Can a sitting Arkansas county coroner run for re-election to a school board seat in the middle of his coroner term?

Plain-English summary

Representative Reginald Murdock asked the AG a follow-up to Op. 2018-120: if a school board member's term expires before the end of his coroner term, can he run for re-election to the school board while serving as coroner? The AG said no.

The setup matters. Op. 2018-120 had said that a school board member can be elected to the office of coroner and continue serving on the school board. That is because Ark. Const. art. 19, § 26 expressly permits "officers of the public schools" to be elected to any executive or judicial office.

The follow-up question is the reverse direction in time: the person is now a coroner and the school board seat comes up. Re-election would be a new election to the school board during the coroner term. Article 7, section 53 of the Arkansas Constitution prevents that. As the AG put it (citing Op. 2018-120 directly): "Article 7, section 53 bars a person who has been elected as coroner from being appointed or elected to a position on a public school board during his term as coroner."

The two constitutional provisions cut in opposite directions, but the timing controls. Article 19, § 26 allows a school board member to be elected to coroner. Article 7, § 53 prohibits a coroner from being elected to the school board while serving as coroner. Re-election to the school board is "election" for purposes of Article 7, § 53.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2019. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: What is Article 7, § 53 of the Arkansas Constitution?
A: It is the constitutional incompatibility provision that prevents county-court officers and certain other officials from holding additional offices simultaneously. The section bars a coroner (among others) from being elected or appointed to a school board during his term.

Q: What is Article 19, § 26?
A: A constitutional carve-out that lets "officers of the public schools" be elected to any executive or judicial office. It allows the school-board-then-coroner direction.

Q: Why doesn't Article 19, § 26 cut both ways?
A: Because its text only authorizes election of school officers to executive or judicial office. It does not authorize the reverse: election of an executive officer (like a coroner) to a school office. So Article 7, § 53 applies unaltered to the coroner-then-school-board direction.

Q: What's the practical advice for a sitting coroner whose school board term is ending?
A: The opinion did not give actionable steps, but the legal posture is clear. The coroner cannot run for re-election to the school board until after his coroner term ends. Other options (resignation from coroner before filing, completing the coroner term and then running) would have to be considered with counsel.

Q: What if the school board seat is appointed, not elected, during a vacancy?
A: Article 7, § 53 covers both election and appointment. The bar applies either way.

Background and statutory framework

Two constitutional provisions interact:

• Ark. Const. art. 19, § 26 permits "officers of the public schools" to be elected to any executive or judicial office. It is a one-way carve-out: it allows movement from school office to executive or judicial office.
• Ark. Const. art. 7, § 53 is the dual-office-holding restriction. It bars a coroner (and other county-court officers) from being elected or appointed to a public school board during the term as coroner.

Op. 2018-120 had laid out the framework. The school-board member could be elected coroner under Article 19, § 26, and could continue serving on both during the original school-board term. But once that school-board term ended, Article 7, § 53 kicked in and barred the coroner from being re-elected (or appointed) to the board.

This opinion does not introduce a new constitutional rule; it applies Op. 2018-120 to the specific scenario Murdock asked about.

Citations

• Ark. Const. art. 7, § 53 (incompatibility for coroner serving on school board)
• Ark. Const. art. 19, § 26 (school officers eligible for executive or judicial office)
• Op. Att'y Gen. 2018-120 (foundational framework)

Source

• Landing page: https://arkansasag.gov/divisions/opinions-foia/attorney-general-opinions-search/

Original opinion text

Opinion No. 2019-018
May 28, 2019

The Honorable Reginald Murdock
State Representative
P.O. Box 1071
Marianna, AR 72360-1071

Dear Representative Murdock:

This is in response to your request for an opinion on the following question, which you say is a follow-up to Attorney General Opinion 2018-120:

If the term on the public school board expires before the end of the person's elected term as county coroner, may the person run for re-election as a member of the public school board while serving as county coroner?

RESPONSE

In my opinion, the answer to this question is "no."

DISCUSSION

As I explained in Opinion 2018-120, a school board member can be elected to the office of coroner and remain on the school board. (This is because Article 19, section 26 of the Arkansas Constitution expressly permits the election of "officers of the public schools" to any executive or judicial office.) But if the school board position comes up for re-election during the person's term as coroner, as contemplated by your question, then Article 7, section 53 of the Arkansas Constitution will apply.

As I also explained in Opinion 2018-120, Article 7, section 53 bars a person who has been elected as coroner from being appointed or elected to a position on a public school board during his term as coroner. This appears to be the precise scenario presented by your question. The person who was elected as county coroner would be seeking election to a position on the school board during his term as coroner. This would violate Article 7, section 53.

Sincerely,

LESLIE RUTLEDGE
Attorney General