Section 16-8-1

Composition; election; single member election districts; qualifications.

(a) The county board of education shall be composed of five members, who shall be elected by the qualified electors of the county.

(b) County boards of education unless otherwise provided by law may use the provisions of this subsection to establish single member election districts with one board member elected from each district. School boards exercising this option may establish five or seven such districts. Such plan shall be considered only after two weeks public notice has been given, outlining generally the school districts under consideration. The members so elected must be residents of the district in which election is sought. Such residency shall have been established at least one year before the general election at which the candidate is to be elected. The boundaries of such single member districts shall be determined by a majority vote of the county board of education. The county board of education shall apportion the districts according to the last federal decennial census for the county utilizing the principle of equal representation. Thereafter, each county board of education choosing to implement single member election districts shall reapportion those districts within six months following the publication of the results of each federal decennial census. They shall be persons of good moral character, with at least a fair elementary education, of good standing in their respective communities and known for their honesty, business ability, public spirit and interest in the good of public education. No member of the county board of education shall be an employee of said board; provided, that in counties having populations of not less than 96,000 nor more than 106,000 according to the most recent federal decennial census, not more than one classroom teacher employed by the board may serve as a board member and also as a teacher. Members shall not be required to hold teachers' certificates.

(School Code 1927, §§87, 92; Code 1940, T. 52, §§63, 68; Acts 1949, No. 369, p. 542, § 1; Acts 1949, No. 667, p. 1031; Acts 1964, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 249, p. 346, § 1; Acts 1969, No. 331, p. 705, § 1; Acts 1987, No. 87-282, p. 392, § 1.)