New Mexico

Const. Art. 5, § 13

NEW MEXICO STATUTES 1978, ANNOTATED

Constitution

ARTICLE V. Executive Department

§ Sec. 13 [Residence of public officers; election from equal districts.]

All district and municipal officers, county commissioners, school board members and municipal governing body members shall be residents of the political subdivision or district from which they are elected or for which they are appointed.

Counties, school districts and municipalities may be divided by their governing bodies into districts composed of populations as nearly equal as practicable for the purpose of electing the members of the respective governing bodies. (As amended November 8, 1960 and November 4, 1986.)

NMSA 1978, § 22-4-12

NEW MEXICO STATUTES 1978, ANNOTATED

CHAPTER 22. Public Schools

ARTICLE 4. Creation, Consolidation and Annexation of School Districts

§ 22-4-12 Interim local school board; special election.

A. The interim local school board of a newly created or consolidated school district has all the powers and duties of a local school board. The interim local school board shall hold office only until the local school board is elected and qualified.

B. For the purpose of electing five members to the local school board of a newly created or consolidated school district, the interim local school board shall call a special school district election to be held not less than forty- five days nor more than ninety days from the date of the issuance of the order of the state board appointing members to the interim local school board. If the date for a regular school district election occurs during this period, the interim local school board shall give notice of the regular school district election for the purpose of electing five members to the local school board of the newly created or consolidated school district instead of calling a special school district election.

C. The interim local school board shall appoint a superintendent of schools to perform the administrative and supervisory functions of the interim local school board and to also conduct the school district election. The term of office of the superintendent of schools appointed by the interim local school board shall coincide with the term of office of the interim local school board.

NMSA 1978, § 22-4-13

§ 22-4-13 Special school district election; term of office.

The term of office of members of a local school board elected at a special school district election for a newly created or consolidated school district shall be as follows:

A. three members shall be elected for terms expiring at the next regular school district election; and

B. two members shall be elected for terms expiring two years after the next regular school district election.

NMSA 1978, S 22-4-14

§ 22-4-14 Regular school district election; term of office.

If the interim local school board calls for the election of members to the local school board of a newly created or consolidated school district at a regular school district election, the terms of office of the members elected shall be as follows:

A. three members shall be elected for terms of two years; and

B. two members shall be elected for terms of four years.

NMSA 1978, § 22-5-1

NEW MEXICO STATUTES 1978, ANNOTATED

CHAPTER 22. Public Schools

ARTICLE 5. Local School Boards

§ 22-5-1 Local school boards; members.

A local school board shall be composed of five qualified electors of the state residing within the school district.

NMSA 1978, § 22-5-1.1

§ 22-5-1.1 Local school board members; elected from districts.

Members of local school boards in districts having a population in excess of sixteen thousand shall reside in and be elected from single-member districts. Once, following every federal decennial census, the local school board shall divide the school district into a number of election districts equal in number to the number of members on the school board. Such election districts shall be contiguous and compact and as equal in population as is practicable; provided that the local school board of any district having a population of sixteen thousand or less may provide for single-member districts as provided in this section.

NMSA 1978, § 22-5-3

§ 22-5-3 School board membership; optional form.

A. The local school board of any school district in this state may by resolution provide for the local board of that district to be composed of seven qualified electors of the state who reside within the district. The resolution shall provide that the board consist of seven separate positions, and each such position shall be designated by number. Qualified electors seeking election to the school board shall file and run for only one of the numbered positions.

B. If the resolution provided for in this section is adopted, it shall go into effect within thirty days after its adoption unless a petition signed by the qualified electors of the school district in a number equal to twenty percent of all the voters in the district voting at the last regular school board election is presented to the local board within such thirty days asking that an election be held on the question of increasing the membership of the local board to seven members.

C. Upon receipt and verification of the petition, the local school board shall within thirty days call a special school election to vote upon the question of increasing the membership of the local school board in that district to seven members.

D. If the voters of the school district approve the increase in the local school board's membership to seven members, the resolution shall be in effect.

E. A resolution adopted pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall conform to the requirements of > Section 1-22-5 NMSA 1978 and shall provide for the election of two additional school board members at a special school district election. One new member shall be elected to serve until the second regular school board election following the special school district election. The second new member shall be elected to serve until the third regular school board election following such special school district election. Thereafter, persons elected to fill the additional new positions on the board shall be elected for terms as provided by law.

