PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 3079, 3220 PRINTER'S NO. 3271
No. 2328 Session of 1972
INTRODUCED BY MESSRS. HOMER, CAPUTO, GEISLER, MARTINO,
M. M. MULLEN, SCANLON AND COYNE, JUNE 6, 1972
AS AMENDED ON SECOND CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
SEPTEMBER 11, 1972
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30), entitled "An act
2 relating to the public school system, including certain
3 provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
4 schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
5 laws relating thereto," providing for a board of public
6 education in first class A school districts partly elected
7 and partly appointed after referendum approval thereof.
8 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
9 hereby enacts as follows:
10 Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30), known as the
11 "Public School Code of 1949," is amended by adding a section to
12 read:
13 Section 302.1. Referendum for Adoption of Partly Elected and
14 Partly Appointed School Board in First Class A School Districts;
15 Apportionment of Seats, and Numbers, Terms, and Methods for
16 Election and Appointment of School Directors in First Class A
17 School Districts Approving Such Referendum.--(a) Referendum.
18 (1) At the next municipal or general election or municipal
19 primary election occurring not less than forty-five THIRTY days <--
20 after the enactment of this amending act, the county board of
1 elections shall place upon the ballot to be submitted to the
2 voters of each first class A school district under the act of
3 June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333), known as the "Pennsylvania Election
4 Code," the following question:
5 Shall the Board of Public Education of the School
6 District of........................be composed of
7 fifteen members serving staggered four-year terms,
8 of which members eleven shall be elected singly on Yes
9 a non-partisan basis by means of a primary and
10 general election from eleven compact school director
11 districts apportioned in accordance with subsection
12 (e) of section 302.1 of the act of March 10, 1949
13 (P.L.30), known as the "Public School Code of 1949," No
14 and of which members four shall be appointed to serve
15 at large, two to be appointed by the mayor of the
16 city coterminous with such school district and two
17 to be appointed by the city council of such city?
18 (2) In the event the voters shall reject the proposed partly
19 elected and partly appointed school board, the present board
20 shall continue, but a second referendum, upon the petition of
21 fifteen per cent of the registered voters of the school
22 district, may be held after two years from the date of the first
23 election.
24 (b) Composition of School Board.
25 (1) In each school district of the first class A, the voters
26 of which approve the question submitted as hereinbefore
27 provided, the school board shall be known as the board of public
28 education and shall consist of fifteen school directors, eleven
29 to be elected by the qualified voters of the school district by
30 specified districts and four to serve at large, two to be
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1 appointed by the mayor of the city coterminous with the school
2 district, two to be appointed by the city council of such city.
3 (2) There shall be eleven separate districts for each of
4 which only one candidate shall be elected. Each candidate shall
5 be nominated only for the specified district in which he resides
6 and each elected member shall represent only a specified
7 district in which he resides, such districts to be constituted
8 as hereinafter set forth.
9 (c) Term of Office.
10 (1) All elected members shall serve for a term of four years
11 except the five members elected at the initial election having
12 the smallest number of votes, who shall serve for two years. In
13 the event the first election occurs in an even-numbered year,
14 the terms of the initial members shall be decreased by one year,
15 so that future elections can be held in odd-numbered years. In
16 the case of death or resignation of elected members, the mayor
17 shall fill the vacancy from the same district in which the
18 vacancy occurred until the next general or municipal election
19 for the remainder of the term.
20 (2) Of the four appointed members, each of whom shall be
21 from a different school director district, initial appointments
22 shall be as follows: two appointed by the mayor, one for two
23 years and one for four years, and two appointed by the city
24 council, one for two years and one for four years. In the event
25 the first appointments occur in an even-numbered year, the term
26 of the members shall be decreased by one year so that future
27 appointments can be done in odd-numbered years, to correspond
28 with elected members. In the case of death or resignation of an
29 appointed member before the end of the term, a member shall be
30 appointed by the appointing authority for the remainder of the
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1 term.
2 (3) After the initial election and appointments both elected
3 and appointed members shall serve for terms of four years and a
4 maximum of two consecutive terms.
5 (d) Apportionment.
6 (1) In each school district of the first class A, the voters
7 of which approve the question submitted as hereinbefore
8 provided, a School Director District Apportionment Commission
9 shall be constituted for the purpose of establishing eleven
10 school director districts within the first class A school
11 district by assigning each election district of the city
12 coterminous with such school district into one of such eleven
13 school director districts. Such school director districts shall
14 be compact, contiguous, and as nearly equal in population as the
15 use of election districts as indivisible units will permit.
16 (2) The commission shall consist of five members, two to be
17 appointed by the mayor, three by the city council of the city
18 coterminous with the school district. The commission shall elect
19 one of its members chairman, and shall act by a majority of its
20 entire membership. If such city council or mayor shall fail to
21 make any or all of such appointments within fifteen days after
22 the election in which such referendum has been approved, such
23 appointment or appointments shall be made by the court of common
24 pleas.
