Private Acts of 1992 Chapter 204

SECTION 1. Chapter 344 of the Private Acts of 1972, as amended by Chapter 61 of the Private Acts of 1975, and any other acts amendatory thereto, are hereby repealed.

SECTION 2. Lawrence County shall be divided into nine (9) school districts which shall be coextensive with the county commissioner districts established by the county legislative body of Lawrence County following the 1990 census. School districts may be altered or reestablished from time to time by resolution of the county legislative body so long as such districts are of substantially equal population. One (1) member of the Lawrence County board of education shall be elected by the qualified voters in each school district. Board members shall be elected to staggered four (4) year terms so that the terms of approximately one-half (1/2) the board members shall expire every two (2) years. Persons elected in the regular August elections shall take office on September 1 following the election, and shall serve until a successor is elected and qualified.

SECTION 3. No incumbent member of the Lawrence County board of education shall be removed from office as a result of changes in the school districts in Lawrence County. In the event that changes in school districts result in a board member no longer residing in the district he or she represents, such member shall continue to hold office until the expiration of his or her term. If changes in the boundaries of school districts result in more than one (1) board member residing in a single district, all such members shall continue to hold office until their respective terms expire, and no representative shall be elected in such district until the last such member's terms expire, and no representative shall be elected in such district until the last such member's term expires, at which time that district shall elect a resident to the board to an initial term established by the county legislative body which will allow for continued staggered terms, and to four (4) year terms thereafter. If changes in the boundaries of school districts result in one (1) or more school districts which are without a board member shall be elected from each such district to an initial term established by the county legislative body which will allow for continued staggered terms, and to four (4) year terms thereafter. It is to be understood that changes in the boundaries of school districts may result in the number of members on the board temporarily exceeding the number of school districts until the expiration of the terms of the members then in office.

SECTION 4. To accomplish the transition from the former three (3) school districts to the nine (9) school districts established under this act, the provisions of Section 3 of this act shall be followed so that the board members in office on the effective date of this act shall continue to serve until the expiration of their respective terms or until their successors are duly elected and qualified. At the August 1992 election, school districts 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8 shall each one (1) board member to a four (4) year term. At the August 1994 elections, school districts 2, 3, 6 and 9 shall each elect one (1) board member to a four (4) year term.

SECTION 5. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Lawrence County Board of Education shall have the same powers, duties, privileges and qualifications as the Board of Education established pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49.

SECTION 6. If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application,and to that end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.

SECTION 7. This act shall have no effect unless it is approved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the board of county commissioners of Lawrence County. Its approval or nonapproval shall be proclaimed by the presiding officer of the board of county commissioners of Lawrence County and certified to the Secretary of State.

SECTION 8. For the purpose of approving or rejecting the provisions of this act, it shall be effective upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, it shall become effective upon being approved as provided in Section 7.

Passed: April 13, 1992.