(a) There is hereby established a school board for the City of Tallassee, Alabama, which board shall be called the Tallassee Board of Education. The members of such board shall be elected by vote of the qualified electors of the City of Tallassee, Alabama, as hereinafter provided. The board shall be composed of seven members, with one member of such board being elected from each of seven school districts as defined in subsection (b).
(b) The school districts from which such board members are to be elected shall be geographically identical to the districts from which the council members of the City of Tallassee are elected. In the event the boundaries of a city council district should be changed for any reason, the boundaries of the corresponding school board district within the City of Tallassee shall automatically change accordingly without the necessity of further action by the Legislature.
(c) Candidates for each place on such board of education shall be at least 21 years of age, residents of the school board district which they seek to represent on such board for at least 90 consecutive days prior to the deadline date for qualifying as a candidate, and shall not have a record of conviction for any crime involving moral turpitude. At the time of qualifying, each candidate for each place on such board shall pay such qualifying fee as shall be prescribed by the City Council of Tallassee, Alabama, not later than six months prior to the qualifying deadline as provided by law. Provided, however, that the qualification fee for the first elections to be held for the board created by this section shall be twenty-five dollars ($25) for each candidate.
(d) Elected school board members shall serve for four-year terms with the elections and terms thereof coinciding with those of the members of the City Council of Tallassee, Alabama. The initial elections for elected board members shall be held no later than 90 days next following July 22, 1992. The initially elected board members shall serve from the date on which they are sworn into office until the swearing in of their successors next following the next regularly scheduled city council and school board elections. Terms of office for the initially elected board members shall terminate on the first Monday of October 1992, at noon or at such time as their duly elected successors are sworn in subsequent to the first Monday of October 1992. Members of the board shall serve without compensation.
(e) In the event a vacancy occurs in the office of members of the city board of education, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by a majority of the remaining members of the city board of education, and the appointee shall hold for the unexpired term. In the event the vacancy is not filled by the remaining members of the city board within 30 days, the State Superintendent of Education shall fill such vacancy by appointment. The city superintendent of education shall notify the State Superintendent of Education when a vacancy in the office of a member of the city board of education has not been filled within 30 days.
(f) In the event no candidate receives a majority of all of the votes cast for anyone or more positions on such school board, the city council shall order a runoff election to be held separately or in conjunction with any scheduled primary, special, or general election, at which election the two candidates receiving the most Votes for the office in the initial election shall be the only candidates. The candidate receiving the most votes in such runoff election shall be declared as elected. In the event of a tie vote between such runoff candidates, the then serving city council shall decide the election by majority vote at a special meeting called for such purpose by the council's presiding officer.
(g) All members of the board created by this section shall represent the interests of any student of the city school system who is not otherwise represented by a certain district school board member as provided for in this section.
(h) Such board of education shall have the financial records of the Tallassee School System audited at least annually by an independent auditing firm with the results of such audit being a matter of public record.
(i) The members of such board shall have such powers, authority, duties, and responsibilities as are otherwise provided by law for members of boards of education as set forth in Chapter 11 of Title 16. The new board of education elected under this section shall assume all of the responsibilities, contracts, obligations, and liabilities of the former board of education. Provided further, such new board shall assume ownership of any and all assets of such former board.