25 (3) No later than thirty days after the commission has been
26 duly certified, the commission shall file a preliminary
27 apportionment plan with the county board of elections. The
28 commission shall have thirty days after filing the preliminary
29 plan to make corrections in the plan.
30 Any person aggrieved by the preliminary plan shall have the
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1 same thirty-day period to file exceptions with the commission in
2 which case the commission shall have thirty days after the date
3 of exceptions were filed to prepare and file with such elections
4 officer a revised apportionment plan. If no exceptions are filed
5 within thirty days, or if filed and acted upon, the commission's
6 plan shall be final and have the force of law.
7 (4) Any aggrieved person may file an appeal from the final
8 plan directly to the court of common pleas of the county in
9 which the school district is located within thirty days after
10 the filing thereof. If the appellant establishes that the final
11 plan is contrary to law, the court of common pleas of the county
12 in which the school district is located shall issue an order
13 remanding the plan to the commission and directing the
14 commission to reapportion the school director districts in a
15 manner not inconsistent with such order.
16 (5) When the court of common pleas of the county in which
17 the school district is located has finally decided an appeal or
18 when the last day for filing an appeal has passed with no appeal
19 taken, the apportionment plan shall have the force of law and
20 the districts therein provided shall be used thereafter in
21 elections of school directors in such school district until the
22 year following that in which the Federal decennial census is
23 officially reported as required by Federal law.
24 (6) Each year following the year in which such Federal
25 census data is officially reported, a School Director District
26 Reapportionment Commission shall be constituted in like manner
27 and with like composition as the initial School Director
28 District Apportionment Commission herein set forth. Such
29 reapportionment commission shall file its preliminary plan no
30 later than thirty days after either the commission has been duly
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1 certified or the population data for the first class A school
2 district as determined by the Federal decennial census are
3 available, whichever is later in time. Thereafter the periods
4 allowed for filing, revising, and appealing the reapportionment
5 plan shall be identical to such periods herein set forth for the
6 initial apportionment plan.
7 (7) The city council of the coterminous city shall
8 appropriate sufficient funds for the compensation and expenses
9 of members and staff appointed by such apportionment and
10 reapportionment commissions, and other necessary expenses. The
11 members of such commissions shall be entitled to such
12 compensation for their services as the city council from time to
13 time shall determine, but no part thereof shall be paid until a
14 preliminary plan is filed. If a preliminary plan is filed but
15 the commission fails to file a revised or final plan within the
16 time prescribed, the commission members shall forfeit all right
17 to compensation not paid.
18 (8) If a preliminary, revised, or final apportionment or
19 reapportionment plan is not filed by the commission within the
20 time prescribed by this section, unless the time to be extended
21 by the court of common pleas of the county in which the district
22 is located for cause shown, the court of common pleas of the
23 county in which the district is located shall immediately
24 proceed on its own motion to apportion or reapportion the school
25 director districts.
26 (9) Any apportionment or reapportionment plan filed by any
27 such commission, or ordered or prepared by the court of common
28 pleas of the county in which the district is located upon the
29 failure of the commission to act, shall be published by the
30 county board of elections once in at least one newspaper of
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1 general circulation in the city coterminous with the school
2 district, which publication shall contain a map of the school
3 district showing the complete apportionment or reapportionment
4 of the school director districts. The publication shall also
5 state the population of the school director districts having the
6 smallest and largest population and the percentage variation of
7 such districts from the average population for such districts.
8 (e) Qualification of Candidates; Nomination Papers;
9 Acceptance of Nomination; Withdrawal of Candidates:
10 (1) Candidates for the school board shall be registered
11 voters of the school district. They may be nominated by
12 nomination papers signed by two hundred qualified electors of
13 the specified districts of the school district which they will
14 represent and filed with the county board of election not less
15 than the eighth Monday prior to the date of the primary
16 election.
17 (2) Each nominating paper shall set forth the names, places
18 of residence, and post office addresses of the candidate or
19 candidates thereby nominated, that the nomination is for the
20 office of school director and the signers are legally qualified
21 to vote for such candidate or candidates. Every voter signing a
22 nominating paper shall add to his signature, his place of
23 residence, post office address and street number, if any. No
24 voter shall sign a nomination paper or papers for more than one
25 candidate in the specified district in which he resides.
26 (3) Each nominating paper shall, before it may be filed with
27 the county board of elections, contain an acceptance of such
28 nomination in writing, signed by the candidate or candidates
29 therein nominated, upon or annexed to such paper, or if the same
30 person or persons be named in more than one paper, upon or
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1 annexed to one of such papers. Such acceptance shall certify
2 that the candidate is a registered voter of the specified
3 district of the school district, that the nominee consents to
4 stand as a candidate at the election, and that if elected he
5 agrees to take office and serve.
6 (4) Each nominating paper shall be verified by an oath or
7 affirmation of one or more of the signers thereof, taken and
8 subscribed before a person qualified under the law of
9 Pennsylvania to administer an oath, to the effect that the paper
10 was signed by each of the signers thereof in his proper
11 handwriting, that the signers are, to the best knowledge and
12 belief of the affiant, registered voters of the specified
13 district of the school district, and that the nomination paper
14 is prepared and filed in good faith for the sole purpose of
15 endorsing the person or persons named therein for election as
16 stated in the paper.
