Can a Mississippi school district give veterans free admission to athletic events?
Plain-English summary
The Alcorn County School District wanted to honor veterans by letting them in to athletic events for free. The trustees asked their attorney whether they could. The attorney asked the AG.
The AG had to say no, and acknowledged the answer was hard to give: "This office is grateful for your interest in demonstrating appreciation and respect to veterans. Unfortunately, however laudable the intent, the District may not give veterans free tickets to athletic events because such would amount to an unlawful donation."
The chain of reasoning is short. Mississippi schools are not required to charge for events; they can choose to make events free for everyone. But once they charge admission, the gate money is public funds. Giving free tickets to a class of people is, in effect, transferring public value to those people without consideration. A "donation" is "a transfer of money or other thing of value from the owner to another without any consideration" (Craig v. Mercy Hospital-Street Memorial, 45 So. 2d 809 (Miss. 1950)). Mississippi Constitution Article 4 § 66 forbids public donations except by a two-thirds legislative vote. The 2009 Treadway opinion already applied this rule to school districts. The 2005 Adams opinion forbade free admission for former school board members on the same logic. Veterans, while a sympathetic class, are no different from any other group for purposes of § 66.
The opinion notes two doors that stay open. Counties and municipalities, unlike school districts, have a separate statutory authority to spend money "for the purpose of advertising and bringing into favorable notice the opportunities, possibilities and resources of such municipality or county" under Miss. Code Ann. § 17-3-1. So the county or city could buy tickets and give them to veterans, framed as advertising the community's resources. And there is no prohibition against a private organization (a veterans group, a booster club, a chamber of commerce) buying tickets for veterans on its own dime.
The lesson is structural. The school district has the strict prohibition, but workarounds exist for the same outcome.
What this means for you
If you serve on a Mississippi school board and want to honor veterans at games
The clean path: make the event free for everyone, or make a section free for everyone, on Veterans Day or another announced day. That removes the donation analysis because no one is being charged. Or, partner with the city, county, or a local private group (American Legion, VFW, booster club) to buy tickets in bulk and distribute them to veterans. The district does not write off its share; the partner pays at the gate or in advance. Document the partnership so the audit trail is clean.
If you are a city or county official looking for a community gesture
§ 17-3-1 gives you independent authority to spend public funds on activities that advertise and bring favorable notice to your jurisdiction. A municipal-funded program that buys tickets and distributes them to veterans through a county or city office likely fits, especially if the program is publicized as a community-pride initiative. Adopt the program by resolution. Track the purchases.
If you run a veterans service organization, booster club, or PTO
You are not bound by the donation prohibition because you are not a public entity. A private group can buy tickets in bulk at face value and give them to veterans. This is the structural workaround the AG opinion specifically blesses.
If you are a veteran and your local school district told you they could not give you a free ticket
The opinion explains why. Ask whether the school plans a free-admission day or whether a local veterans group has tickets to distribute. Both are lawful paths to the same result.
If you are an athletic director or business manager at a Mississippi school
Activity-fund money under § 37-7-301(s) is treated as public funds. The same prohibition applies whether you are managing gate receipts, concession revenue, or other event income. You cannot waive admission for any class of attendees, even with the best intent.
Common questions
Q: What about senior citizens? Or first responders?
A: Same answer. A school district cannot give a free ticket to any class of people once it charges admission, because the donation prohibition applies to any transfer of public value without consideration. The 2005 Adams opinion specifically applied this to former school board members; the same logic applies to other sympathetic classes.
Q: Can the district just charge a "discounted" ticket?
A: A discount is the same problem in smaller dollars. The donation analysis is about transferring public value without consideration, and a partial discount transfers partial value. Some past opinions have allowed broad-based pricing structures (children's pricing, student pricing) tied to legitimate activity-fund administration, but a discount aimed at a specific class without a fee-administration rationale runs into the same prohibition.
Q: What if the gate is run by a private booster club?
A: It depends on how the proceeds are handled. The Caves (1995) opinion the AG cites was about a PTO trying to collect athletic-ticket money as a fundraiser; the AG said no, the money is public funds when the school charges admission. If a booster club operates a separate concession (e.g., its own raffle or fundraiser) that is independent of school admission, that is a different matter.
Q: Does the AG's view change if the district just makes the event free for everyone that night?
A: A free event has no admission charge, so there is no transfer of public value to a class. That option is open. Veterans Day games with free admission for all attendees is a common Mississippi practice and avoids the donation question.
Q: Can the school recognize veterans without giving them free tickets?
A: Absolutely. Pre-game announcements, on-field recognitions, color-guard ceremonies, complimentary bottled water from a private partner, framed certificates, programs printed for veterans by a local print shop, all of these acknowledge service without crossing the donation line.
Q: What if the school accepts a private donation specifically to cover veterans' tickets?
A: That would still not work for the school to give the tickets free. The federal donation prohibition does not bar accepting private donations for general support, but the issue is what the school does with admissions revenue. The clean structure is for the private donor to buy the tickets and give them to veterans directly, not to give money to the school for the school to forgo gate revenue.
