Can a Mississippi school district pay principals or other administrators an extra monthly stipend after they qualify as School Safety Guardians?

Plain-English summary

The Mississippi School Safety Guardian Act (Miss. Code Ann. § 45-9-181) lets a school's governing body authorize trained school employees to carry concealed firearms on campus to respond to active-shooter or similar emergencies. To compensate guardians for the additional duty and training, § 45-9-181(6) requires the district to pay a monthly stipend of "not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), but not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00)."

Alcorn School District wanted to pay the stipend to its principals and other administrators who qualify as guardians. The District's attorney was concerned that § 37-11-27 (which bars school district board members and administrators from having an interest in school contracts for construction, supplies, public works, or transportation) might prohibit those payments.

The AG cleared it. The mandatory "shall" in § 45-9-181(6) means stipends must be paid, not just may. And § 37-11-27 doesn't apply because a school safety guardian agreement is a service contract for personal duties (carrying a firearm and responding to threats), not a contract for construction, supplies, public works, or transportation. The categories listed in § 37-11-27 are limited; service-only contracts outside those categories aren't covered (citing prior MS AG Op., Blessey, Apr. 2, 2004). The Act itself doesn't bar administrators from serving as guardians.

So the District can and must pay administrators who become guardians the same $100-$500 monthly stipend as any other guardian.

What this means for you

If you are a Mississippi school superintendent or business manager

If you adopt a School Safety Guardian program, every trained guardian gets paid under § 45-9-181(6): that includes principals and other administrators. Budget for it accordingly. The "shall" language is mandatory; you don't have discretion to pay some guardians and not others.

If you are a school principal or administrator considering becoming a guardian

Becoming a guardian doesn't run into Mississippi's main school-administrator conflict-of-interest statute. Your participation is treated like any other school employee's: you get the training, you get the stipend, you carry under the Act's terms. Coordinate with your district counsel before participating to confirm your specific contract is properly structured.

If you are a school board member

The decision to establish a guardian program is yours, in consultation with administrators and the Department of Public Safety. Once established, the stipend is required for all participating employees. You cannot exclude administrators from stipend eligibility.

If you are a parent or community member

Your district either has a guardian program (ask the school board) or it doesn't. If it does, the trained guardians, including possibly your principal, receive a small monthly stipend ($100-$500) in addition to their regular pay, and they're authorized to carry concealed on campus to respond to threats.

If you are a Mississippi school district attorney

Use this opinion as your starting point for any administrator-as-guardian question. The clean reading: § 37-11-27 does not block service-only contracts, and the Guardian Act stipend is required for any qualified employee.

Common questions

Q: What is the Mississippi School Safety Guardian Act?
A: § 45-9-181, enacted to allow trained school employees to carry concealed firearms on campus for protection against active-shooter situations. Districts may opt in; if they do, they must designate employees for training developed by the Department of Public Safety.

Q: How much is the stipend?
A: Not less than $100 and not more than $500 monthly, paid by the district. The exact amount within that range is up to the district.

Q: Is the program mandatory for districts?
A: No. The Act is permissive at the district level. A district's governing body "may establish a program" in consultation with administrators and the Department of Public Safety. But once a district establishes a program, the stipend obligation kicks in.

Q: Why was § 37-11-27 even a concern?
A: § 37-11-27 prohibits school administrators with contract-negotiation authority from having any direct or indirect interest in certain school contracts. The District's attorney worried a guardian payment might be characterized as such a contract.

Q: What categories of contracts does § 37-11-27 cover?
A: Construction, repair, or improvement of school facilities; furnishing supplies, materials, or other articles; public works; and transportation of children, plus subcontracts arising from any of these. It does not cover personal-services contracts outside those categories.

Q: What is "public work" in this context?
A: The Mississippi Court of Appeals in Howell defined it (quoting Black's Law Dictionary) as "structures (such as roads or dams) built by the government for public use and paid for by public funds." A guardian agreement is not public works.

Q: Are there separate ethics issues?
A: § 37-11-27 isn't the whole conflict-of-interest universe. Mississippi's Ethics in Government laws (§§ 25-4-101 et seq.) can also apply. The Mississippi Ethics Commission is the right body for ethics-rules questions about specific arrangements.

Q: Can a school district pay more than $500?
A: § 45-9-181(6) caps the monthly stipend at $500. A district paying more would be exceeding the statute's authority.

Background and statutory framework

The Mississippi School Safety Guardian Act, codified at Miss. Code Ann. § 45-9-181, was enacted in response to ongoing concern about school shootings. It creates an opt-in framework where school governing bodies can establish a program (in consultation with administrators and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety) to train and authorize designated school employees to carry concealed firearms on campus.

Key provisions:

• § 45-9-181(4): Establishes the scope. Designated and trained employees are authorized to carry concealed firearms "for the protection of the students, employees and others on the campus." The scope and purpose include "responding to an active shooter situation or other situation that would cause death or serious bodily harm." The weapon must remain under the guardian's physical control on campus.
• § 45-9-181(6): Mandatory monthly stipend of $100 to $500 for guardians.

§ 37-11-27 is Mississippi's school-personnel conflict-of-interest statute, prohibiting board members and administrators with contract-negotiation authority from having interests in certain categories of school contracts: construction, supplies, public works, transportation. The categories are limited; service-only contracts in other categories aren't reached.

