Nebraska

Neb.Rev.St. § 79-543

NEBRASKA REVISED STATUTES OF 1943

CHAPTER 79. SCHOOLS

ARTICLE 5. SCHOOL BOARDS

§ 79-543. School board member; qualifications.

No person shall file for office, be nominated or elected, or serve as a member of a school board in any class of school district unless he or she is a legal voter in such district.

Neb.Rev.St. § 79-544

S> 79-544. Class I, II, III, IV, or VI school district; district officers; employment as teacher forbidden; exception.

No member of a school board or board of education of a Class I, II, III, IV, or VI school district shall be employed as a teacher by the school district on which board he or she serves. This section does not apply to a part-time county superintendent who by law serves on a board of education.

Neb.Rev.St. § 79-545

§ 79-545. District officers; vacancy.

Vacancies in each school district office shall occur as set forth in > section 32-570 and be filled according to such section.

Neb.Rev.St. § 79-546

§ 79-546. School board, board of education, or other governing board; reimbursement for expenses.

Except as provided in > section 79-1217, all members of a school board, board of education, or other governing board created pursuant to Chapter 79 shall not receive a per diem. Each such board may provide or reimburse members for their actual and necessary expenses incurred while carrying out their duties. Mileage expenses shall be computed at the rate provided in > section 81-1176. > Sections 81-1174, > 81-1175, and > 81-1177 shall serve as guidelines for such boards when determining allowable expenses and reimbursement for such expenses.

Neb.Rev.St. § 79-547

§ 79-547. Class II or Class III school district; school board; board of education; members; number.

(1) The school board or board of education shall consist of the following members:

(a) In a Class II district, six members; and

(b) In a Class III district, six members unless the board of education provides a nine-member board pursuant to > section 79-550.

(2) In addition to the members specified in subsection (1) of this section, such school boards or boards of education may include one or more student members selected pursuant to > section 79-559.

Neb.Rev.St. § 79-548

§ 79-548. Class I school district; change to six-member board; percentage of vote required; election; change back to three-member board; board members; election; teachers; qualifications.

The legal voters of a Class I school district having a school census of more than one hundred fifty persons may, at an annual or special meeting by a favorable vote of fifty-five percent of the persons in attendance and voting, change to a six-member school board. The district shall continue to have a six- member board until fifty-five percent of the persons in attendance and voting at an annual or special meeting vote to change to a three-member board. Board members of a six-member board shall be elected as provided in > section 32-541 or as provided for in subsection (3) of > section 79-565. All teachers elected by such a district must meet the same qualifications as do the teachers in Class II districts.

Neb.Rev.St. § 79-549

§ 79-549. School board; Class III school district which has more than seventy-five percent of the area in a city of the metropolitan class; members; caucus or election; procedure.

(1) When more than seventy-five percent of the geographical area of a Class III school district lies within a city of the metropolitan class, the school board of the Class III district shall consist of six members to be elected as provided in > section 32-543 and also may include one or more nonvoting student members selected pursuant to > section 79-559. Until the legal voters of the district vote not to continue to have a caucus for nominations pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, a caucus shall be held pursuant to subsection (4) of this section not less than seventy days prior to the holding of the election to nominate two or more candidates for each vacancy to be voted upon at the election to be held in conjunction with the statewide primary election pursuant to subsection (1) of > section 32-543. No candidate nominated shall have his or her name placed upon the ballot for the general election unless, not more than ten days after his or her nomination, he or she files with the secretary of the school board a written statement accepting the nomination. The secretary of the school board shall certify the names of the candidates to the election commissioner or county clerk who shall prepare the official ballot listing the names as certified and without any area designation. All legal voters residing within the school district shall be permitted to vote at such election.

(2) The school board may place before the legal voters of the school district the issue of whether to continue to have a caucus for nominations by adopting a resolution to place the issue before the legal voters and certifying the issue to the election commissioner or county clerk prior to September 1 for placement on the ballot at the next statewide general election. The legal voters of the school district may also have the issue placed on the ballot at the statewide general election by circulating a petition and gathering the signatures of the legal voters residing within the school district at least equal to seven percent of the number of persons registered to vote in the school district at the last statewide primary election. The petitions shall be filed with the election commissioner or county clerk for signature verification on or before August 15 prior to a statewide general election. If the election commissioner or county clerk determines that the appropriate number of legal voters signed the petition, he or she shall place the issue on the ballot for the next statewide general election. The issue shall not be placed on the ballot again within four years after voting on the issue at a statewide general election.