17 (5) Any candidate may withdraw his name as a candidate by a
18 request in writing signed by him, and acknowledged before an
19 officer empowered to administer oaths, and filed in the office
20 in which his nomination paper was filed. Such withdrawals, to be
21 effective, must be received in the office of the county board of
22 elections not later than the ordinary closing hour of said
23 office on the seventh day next succeeding the last day for
24 filing nomination papers. No name so withdrawn shall be printed
25 on the ballot. No candidate may withdraw any withdrawal notice
26 already received and filed, and thereby reinstate his nomination
27 papers.
28 (f) Election of School Directors:
29 (1) Primary Election. In the spring following the approval
30 of such partly elected and partly appointed school board by
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1 referendum, and in the spring of every odd-numbered year
2 thereafter, the names of candidates duly nominated as
3 hereinbefore provided for the office of school director shall
4 appear on the primary election ballot in their respective school
5 director districts, except those in which the term of an elected
6 incumbent shall expire two years thereafter.
7 (2) Election on Non-partisan Basis. No such name shall be
8 accompanied by any designation or indication of partisan or
9 other political affiliation. All such names in the respective
10 school director districts shall appear in identical manner on
11 the ballots provided to the electors of each and every political
12 party participating in such primary, and to any elector
13 registered and enrolled in any other party or otherwise
14 registered. Each and every registered voter, regardless of party
15 affiliation or absence thereof, shall be eligible to vote for
16 one of such candidates for school director so appearing on the
17 ballot or ballots in the election district in which his
18 residency is duly established.
19 (3) Qualification for General Election. The votes cast for
20 candidates for school director in such primary election shall be
21 counted and the result thereof returned by the election
22 officers, and a canvass of such election had, as is provided by
23 law in the case of elected school boards. The names of the two
24 candidates receiving the greatest number of votes in each school
25 director district shall appear on the ballot in their respective
26 school director districts in the next municipal or general
27 election. If two or more candidates shall be equal in number of
28 votes, which number exceeds that received by all but one of the
29 other candidates in such school director district, they shall
30 draw lots to determine which one shall be the second candidate
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1 qualifying to appear on the general or municipal election ballot
2 for that district.
3 (4) General Election. Every elector in such general or
4 municipal election voting in an election district in which names
5 of candidates for school director appear on the ballot may cast
6 a vote for one such candidate. The votes cast for candidates for
7 school director in such election shall be counted and the result
8 thereof returned by the election officers, and a canvass of such
9 election had, as is provided by law in the case of elected
10 school boards. The candidate receiving the greatest number of
11 votes in each school director district shall be elected, and
12 shall take office on the first Monday of December immediately
13 following such election. If two or more candidates shall be
14 equal and greatest in number of votes, they shall draw lots to
15 determine which one shall be elected.
16 (g) Applicable Law upon Adoption. Upon the approval by the
17 qualified voters of any first class A school district of the
18 question hereinbefore set forth at an election therefor and the
19 election of school directors from specified districts in
20 accordance therewith, the board of public education of such
21 first class A school district shall be governed by the
22 provisions of this section and by all other provisions of the
23 act to which this is an amendment and other provisions of
24 general law relating to first class A school districts which are
25 not inconsistent with the provisions of this section. The
26 provisions of this section shall supersede all other parts of
27 the act to which this is an amendment and all other acts
28 affecting the organization of school districts of the first
29 class A to the extent that they are inconsistent or in conflict
30 herewith. All existing acts or parts of acts and resolutions
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1 affecting the organization of first class A school districts not
2 inconsistent or in conflict with the provisions of this section
3 shall remain in full force until modified or repealed as
4 provided by law.
5 (h) Certain Prohibitions of Service. No superintendent,
6 assistant superintendent, supervising principal, teacher or
7 other employe shall serve either temporarily or permanently as
8 an officer of the school board by which employed.
9 (i) The terms of existing appointed board members shall
10 terminate on the first Monday of December in the year in which
11 the initial elected members are elected, at which time the terms
12 of all members to be elected or appointed as herein provided
13 shall be deemed to begin. Thereafter the terms of all elected or
14 appointed members shall expire on the first Monday of December
15 in the year in which the length of term to which such members
16 shall have been elected or appointed has been served. The terms
17 of appointed members shall so expire whether or not their
18 successors have at that time been duly designated by the
19 appointing authority herein provided, and whether or not their
20 own appointment had taken place later than the beginning of the
21 term to which they were appointed. Failure of an appointing
22 authority to make such appointments in timely manner shall cause
23 the full powers of the board to devolve on such members as shall
24 have been duly elected together with such members, if any, who
25 shall have been duly appointed, and such elected and appointed
26 school directors shall be deemed to constitute the board of
27 public education of such first class A school district in like
28 manner as if their combined number were the full membership set
29 by law, as long as such vacancy or vacancies shall remain.
30 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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