Can the West Bolivar Consolidated School District board move its central office from Rosedale to Benoit without going back to the Mississippi Legislature?

Plain-English summary

The West Bolivar Consolidated School District ("WBCSD") was created in 2012 when the Mississippi Legislature consolidated six Bolivar County school districts down to three. The statute creating WBCSD, Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-104.1(1), contains an unusually specific provision: "The central administrative office of the West Bolivar Consolidated School District shall be located in Rosedale, Mississippi."

The superintendent wanted to move all or part of the central office, including staff, from Rosedale to Benoit to get more space. The school district's attorney asked the AG two questions:

1. Can the board, by majority vote, relocate the central office (with the superintendent and staff) to Benoit without going to the Legislature?
2. If not, can the board at least move some district-level staff (federal programs director, special services director, etc.) to Benoit without going to the Legislature?

The AG said no to both. Section 37-7-104.1(1) "expressly requires" the central administrative office to be in Rosedale. There is no authority for the board to relocate the office, and there is no carve-out for relocating only "part of" the office. Moving any part of the central administrative office out of Rosedale requires legislative action.

What this means for you

The WBCSD board and superintendent

The opinion holds that § 37-7-104.1(1) "expressly requires" the district's central administrative office to be located in Rosedale, and it finds no authority for the board to relocate the office, or any part of it, to Benoit. Its closing line is direct: "relocating the central administrative office would require legislative action." The board cannot accomplish the move by majority vote.

Attorneys for consolidated school districts

The opinion turns on the specific text of the consolidation statute, which fixes the WBCSD office in Rosedale. The AG read that location clause strictly and found no implied board authority to override it. The opinion's reasoning is confined to § 37-7-104.1(1) and the West Bolivar district.

Rosedale residents and the affected community

The opinion treats the Rosedale location as a statutory mandate the school board cannot change administratively. Under its reading, moving the office (or pieces of it) out of Rosedale would require the Legislature to act.

State legislators

The opinion identifies legislative action as the only route to relocate the WBCSD central administrative office. It does not opine on whether a relocation should happen, only that the board lacks authority to do it without a change in the statute.

Common questions

Q: Can the board move just the special-services director or federal programs director to Benoit?
A: No. The AG read § 37-7-104.1(1) to mean that any part of the central administrative office must be in Rosedale. Splitting off staff with central-office functions and putting them in Benoit would relocate part of the central administrative office, which the statute does not allow.

Q: What about staff who are not part of the central office, like teachers or building principals?
A: This opinion is about the central administrative office. Building-level staff (teachers, principals, support staff at individual schools) work at their school sites, not at the central office, and are not affected by § 37-7-104.1(1)'s location requirement.

Q: Can the office at least move to a different building within Rosedale?
A: The opinion only addresses moving the office to Benoit, which it prohibits. It does not analyze a move to a different building inside Rosedale; its holding is that the office must "be located in Rosedale, Mississippi."

Q: What does the statute actually say about Bolivar County districts?
A: The opinion quotes § 37-7-104.1(1) describing an administrative consolidation, as of January 1, 2012, of the county's six school districts into three. The West Bolivar Consolidated School District is made up of the former West Bolivar, Shaw, and Benoit districts, and the statute directs that its central administrative office "shall be located in Rosedale, Mississippi."

Background and statutory framework

As described in the opinion, § 37-7-104.1(1) provides for an administrative consolidation, as of January 1, 2012, of the six school districts in Bolivar County into three districts. The West Bolivar Consolidated School District is one of the three; it consists of the territory of the former West Bolivar, Shaw, and Benoit school districts.

For the West Bolivar Consolidated School District, the statute reads in pertinent part:

(c) One (1) new consolidated school district to be designated as West Bolivar Consolidated School District which shall consist of the territory of the former West Bolivar School District, Shaw School District and Benoit School District. The central administrative office of the West Bolivar Consolidated School District shall be located in Rosedale, Mississippi.

The "shall be located in Rosedale" clause is a directive, not a default. The AG read it strictly. There is no implied authority for the school board to relocate the office to a town that the Legislature did not authorize, even if the move would be more efficient or convenient.

The AG read the "shall be located in Rosedale" clause strictly: it found no implied authority for the school board to relocate the office to a town the Legislature did not authorize, and no carve-out allowing only part of the office to move. Changing the location, the opinion concludes, requires legislative action.

Citations and references

Statute:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-104.1(1) (Bolivar County school district consolidation; central administrative office locations)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/W.Griffin-August-17-2023-Authority-to-Relocate-the-Central-Administrative-Office-of-the-West-Bolivar-Consolidated-School-Di.pdf

Original opinion text

August 17, 2023

Willie Griffin, Esq.
Attorney, West Bolivar Consolidated School District Board of Trustees
1001 Main Street
Greenville, Mississippi 38702-0189

Re: Authority to Relocate the Central Administrative Office of the West Bolivar Consolidated School District

Dear Mr. Griffin:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Background

The superintendent for West Bolivar Consolidated School District has requested authority to move all or part of the central office, together with staff, to the former Benoit location to accommodate the space needed for the central office and its staff.

Questions Presented

1. May the Board of Trustees for the West Bolivar Consolidated School District, by majority vote, relocate the central office, together with the superintendent and staff, from Rosedale to Benoit without obtaining prior approval of the Mississippi Legislature?
2. If your answer to the first question is no, may the Board of Trustees for the West Bolivar Consolidated School District, by majority vote, relocate certain district level staff of the superintendent, such as the federal programs director, special services director, etc., from the Rosedale location to the Benoit location without obtaining prior approval of the Mississippi Legislature?

Brief Response

1. No. Mississippi Code Annotated Section 37-7-104.1(1) requires that the central administrative office of the West Bolivar Consolidated School District be located in Rosedale, Mississippi.
2. We find no authority for the Board of Trustees for the West Bolivar Consolidated School District to locate any part of the central administrative office anywhere but Rosedale, Mississippi.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Section 37-7-104.1(1) provides, in pertinent part:

(1) In Bolivar County, Mississippi, in which are located, as of January 1, 2012, six (6) school districts, there shall be an administrative consolidation of all of the school districts in the county into three (3) school districts as follows:

. . .

(c) One (1) new consolidated school district to be designated as West Bolivar Consolidated School District which shall consist of the territory of the former West Bolivar School District, Shaw School District and Benoit School District. The central administrative office of the West Bolivar Consolidated School District shall be located in Rosedale, Mississippi.

(emphasis added). Section 37-7-104.1 expressly requires that the West Bolivar Consolidated School District's central administrative office be located in Rosedale, Mississippi; therefore, we find no authority for the Board of Trustees to relocate the central administrative office to Benoit, Mississippi. It follows that we find no authority for any part of the central administrative office to be located anywhere but Rosedale, Mississippi. Accordingly, relocating the central administrative office would require legislative action.

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/ Abigail C. Overby
Abigail C. Overby
Special Assistant Attorney General