Mississippi Advisory Opinions December 16, 1992: AGO 000006473 (December 16, 1992)

AGO 000006473.

Dear Mr. Cooke:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your letter of request and has assigned it to me for research and reply. A copy of your letter is attached for reference. The matter to be resolved is whether the newly elected second district trustee of the recently consolidated Tishomingo County Special Municipal Separate School District is to take office in January or July, 1993.

As indicated in your letter the initial board of trustees of the new school district was elected in the November, 1990 General Election in accordance with Mississippi Code Annotated Section 37-7-707 (Revised 1990). However, as also indicated in your letter, since the new district did not come into being until July 1, 1991, the initial board of trustees did not take office until July, 1991. This is in accord with our previous opinion addressed to Mr. M. James Chaney, Jr., dated September 10, 1986.

We do not read Chaney to indicate that the terms of the initial members would run for the statutory period of six, four or two years, as the case may be, from July 1, 1991. It is our opinion that such terms expire on the first Monday in January of the appropriate year.

In response to your specific question, it is the opinion of this office that even though the initial board was unable to take office on the first Monday in January, 1991 as they would have if the new district existed as of that date, this does not alter the statutory expiration date of the first Monday of January of the appropriate year as set forth in Section 37-7-707. Therefore, it is our opinion that the person who was elected trustee of the second district on November 3, 1992, is entitled to assume the duties of his office on the first Monday of January, 1993.

Sincerely,

MIKE MOORE, ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: Phil Carter Assistant Attorney General

PC:mfd Enclosure