NMSA 1978, § 22-5-3.1

§ 22-5-3.1 Local school boards; reversion to five members.

A. Any seven-member local school board of a school district in the state may by resolution provide for the local board of that district to be composed of five qualified electors of the state who reside within the district.

B. If the resolution specified in Subsection A of this section is adopted, the existing local school board at the first election at which the terms of three members expire shall by lot:

(1) eliminate two positions if the next succeeding election is one at which the terms of two members expire;

(2) eliminate two positions if the next succeeding election is one at which the term of one member expires, and at the next election at which the terms of three members expire designate one position for a two-year term; provided that thereafter all terms shall be six-year terms; or

(3) eliminate two positions if the next succeeding election is one at which the terms of three members expire and at the succeeding election designate one position for a two-year term, provided that thereafter all terms shall be six- year terms.

C. Any resolution adopted pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be effective thirty days after its adoption unless a petition signed by the qualified electors of the school district in a number equal to at least twenty percent of all voters in the district voting at the last regular school board election is presented to the local school board on or before the thirtieth day asking that an election be held on the question of decreasing the membership of the local board to five members.

D. Upon receipt and verification of the petition, the local school board shall within thirty days call a special school election to vote upon the question of decreasing the membership of the local school board in that district to five members.

E. If the voters of the school district approve the decrease in the local school board's membership to five members, the resolution shall be in effect and the elimination of two members at subsequent elections as provided in Subsection B of this section shall be valid.

NMSA 1978, § 22-5-5

§ 22-5-5 Compensation; prohibited employment.

A. The members of a local school board shall serve without compensation.

B. No member of a local school board shall be employed in any capacity by a school district governed by that local school board during the term of office for which the member was elected or appointed.

NMSA 1978, § 22-5-6

§ 22-5-6 Nepotism prohibited.

A. No local school board shall initially employ or approve the initial employment in any capacity of a person who is the spouse, father, father-in- law, mother, mother-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughter or daughter-in-law of a member of such local school board.

B. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the continued employment of a person employed on or before March 1, 1981.

NMSA 1978, § 22-5-8

§ 22-5-8 Term of office.

A. The full term of office of a member of a local school board shall be four years from March 1 succeeding his election to office at a regular school district election.

B. Any member of a local school board whose term of office has expired shall continue in that office until his successor is elected and qualified.

NMSA 1978, § 22-5-9

§ 22-5-9 Local school board vacancies.

A. A vacancy occurring in the membership of a local school board shall be filled at an open meeting at which a quorum of the membership is present, by a majority vote of the remaining members appointing a qualified person to fill the vacancy.

B. A qualified person appointed to fill a vacancy occurring in the membership of a local school board shall hold that office until the next regular school district election when an election shall be held to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term.

C. If a qualified person is not appointed to fill the vacancy within forty- five days from the date the vacancy occurred, the state board shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy until the next regular school district election.

D. In the event vacancies occur in a majority of the full membership of a local school board, the state board shall appoint qualified persons to fill the vacancies. Those persons appointed shall hold office until the next regular or special school district election when an election shall be held to fill the vacancies for the unexpired terms.

NMSA 1978, § 22-5-12

> NEW MEXICO STATUTES 1978, ANNOTATED

> CHAPTER 22. Public Schools

> ARTICLE 5. Local School Boards

Current through End of 1998 First Spec. Sess.

> 22-5-12 Local school boards; vacant or vacated offices.

A. A local school board shall hold at least one regular meeting each month of the calendar year.

B. The office of any member of a local school board, if the member misses four consecutive regular meetings, may be declared vacant by a majority vote of the remaining members of the local school board.

C. The office of any member of a local school board, if the member misses six consecutive regular meetings, shall be vacant.

D. Any vacancy of an office on a local school board created pursuant to this section shall be filled in the same manner as other vacancies on a local school board are filled. Any member of a local school board who has his office declared vacant or vacated pursuant to this section shall not be eligible for appointment to the local school board until the term for which he was originally elected or appointed has expired.

E. As used in this section "regular meeting" means a meeting of the members of a local school board at which at least a quorum is present, about which notice has been published and at which normal school district business is transacted.

NMSA 1978, § 22-7-4

§ 22-7-4 Members subject to recall.

Any elected member of the local school board of any school district may be recalled as provided in the Local School Board Member Recall Act [22-7-1 to > 22-7-16 NMSA 1978].