(3) If the legal voters vote not to continue to have a caucus, candidates shall be nominated and elected as provided in subsection (2) of > section 32- 543. The terms of the members in office at the time of the vote shall be extended to the first Thursday after the first Tuesday in January after the expiration of their terms. At the first general election following the vote, the member receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected for a term of four years and the member receiving the next greatest number of votes shall be elected for a term of two years.

(4) A school district which uses a caucus for nominations shall develop rules and procedures for conducting the caucus which will ensure:

(a) Publication of the rules and procedures by multiple sources if necessary so that every resident of the school district has access to information on the process for placing a name in nomination and voting at the caucus;

(b) Facilities for voting at the caucus which comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and which will accommodate a reasonably anticipated number of legal voters;

(c) Election security which will provide for a fair and impartial election, including the secrecy of the ballot, one vote per legal voter, and only legal voters of the school district being allowed to vote;

(d) Equal access to all legal voters of the school district, including the presence of an interpreter at the caucus at the expense of the school district and ballots for the blind and visually impaired to provide access to the process by all legal voters of the school district;

(e) Adequate time and opportunity for legal voters of the school district to exercise their right to vote; and

(f) Notification of nomination to the candidates and to the secretary of the school board.

The rules and regulations shall be approved by the election commissioner or county clerk prior to use for a caucus.

Neb.Rev.St. § 79-550

§ 79-550. Class III school district elections; change number of board members; vacancy, how filled; change manner of election.

(1) A Class III school district with a six-member board of education may by resolution provide for an increase in the number of members from six to nine. The board of education shall appoint members to fill the three vacancies thus created in the manner prescribed in > section 32-570.

(2) A Class III school district with a nine-member board of education may by resolution provide for decreasing the number of members of the board of education from nine to six. When such a decrease is provided, three of the vacancies which would otherwise occur at the next election shall not be filled.

(3) If the members of the board of education of a Class III school district are nominated and elected by district or ward, the board of education may by resolution provide for the nomination of the members by district or ward and the election of the members at large. If the members are nominated by district or ward and elected at large, the board of education may by resolution provide for the nomination and election of the members by district or ward.

Neb.Rev.St. § 79-551

§ 79-551. Class IV school district; board of education; members; election; student member.

The board of education of a Class IV school district shall consist of seven members and also may include a nonvoting student member or members selected pursuant to > section 79-559. Voting members shall be elected as provided in > section 32-544. Voting members of the board shall begin the duties of their office on the third Monday of the month in which they are elected.

Neb.Rev.St. § 79-552

§ 79-552. Class V school district; board of education; members; election by district; procedure; oath; qualifications; student member.

The board of education of a Class V school district shall consist of twelve members, one elected from each district pursuant to > section 32-545, and also may include a nonvoting student member or members selected pursuant to > section 79-559. Each elected member shall be a resident of the district for at least six months prior to the election. Each candidate for election to and each member of the board of education shall be a taxpayer in and a resident of the district of such school district as designated by the election commissioner. All persons elected as members of the board of education shall take and subscribe to the usual oath of office before the first Monday in January following their election, and the student member shall take and subscribe to the usual oath of office before the first Monday in January following his or her designation. In case any person so elected fails so to do, his or her election shall be void and the vacancy shall be filled by the board.

Neb.Rev.St. § 79-553

§ 79-553. Class VI school district; board of education; members; election.

The governing body of each Class VI school district shall be a board consisting of a president, a vice president, a secretary, a treasurer, and two other voting members, to be elected as provided in > section 32-546, and also may include one or more nonvoting student members selected pursuant to > section 79-559.

Neb.Rev.St. § 79-4,103

§ 79-4,103. Advisory committees; created; members; terms; duties.

An advisory committee shall be created for each affiliated high school district. The advisory committee shall be composed of three school board members selected by all the school board members of the Class I school districts with which such Class II, III, IV, or V district is affiliated. The county superintendent shall call a meeting of all the school board members of such Class I school districts, not a part of a Class VI school district, for the purpose of establishing such advisory committees. Representatives shall serve three-year terms.

The advisory committee shall provide advice and communication to the school board of such affiliated high school district regarding the high school program, facilities, and budget and the needs and concerns of students, parents, and taxpayers in the Class I school district or districts. Each advisory committee shall meet at least biannually with the school board and participate in good faith in those coordination requirements specified in > section 79-716.