Sec. 412.
(1) This section applies to a first class school district only if the question under section 410 is approved in the first class school district.
(2) Nine members of the board of a first class school district shall be elected by voting districts. Each member shall be elected to represent a voting district described in section 404. The following provisions apply to the terms, nomination, and election of the members elected from voting districts of the school board of a school district organized as a first class school district:
(a) Each of the 9 members initially elected under this section shall be elected by the registered school electors of a voting district at the next November general election after the question under section 410 is presented to the school electors of the first class school district.
(b) Not later than 7 days after the initial voting district boundary lines are established under section 404, the local elections official of the city with the greatest population located within the boundaries of the first class school district shall by random draw designate 5 voting districts in which the initial term will be 4 years and 4 voting districts in which the initial term will be 2 years. The city clerk may make this designation before the date of the election under section 410.
(c) The initial members elected from the 5 voting districts with initial terms of 4 years shall serve for 4-year terms expiring December 31. After the initial election, the members elected under this subdivision shall be elected for a term of 4 years at the November general election every 4 years after the initial election.
(d) The initial members elected from the 4 voting districts with initial terms of 2 years shall serve for 2-year terms expiring December 31. After the initial election, the members elected under this subdivision shall be elected for a term of 4 years at the November general election held 2 years after the initial election and at the November general election every 4 years thereafter.
(e) Each candidate shall be nominated by the registered school electors of each voting district at the preceding primary election held in the city with the greatest population in which the first class school district is located. The nominating petitions shall contain not fewer than 250 or more than 500 signatures of registered school electors of the voting district; shall meet the requirements of section 544c of the Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.544c; and shall be filed with the local elections official of the city with the greatest population located within the boundaries of the first class school district on or before 4 p.m. of the twelfth Tuesday before the primary election. The local elections official may compare the signatures on the petitions with the signatures appearing on the registration records, or in some other proper manner determine whether the signatures appearing on the petition are genuine and comply with the requirements of this section. With the petitions, a candidate shall file an affidavit as provided in section 558 of the Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.558. The local elections official of the city shall notify the county clerk of the name and address of each candidate not later than 3 days after the last day for candidate withdrawal. However, if the third day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the notice may be made on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. A signature on a nominating petition is not valid unless the petitioner is a registered school elector of the voting district in which the candidate is running for election. Not more than 2 candidates shall be nominated at the primary election for each voting district.
(3) Candidates for election under this section after the initial election under subsection (2) shall be nominated at a primary held in conjunction with the preceding primary election conducted pursuant to section 534 of the Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.534. Nominating petitions shall meet the requirements of section 544c of the Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.544c, and shall be filed with the local elections official of the city with the greatest population located within the boundaries of the first class school district on or before 4 p.m. of the twelfth Tuesday preceding the primary election. The local elections official may compare the signatures on the petitions with the signatures appearing on the registration records, or in some other proper manner determine whether the signatures appearing on the petitions are genuine and comply with the requirements of this section. With the petitions, a candidate shall file an affidavit as provided in section 558 of the Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.558. A signature on a nominating petition is not valid unless the petitioner is a registered school elector of the voting district in which the candidate is running for election. Not more than 2 candidates shall be nominated at the primary election for each voting district.
(4) Instead of filing nominating petitions, a candidate for election to the first class school board may pay a nonrefundable filing fee of $100.00 to the local elections official of the city with the greatest population located within the boundaries of the first class school district. If this fee is paid by the due date for nominating petitions, the payment has the same effect under this section as the filing of nominating petitions.
(5) The 9 board members elected to represent the voting districts shall commence their terms of office on January 1 following their election.
(6) A candidate for the office of board member representing a voting district or a person appointed to fill a vacancy pursuant to subsection (7) shall be 18 years of age or older at the time of his or her election or appointment and shall be a registered school elector residing in the voting district in which the person becomes a candidate or which the person is appointed to represent. If a board member moves his or her residence from the voting district he or she represents during the member's term of office, this constitutes a vacating of office.
(7) If a vacancy occurs on the first class school district board from among the voting district members, the vacancy shall be filled from among registered school electors of the voting district by majority vote of the remaining first class school district board members. If a person is appointed to fill a vacancy in a voting district for which the unexpired term is more than 1 year and 8 months, that person shall serve until January 1 following the next general election. At that next general election the vacancy shall be filled by election by the school electors as provided under this section for the unexpired term. A vacancy shall not be filled later than 60 days before a primary election at which voting district board members are to be nominated.
(8) A member of a first class school district board shall not hold or be a candidate for any other elective office during the period of his or her service or for a period of 1 year after he or she ceases to be a member of the board.
History: Add. 2004, Act 303, Imd. Eff. Aug. 10, 2004
Last modified: October 10, 2016