Can a Louisiana school board member also work for the parish clerk of court?

Plain-English summary

A full-time employee of the Pointe Coupee Parish Clerk of Court asked whether she could also hold an elected seat on the parish school board. The Attorney General said no. R.S. 42:63D, as quoted in the opinion, expressly says that no school board member may hold any office or employment with a clerk of court.

That last clause resolves the question regardless of whether the clerk's job is full time. The opinion also cited an earlier AG opinion reaching the same conclusion, but its own quoted statutory language supplies the decisive rule.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the dual-officeholding rule. Verify current law before making an employment or candidacy decision.

What this means for you

Clerk of court employees considering school board service

Check the current dual-officeholding statute before seeking a school board seat while keeping a clerk of court job. The AG found the two roles incompatible in the fact pattern presented, and the quoted clause addresses any office or employment with a clerk of court.

School boards and clerks of court

When a new board member also works in a clerk's office, identify both roles before assuming that part-time status solves the problem. The opinion relied on a separate prohibition for school board members and clerk offices, not just the general restriction on full-time appointments.

Common questions

Does the prohibition depend on the clerk job being full time?

No. Although the request concerned full-time employment, the final clause of R.S. 42:63D quoted by the AG bars a school board member from holding any office or employment with a clerk of court.

Does the opinion address a school board candidate who has not won office?

The request asked whether the employee could legally hold the school board office. The opinion addresses simultaneous holding of the two positions; it does not set out candidacy or resignation deadlines.

Would serving on a different parish's school board change the result?

The quoted school-board and clerk-of-court clause does not include a same-parish qualifier. The AG applied it to two Pointe Coupee positions and did not analyze a cross-parish example.

Background and statutory framework

R.S. 42:63D regulates combinations of elected office, appointed office, and public employment. Its last clause specifically addresses school board members and clerks of court. The AG applied that clause to a clerk employee seeking a Pointe Coupee school board seat and concluded the positions could not be held together.

Citations

• R.S. 42:63D (dual officeholding and clerk of court employment).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/06-0201

Original opinion text

August 2, 2006
OPINION 06-0201

Ms. Debbie A. Collins
78 DUAL OFFICEHOLDING
13315 Third Street
R.S. 42:63D
School board member may not hold office or employment with the
Batchelor, LA 70715
clerk of court.

Dear Ms. Collins:

You advise this office that you currently hold full-time employment with the Pointe Coupee Parish Clerk of Court’s office. You ask if you may legally hold the elective office of member of the Pointe Coupee Parish School Board in District A. Unfortunately, state law prohibits you from holding both positions concurrently.

R.S. 42:63D of our state’s Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment law provides:

D. 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 government 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).

Thus, one holding an office or employment with the clerk of court may not hold the office of school board member. Attached is a copy of Attorney General Opinion 87-170, in which the author issues the same conclusion.

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: _______ KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
KLK:ams

Page 2

OPINION 06-0201

78 DUAL OFFICEHOLDING

R.S. 42:63D

School board member may not hold office or employment with the clerk of court.

Ms. Debbie a. Collins
13315 Third Street
Batchelor, LA 70715

Date Received:
Date Released: August 2, 2006

KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL