(a) There is hereby established a school board for the City of Attalla, Alabama, which board shall be called the Attalla Board of Education. The members of such board shall be elected by vote of the qualified electors of the City of Attalla, Alabama, as hereinafter provided. The board shall be composed of five members, with one member of such board being elected from each of five 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 five council members of the City of Attalla 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 Attalla shall automatically change accordingly without the necessity of further action by the Legislature.
(c) Candidates for each place on the city 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 immediately preceding 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 Attalla, 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 for each candidate.
(d) Elected school board members shall serve for staggered four-year terms. The initial election for city school board members shall be held in conjunction with the Attalla City Council election in 1992. The school board members elected from school board districts No. 2 and No. 4 at such election shall serve initial terms of two years. Board members elected from school board districts No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5 shall serve initial terms of four years. 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 school board elections. Terms of office for the initially elected board members shall commence at noon on the first Monday of October 1992. Subsequent school board elections shall be called by the city in conformity with the applicable state laws for the elections. At its first meeting each October by majority vote, the board shall elect from its membership a chair and vice chair.
(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 such board seat 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 any one or more positions on such school board, the city council shall order a run-off 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 run-off election shall be declared as elected. In the event of a tie vote between such run-off 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 elected city school 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) The compensation for the members of the school board shall be three hundred dollars ($300) per month to be paid from city school system funds; however, the board may change this amount by majority vote thereof, which changes shall be made not later than six months prior to the deadline for qualification of candidates for seats on the board of education. Thereafter, compensation as set by the board, from time to time, shall be in effect for successor boards.
(i) Such board of education shall have the financial records of the Attalla School System audited at least annually by an independent auditing firm with the results of such audit being a matter of public record.
(j) 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.