of members.
(a) Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, each school board of a reorganized school district of this state shall be composed of five members.
(b) Each member shall be a citizen of the state, a resident of the school district in which elected or appointed, a resident of the nominating district within the school district, if any, in which he or she is elected or appointed, and shall be qualified to vote at the election in the district at the time of election or appointment.
(c) No person shall be elected or appointed or serve as a school board member who holds a paid position subject to the rules and regulations of the board.
(d) Each school board member shall be elected for a term of four years except when elected to fill an unexpired term. The term shall commence on December 1st following the general election at which the member is elected and shall expire on November 30th of the year in which a successor is elected and qualified.
(e) The terms of the members shall be staggered so that, in the case of school boards with seven members, four shall be elected at the general election at which the President of the United States is chosen and three shall be elected at the general election held two years after the presidential election. In the case of school boards with ten members, five shall be elected at the general election at which the President of the United States is chosen and five shall be elected at the general election held two years after the presidential election. In the case of school boards with eight members, four shall be elected at the general election at which the President of the United States is chosen and four shall be elected at the general election held two years after the presidential election. The Election Commissioner shall establish for each District the sequence in which elections shall occur.
(f) Members of school boards of the reorganized school districts who are serving on the date this law takes effect and any who are elected between the effective date of this Act and the date of the general election in November 2002 shall serve until the terms for which they were elected have expired or until the date of the general election in November 2002, whichever first occurs.".
Section 7. Amend Title 14, Delaware Code, Subchapter III, Section 1053, by striking the section in its entirety and by inserting the following new section in lieu thereof:
"Section 1053. Oath of Office of School Board Member.
(a) Each school board member, before entering on the duties of the office, shall take and subscribe to the oath or affirmation prescribed by the Constitution and shall record the same in the office of the recorder of the county of the member’s residence.
(b) The oath or affirmation shall be administered by a person authorized to administer oaths in the state, by the president or vice-president of the school board of the district, or in the case of a newly constituted board by a person appointed by the Secretary of Education.".
Section 8. Amend Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code, Subchapter III, Section 1066A(a)(2) by striking subparagraph (2) in its entirety and inserting a new subparagraph (2) to read as follows:
"(a) Members of the school boards of the Brandywine School District, the Christina School District, the Colonial School District and the Red Clay Consolidated School District shall be elected for a term of four years. Except in the case of an election to fill an unexpired term, as provided in this chapter, a term shall commence on the day following the general election at which a member is elected and shall expire when a successor is elected and qualified. The terms shall be staggered so that four terms will expire on the date of the general election at which the President of the United States is chosen and three shall expire at the general election held two years after the presidential election. Any vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term.".
Section 9. Amend Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code, Subchapter III, Section 1066A(a)(3) by adding a new sentence as follows:
"So far as is possible, each district must be nearly equal in population.".
Section 10. Amend § 1066A (a) (4), Title 14 of the Delaware Code by striking the words "be nominated" and substituting in lieu thereof the word "file", and by striking the word "nominee" and substituting in lieu thereof the word "candidate".
Section 11. Amend § 1066A(a)(5), Title 14 of the Delaware Code by striking said subsection in its entirety.
Section 12. Amend Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code, Subchapter III, Section 1066A(b) by striking the word "and" as it appears before the designation "(iv)", by striking the period at the end of the subsection, and by inserting the following:
"and (v) have boundaries which are congruent with the boundaries of state election districts.".
Section 13. Amend Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code, Subchapter III, Section 1068 by striking subsection (f) in its entirety and inserting a new subsection (f) to read as follows:
"(f) each school board member shall be elected for a term of four years. Except in the case of an election to fill an unexpired term, as provided in this chapter, a term shall commence on the day following the general election at which the member is elected and shall expire when a successor is elected and qualified.".
Section 14. Amend Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code, Subchapter III, Section 1069(c)(6) by striking subparagraph (6) in entirety and by inserting a new subparagraph (6) to read as follows:
"(6) All subsequent school board elections shall follow a sequence so that four board members shall be elected at the general election at which the President of the United States is chosen and three shall be elected at the general election held two years after a presidential election. The Commissioner of Election shall establish the sequence in which elections shall occur.".
Section 15. Amend Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code, Subchapter III, Section 1069(c)(7) by striking subparagraph (7) in its entirety and by inserting in lieu thereof a new subparagraph (7) to read as follows:
"(7) Each school board member shall be elected for a term of four years. Except in the case of an election to fill an unexpired term, as provided in this chapter, a term shall commence on the day following the general election at which a member is elected and shall expire when a successor is elected and qualified.".
Section 16. Amend Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code, Subchapter III, Section 1070 by adding thereto a new subparagraph (7) to read as follows:
"(7) Each school board member shall be elected for a term of four years. Except in the case of any election to fill an unexpired term, as provided in this Chapter, a term shall commence on the day following the general election at which the member is elected and shall expire when a successor is elected and qualified.".
Section 17. Amend § 1071 (a), Title 14 of the Delaware Code by striking said subsection in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof the following:
"(a) This subchapter shall apply to any public school election conducted by a department of elections or by the State Board of Education.
Section 18. Amend Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code, Subchapter IV, Section 1072 by striking the section in its entirety and by inserting a new Section 1072 to read as follows:
"Section 1072. Election of School Board Members.
Section 19. Amend Chapter 10, Title 14, Delaware Code, Subchapter IV, Section 1077 by striking the section in its entirety and by inserting in lieu thereof a new section to read as follows:
"Section 1077. Qualified voters.
A citizen 18 years of age or over, who is a resident of the reorganized school district and who is a registered voter for purposes of voting in the general election, shall be eligible to vote at the school election in the reorganized school district in which the citizen resides."
Section 20. Amend § 1080, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by striking subsection (a) in its entirety.
Section 21. Amend § 1083, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by striking said section in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof:
The Department of Elections conducting the election shall compile and announce the unofficial results as soon as possible after the close of the election. No later than 7 days following the close of a public school election the department of elections conducting the election shall canvass the vote and within 7 days following such canvass shall certify the results of the election to the commissioner of elections and to the school board for which the election was conducted. The department of elections conducting a public school election shall keep the certificate of the results of each public school election conducted under this title as a public record in their offices."
Section 22. Amend Chapter 41, Title 15, Delaware Code, Section 4103 by striking the period at the end of the section and adding the following:
"and wholly within the boundaries of a single reorganized school district. In those reorganized school districts which contain separate districts for the election of school board members, the election district boundaries and the school board district boundaries shall be identical.".
Section 23. Amend Chapter 11, Title 30 of the Delaware Code by adding thereto a new section, designated as Section 1113A, which new section shall read as follows:
"§ 1113A. Credit for expenses incurred by members of a local school board.
An individual who is a resident of this State who is a member of a local school board shall be allowed a tax credit of an amount not to exceed $300.00 for tax years commencing after December 31, 1999 for all necessary expenses incurred in attending local school board meetings during the taxable year. However, the provisions of this Section shall not apply to an individual local school board member if reimbursement for the necessary expenses is acquired pursuant to other sections of this Code."
This bill provides that school board elections will be held at the same time as general elections, establishes four year terms for school board members, and compensates school board members for their attendance at meetings. Under the bill, only registered voters will be qualified to vote in school board elections. The elections will be conducted under the auspices of the County Election Boards. This bill changes the annual meeting date from July to December to coincide with the election of new school board members at the previous general election. Furthermore, it establishes the procedures by which candidates must file to run for office and provides an annual tax credit of $300.00 per board member.