Background and statutory framework
Mississippi's prohibition on donations by public entities is rooted in Article 4 § 66 of the 1890 state constitution: "No law granting a donation or gratuity in favor of any person or object shall be enacted except by the concurrence of two-thirds of the members elect of each branch of the Legislature." The AG's office has consistently applied this provision not just to the legislature but to all political subdivisions, including school districts.
A "donation" turns on the absence of consideration. The Craig (1950) Mississippi Supreme Court opinion supplies the working definition. School-district revenue is public revenue; gate receipts and activity-fund proceeds are public funds under § 37-7-301(s). Once the school district has the money, distributing public value (a free ticket) to a class of people without consideration is a donation.
Counties and municipalities have escape hatches school districts do not. § 17-3-1 lets them spend on advertising and community promotion. The 2014 Brown opinion blessed county funding of a Mayor's Youth Council under that statute. The 1996 Moore opinion blessed Byhalia funding a high-school choir trip to New York under the same statute. School districts have no parallel advertising-authority statute, so the workaround is to use a partner (city, county, or private organization) that does have authority or is not subject to the prohibition.
Citations
- Miss. Const. Art. 4, § 66 (prohibition on donations)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-301(s) (school activity funds treated as public funds)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 17-3-1 (county and municipal authority to spend on advertising and community promotion)
- Craig v. Mercy Hospital-Street Memorial, 45 So. 2d 809 (Miss. 1950) (definition of donation)
- MS AG Op., Caves (Mar. 16, 1995) (athletic ticket revenue is public funds; PTO cannot retain as fundraiser)
- MS AG Op., Treadway (Nov. 6, 2009) (school district cannot make donation absent legislative supermajority)
- MS AG Op., Adams (Mar. 11, 2005) (free admission for former school board members prohibited)
- MS AG Op., Brown (Nov. 21, 2014) (county may support Mayor's Youth Council under § 17-3-1)
- MS AG Op., Moore (Aug. 9, 1996) (city may fund choir trip under § 17-3-1)
Source
- Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/A.Bullard-October-11-2022-Free-Admission-for-Veterans.pdf
Original opinion text
October 11, 2022
Arch Bullard, Esq.
Attorney, Alcorn County School District
511 Franklin Street
Corinth, Mississippi 38835
Re:
Free Admission for Veterans
Dear Mr. Bullard:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.
Background
According to your request, the Trustees for the Alcorn School District (the "District") want to
show their appreciation to military veterans by offering them free admission to athletic events at
District schools. We understand from a subsequent conversation with you that money from ticket
sales is collected by the District and treated as activity funds pursuant to Section 37-7-301(s) of
the Mississippi Code.
Question Presented
In light of state constitutional prohibitions, may the District give veterans free tickets to athletic
events?
Brief Response
This office is grateful for your interest in demonstrating appreciation and respect to veterans.
Unfortunately, however laudable the intent, the District may not give veterans free tickets to
athletic events because such would amount to an unlawful donation.
Applicable Law and Discussion
"Schools are not required to charge admission to any school event, but if admission is charged, the
money received must be treated as public funds." MS AG Op., Caves at *1 (Mar. 16, 1995)
(opining that a parent teacher organization cannot collect athletic ticket sales funds as a fund raiser
for the P.T.O.).
This office has previously opined that pursuant to Article 4, Section 66 of the Mississippi
Constitution, a school district may not pay a gratuity or make a donation in favor of any person
without the concurrence of two-thirds of the Legislature. MS AG Op., Treadway at 1 (Nov. 6,
2009). A donation is defined as "a transfer of money or other thing of value from the owner to
another without any consideration." Id. (quoting Craig v. Mercy Hospital-Street Memorial, 45 So.
2d 809, 814 (Miss. 1950)). See MS AG Op., Adams at 1 (Mar. 11, 2005) (opining that free
admission to sporting and social events for former school board members is prohibited).
While municipalities and counties also are generally prohibited from granting donations, unlike
school districts, municipalities and counties "may in their discretion, set aside, appropriate and
expend moneys . . . for the purpose of advertising and bringing into favorable notice the
opportunities, possibilities and resources of such municipality or county." Miss. Code Ann. § 17-3-1. See MS AG Op., Brown at 1 (Nov. 21, 2014) (authorizing board of supervisors to expend
county funds to support local Mayor's Youth Council for the purpose of bringing into favorable
notice the opportunities of the county); MS AG Op., Moore at 1 (Aug. 9, 1996) (permitting
governing authorities of Byhalia to spend funds to send local high school choir to New York for
the purpose of advertising as contemplated by § 17-3-1).
While the county and municipalities therein may have authority under Section 17-3-1 to purchase
tickets for the veterans, and there is no prohibition against a private organization buying tickets for
the veterans, it is the opinion of this office that the District is without authority to give veterans
free admission to athletic events because to do so would constitute a donation in contravention of
the state constitution.
If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By:
/s/ Misty Monroe
Misty Monroe
Assistant Attorney General