Could White Castle’s elected mayor also teach for a local Louisiana school board?

Plain-English summary

White Castle's elected mayor asked whether he could also work for a local school board as a teacher, either part-time or full-time. The 2013 opinion concluded the dual officeholding law permitted either teaching schedule. The AG treated the town and school board as separate political subdivisions; the applicable prohibition concerned employment in the same subdivision as the elected office.

The opinion addressed dual officeholding only. It expressly reserved governmental ethics questions for the State Board of Ethics.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. 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.

Historical summary

Mayors and teachers

The AG said an elected mayor could also hold teaching employment with a separate local school board, whether the teaching job was part-time or full-time.

School board officials

The opinion's conclusion depended on the teaching employment being with a distinct political subdivision, rather than the town where the mayor held elected office.

Common questions

Could White Castle's mayor teach for the local school board?

Yes. The AG said the dual officeholding law did not bar the positions described.

Did the answer depend on whether teaching was full-time?

No. The opinion expressly considered both part-time and full-time school employment.

Did the AG decide whether an ethics conflict existed?

No. It left ethics-code questions to the Louisiana State Board of Ethics.

Background and statutory framework

The AG classified the elected mayor and school-board employment under La. R.S. 42:62. It applied La. R.S. 42:63(D)'s restriction on elected local officials holding employment in the same political subdivision and found it inapplicable to the separate school board job.

Citations

• La. R.S. 42:62: office and employment definitions.
• La. R.S. 42:63(D): same-subdivision restriction considered by the AG.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/13-0122

Original opinion text

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

~ta:t£ of ']llouisia:na:
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
70804-9005
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATTORNEY GENERAL
September 24, 2013
OPINION 13-0122
78 DUAL OFFICEHOLDING
Honorable Gerald Jermarr Williams
Mayor, Town of White Castle
La. R.S. 42:62; La. R.S. 42:63

Post Office 488
The Louisiana Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law, La. R.S. 42:61, at
White Castle, Louisiana 70788
seq., does not prohibit the Mayor of the Town of White Castle from
simultaneously holding a part-time or full-time position of employment as a school teacher with a local school board.
Dear Mayor Williams:

You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General as to whether you, as the elected mayor of the Town of White Castle ('White Castle"), may simultaneously hold employment as either a part-time or full-time school teacher with a local school board.
Your request has been assigned to me for research and reply.

The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law, found at La. R.S.
42:61, et seq., govern questions concerning the holding of two or more public offices and/or employments. Identifying the correct nature of the positions held is essential for purposes of applying the dual officeholding provisions.

Of relevance here is La. R.S. 42:63(0), which, in general, prohibits one who holds "an elective office in a political subdivision of this state" from simultaneously holdin~ "employment ... in the same political subdivision in which he holds an elective office." For purposes of dual officeholding, a mayor holds "elective office in a political subdivision of this state" as defined by La. R.S. 42:62(1) and (9), which provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

(1) "Elective office" means any position which is established or authorized by the constitution or laws of this state or by the charter or ordinances of any political subdivision thereof, which is not a political party office, and which is filled by vote of the citizens of this state or of a political subdivision thereof.

(9) "Political subdivision" means a parish, municipality, and any other unit of local govemment, including a school board and a special district, authorized by law to perform governmental functions. In addition for the purposes of this Part, mayor's courts, justice of the peace courts, district attorneys, sheriffs, clerks of court, coroners, tax assessors, registrars of voters, and all other elected parochial officials shall be separate political subdivisions.

We note that pursuant to La. R.S. 42:63(0), U[n]o sheriff, assessor, or clerk of court shall hold any office or employment under a parish governing authority or school board."

Page 2

OPINION 13-0122
Honorable Gerald Jermarr Williams
Page No.2

With respect to the second position, you contemplate holding either parHime2 or full­ time 3 employment as a school teacher with a local school board. La. R.S. 42:62(3) de'flnes "employment" as "any job compensated on a salary or per diem basis, other than an elective or appointive office, in which a person is an employee of the state government or of a political subdivision thereof." As defined by La. R.S. 42:62(9), the term "political subdivision" means and includes a school board for purposes of applying the dual officeholding and dual employment provisions.

As stated above, La. R.S. 42:63(D) does not prohibit a local elected official from holding employment in a separate political subdivision. 4 Thus, it is the opinion of this office that a person holding the elected position of mayor is not prohibited from simultaneously holding a part-time or full-time employment position as a school teacher with a local school board.

Finally, note that our expressed opinion relative to state law is limited to an examination of the dual officeholding provisions. Any potential ethical questions concerning this matter arising under the Code of Governmental Ethics, La. R.S. 42:1111, et seq., must be addressed by advisory ruling of the Louisiana State Board of Ethics. The Board may be contacted at P.O. Box 4368, Baton Rouge, LA 70821 or by phone at 225-219-5600.

We hope that this opinion has adequately addressed the legal issues you have raised. If our office can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards,

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATIORNEY GENERAL

BY: ~ C P2¥­
Erin C. Day
Assistant Attorney General
JDC:ECD

2
La. RS. 42:62(4).
3
La. RS. 42:62(5).
4
See also, La. Atty. Gen. Ops. No. 09-0126, 05-0422, and 92-525.