Could a parish school board member also work part-time for the parish government?

Plain-English summary

A citizen asked whether an elected parish school board member could also work part-time as a Court Delay Reduction Officer paid by the parish police jury. In Opinion 03-0092, the Louisiana Attorney General said the described combination was permitted under the dual-officeholding and dual-employment law. The school board and the parish governing authority were separate political subdivisions.

The cited statute barred certain simultaneous offices and barred an elected official from being employed by the same political subdivision. The AG read the definition of political subdivision to include a school board as its own unit. He therefore concluded that the same-subdivision employment prohibition did not cover the described part-time parish job.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion meant at issuance

School board members

For this part-time parish job, the AG did not treat school board membership as employment in the parish governing authority. His answer turned on the offices being in distinct political subdivisions.

Parish government

The opinion allowed the stated employee to hold a school board seat alongside part-time parish employment. It did not assess a different job arrangement or unrelated restrictions.

Common questions

Q: Could a school board member take a part-time job paid by the parish police jury?
A: The AG said yes for the Court Delay Reduction Officer position described, because the employing parish and the school board were distinct political subdivisions.

Q: Did the school board count as part of the parish governing authority?
A: No for this statute. The AG quoted the definition of political subdivision as separately including a school board.

Q: What employment did the cited rule prohibit for an elected local official?
A: The opinion quoted a ban on simultaneous employment in the same political subdivision where the person held elected office, then found that condition absent here.

Background and statutory framework

The letter quoted LSA-R.S. 42:63(D) on simultaneous elected office and employment and LSA-R.S. 42:62(9) defining political subdivisions. Its date stamp is OCR-damaged, so no exact issue date is recorded. The official text clearly identifies the opinion as 03-0092.

Citations and references

Authorities in the opinion: LSA-R.S. 42:63(D); LSA-R.S. 42:62(9).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0092

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

One American Place
301 Main Street, Suite 600
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. Box 94005
CIVIL DIVISION
TEL.: (225) 342-7013
BATON ROUGE
FAX. (225) 342-2090

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL
OPINION NUMBER 03-0092

Walter T. Rogers
0 7 003
78 - Dual Officehold=ng
550 Cocoville Road
An elected school board member may also be employed on a part-time basis for
Mansura, LA 71350
the local parish government, as the two positions are in different political
subdivisions

Dear Mr. Rogers:

You ask this office whether or not a citizen can be employed as a part-time "Court Delay Reduction Officer", whose salary is paid by the local parish police jury, and simultaneously serve as an elected member of the school board of the same parish.

Under Louisiana’s dual officeholding and dual employment laws, it is permissible for a person to hold a local elected office, such as school board member, and to be employed on a part-time basis for the local parish government, as the two positions are in different political subdivisions.

LSA-R.S. 42:63(D) prohibits a person from holding elective office and employment in the same political subdivision:

No person holding an elective office in a political subdivision of this state shall at the same time hold another elective office or full-time appointive office in the government of this state or in the government of a political subdivision thereof. No such person shall hold at the same time employment in the .qovernment of this state, or in the same political subdivision in which he holds an elective office. In addition no sheriff, assessor, or clerk of court shall hold any office or employment under a parish governing authority or school board, nor shall any member of any parish governing authority or school board hold any office or employment with any sheriff, assessor, or clerk of court. (Emphasis added).

LSA-R.S. 42:62(9) defines political subdivision as "[a] parish, municipality, and any other unit of local government, includin.q a school board and a special district, authorized by law to perform governmental functions .... " (Emphasis added).
Thus, LSA-R.S.
42:63(D)’s prohibition does not apply in this matter since the school board and the parish governing authority are defined by law as two separate political subdivisions. Trusting that this opinion addresses all of your concerns, we remain

Yours very truly,

~~ y,~ARD
P. IEYOUB
,4N(~I,E ~’(~GERS LAPLACE
Assi ta.~ Attorney General

RPI/ARL;mjb