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| 1 | A bill to be entitled | ||
| 2 | An act relating to the Pinellas County School Board; | ||
| 3 | revising procedures for the election of school board | ||
| 4 | members; providing guidelines for implementation; | ||
| 5 | providing applicability; providing an effective date. | ||
| 6 | |||
| 7 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: | ||
| 8 | |||
| 9 | Section 1. The following procedures shall apply to the | ||
| 10 | conversion of the election of Pinellas County School Board | ||
| 11 | members from the districtwide election of all members to the | ||
| 12 | election of four school board members from single-member | ||
| 13 | districts and the election of three school board members | ||
| 14 | districtwide: | ||
| 15 | (1) Year 2003; designation of at-large and single-member | ||
| 16 | districts.--The three seats to be filled from the county at | ||
| 17 | large shall be designated District 5, District 6, and District | ||
| 18 | 7, respectively. The four seats to be filled from single-member | ||
| 19 | districts shall be designated District 1, District 2, District | ||
| 20 | 3, and District 4, respectively. During the year 2003, the | ||
| 21 | school board shall determine the geographic boundaries for the | ||
| 22 | four single-member districts, which shall together cover the | ||
| 23 | entire county and be as nearly equal in population as | ||
| 24 | practicable. The newly designated boundaries of Districts 1 and | ||
| 25 | 3 shall be effective for the first primary election in the year | ||
| 26 | 2004 and thereafter, and the newly designated boundaries of | ||
| 27 | Districts 2 and 4 shall be effective for the first primary | ||
| 28 | election in the year 2006 and thereafter. However, the newly | ||
| 29 | designated boundaries shall not have the effect of disqualifying | ||
| 30 | a school board member before the end of his or her current term. | ||
| 31 | (2) Year 2004; begin implementation.--Implementation of | ||
| 32 | the conversion to single-member representation on the district | ||
| 33 | school board shall begin with the election of district school | ||
| 34 | board members held in conjunction with the first primary | ||
| 35 | election in the year 2004 and with the runoff, if any, during | ||
| 36 | the general election of that year. In the year 2004, school | ||
| 37 | board members from the newly created single-member Districts 1 | ||
| 38 | and 3 and the at-large seat for which election is to be held in | ||
| 39 | that year, hereafter designated as District 7, shall be elected. | ||
| 40 | An incumbent school board member from the previously existing | ||
| 41 | school board member residence area 1 or area 3 and the incumbent | ||
| 42 | in the at-large seat elected in the year 2000 may seek | ||
| 43 | reelection from one of the newly created single-member Districts | ||
| 44 | 1 and 3 if he or she resides within such district, or may seek | ||
| 45 | reelection from at-large District 7. | ||
| 46 | (3) Year 2006; complete implementation.--The conversion to | ||
| 47 | single-member representation on the district school board shall | ||
| 48 | be fully implemented with the election of district school board | ||
| 49 | members held in conjunction with the first primary and general | ||
| 50 | elections in the year 2006. In the year 2006, school board | ||
| 51 | members from the newly created single-member Districts 2 and 4 | ||
| 52 | and the newly created at-large Districts 5 and 6 shall be | ||
| 53 | elected. An incumbent school board member from the previously | ||
| 54 | existing school board member residence area 2, area 4, or area 5 | ||
| 55 | and the incumbent in the at-large seat elected in the year 2002 | ||
| 56 | may seek reelection from one of the newly created single-member | ||
| 57 | Districts 2 and 4 if he or she resides within such district, or | ||
| 58 | may seek reelection from at-large District 5 or 6. | ||
| 59 | (4) Subsequent years.--Thereafter, the governing body of | ||
| 60 | the district school board shall consist of seven members, with | ||
| 61 | four members from single-member districts and three members from | ||
| 62 | the county at large as provided in this act. All elections for | ||
| 63 | district school board members shall be nonpartisan and held at | ||
| 64 | the same time as the first primary and general elections as | ||
| 65 | provided by law, and district school board members shall be | ||
| 66 | elected to appropriately staggered terms of 4 years. Each | ||
| 67 | candidate for election to the district school board must be a | ||
| 68 | qualified elector of the county and, if seeking election to a | ||
| 69 | single-member residence area, a registered voter of that | ||
| 70 | residence area at the time of qualifying. Each person elected to | ||
| 71 | the district school board from a single-member residence area | ||
| 72 | shall be elected only by the electors residing in the single- | ||
| 73 | member district for which he or she qualified. Each person | ||
| 74 | elected to the district school board shall take office on the | ||
| 75 | third Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the year in | ||
| 76 | which he or she was elected. If certification of the election is | ||
| 77 | delayed, the person elected shall take office at the next | ||
| 78 | regular meeting of the district school board after final | ||
| 79 | certification. | ||
| 80 | Section 2. To the extent of any conflict, the provisions | ||
| 81 | of this act shall supersede the provisions of chapter 2001-294, | ||
| 82 | Laws of Florida. | ||
| 83 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. | ||