Mississippi Advisory Opinions June 26, 1998: AGO 000012683 (June 26, 1998)

AGO 000012683.

Dear Mr. Shepard:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your request for an official opinion of this office and has assigned it to me for a reply. You inquire:

The Board of Trustees of the Columbia Municipal Separate School District has called for a bond election to be held September 12, 1998, for the purpose of raising up to six million dollars ($6,000,000.00) for improvements to facilities under the jurisdiction of the District. The Board of Trustees of the Columbia Municipal Separate School District has requested that the Marion County Election Commission be responsible for the conducting of said bond election. The Columbia Municipal Separate School District includes all areas located within the corporate limits of the city of Columbia, Mississippi, as well as a small portion of Marion County outside the corporate limits. Should this bond election be conducted by the Marion County Election Commission, or should the same be conducted by the City of Columbia Election Commission?

Section 37-59-11, Miss. Code Ann., sets forth the requirements that a school district must meet prior to calling an election for the issuance of bonds. Section 37-59-15 provides that a school bond election is to be conducted in the same manner as other elections are held in the county or municipality. Section 37-59-17 states that the results of the election regarding the issuance of bonds shall be canvassed by the election commissioners of such county or municipality, and certified by them to the school board of the school district.

A bond election involving a municipal separate school district, even one with added territory from the county, is primarily a municipal election. Based upon the law as set forth above, it is the opinion of this office that the municipal election commission is the proper body to conduct the election on the question of issuing bonds for a municipal separate school district. However, since the municipal separate school district does have added territory from the county, the county registrar should cooperate with and supply to the municipal election commission an accurate list of county voters eligible to participate in the election.

Very truly yours,

MIKE MOORE

ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: Sandra Murphy Shelson

Special Assistant Attorney General

/sms