The AG's reading is straightforward: a guardian agreement is a service contract for protecting the school, not a contract for goods or major works. So § 37-11-27's prohibitions don't apply.

The Mississippi Court of Appeals in Howell defined "public work" narrowly as government construction projects. Pitalo settles that "shall" means mandatory in Mississippi statutory construction, so the stipend requirement is not optional.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-27 (school personnel conflict-of-interest in certain contracts)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 45-9-181 (Mississippi School Safety Guardian Act)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 45-9-181(4) (program scope and weapon-control rules)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 45-9-181(6) (mandatory $100-$500 monthly stipend)

Cases:
- Pitalo v. GPCH-GP, Inc., 933 So. 2d 927 (Miss. 2006) ("shall" is mandatory)
- Howell v. Bd. of Sup'rs of Jefferson Davis Cnty., 70 So. 3d 1148 (Miss. Ct. App. 2011) (defining "public works")

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A.Bullard-February-28-2024-Mississippi-Code-Annotated-Section-45-9-1816-Administrator-Payment.pdf

Original opinion text

February 28, 2024

Arch Bullard, Esq.
Attorney, Alcorn School District
Post Office Box 1613
Corinth, Mississippi 38835

Re: Mississippi Code Annotated Section 45-9-181(6): Administrator Payment

Dear Mr. Bullard:

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

Question Presented

May the Alcorn School District pay principals and other school district administrators an additional monthly stipend after they have completed the Mississippi School Safety Guardian Act program to be designated as School Safety Guardians?

Brief Response

Yes. Mississippi Code Annotated Section 45-9-181(6) provides that a school district shall pay a monthly stipend of not less than $100 and not more than $500 to employees who have completed training in accordance with the Mississippi School Safety Guardian Act. Section 37-11-27 does not apply to contracts entered pursuant to the Mississippi School Safety Guardianship Act.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Section 45-9-181 is known as the Mississippi School Safety Guardian Act (the "Act"). The Act allows the governing body of a school, in consultation with school administrators and the Department of Public Safety, to establish a program that allows trained school employees to carry concealed firearms on campus for protection purposes:

The governing body of a school, in consultation with school administrators and the department, may establish a program under this act. . . . If the governing body of a school establishes a program under this act, the governing body of a school shall designate employees to participate in the training program developed by the department by which designated and trained school employees are authorized to carry concealed firearms for the protection of the students, employees and others on the campus of the school. The scope and purpose of each program shall include responding to an active shooter situation or other situation that would cause death or serious bodily harm on the school campus or in the immediate vicinity of the school campus. The school safety guardian's weapon shall always remain under his or her physical control on campus.

Miss. Code Ann. § 45-9-181(4). Regarding compensation, Section 45-9-181(6) provides that "School Safety Guardians shall be paid a monthly stipend in an amount not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), but not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) by the school district." (emphasis added). See also Pitalo v. GPCH-GP, Inc., 933 So. 2d 927, 929 (Miss. 2006) ("Simply stated, 'shall' is mandatory, while 'may' is discretionary.").

According to your request, you are concerned that Section 37-11-27 prohibits the Alcorn School District from paying principals and other school district administrators an additional monthly stipend for serving as a School Safety Guardian. However, a contract with a principal or other school district administrator pursuant to the Act does not fall within the prohibitions of Section 37-11-27.

Pursuant to Section 37-11-27:

It shall be unlawful for any member of the board of trustees of any school district, any member of the county board of education, the county superintendent of education, or any superintendent, principal or other school district administrator with authority to negotiate school district contracts, to have or own any direct or indirect interest individually or as agent or employee of any person, partnership, firm, or corporation in any contract made or let by the county board of education, the county superintendent of education or the board of trustees of the school district for the construction, repair, or improvement of any school facility, the furnishing of any supplies, materials, or other articles, the doing of any public work[^1] or the transportation of children or upon any subcontract arising therefrom or connected therewith in any manner.

(emphasis added). A contract between a principal or other district administrator pursuant to the Act is not a contract "for the construction, repair, or improvement of any school facility, the furnishing of any supplies, materials, or other articles, the doing of any public work or the transportation of children or upon any subcontract arising therefrom or connected therewith in any manner." See also MS AG Op., Blessey at *2 (Apr. 2, 2004) (indicating a service-only contract that is not connected with the categories listed within Section 37-11-27 is not prohibited by Section 37-11-27). Further, the Act itself does not prohibit principals or other school district administrators from serving as School Safety Guardians. See Miss. Code Ann. § 45-9-181. It is thus the opinion of this office that Section 37-11-27 does not prohibit the Alcorn School District from paying a principal or other school district administrators an additional monthly stipend pursuant to the Act.

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/ Maggie Kate Bobo
Maggie Kate Bobo
Special Assistant Attorney General

[^1]: "'Public works' is defined as '[s]tructures (such as roads or dams) built by the government for public use and paid for by public funds.'" Howell v. Bd. of Sup'rs of Jefferson Davis Cnty., 70 So. 3d 1148, 1156 (Miss. Ct. App. 2011) (quoting BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 1639 (8th ed. 2004)).