Did the 1992 Education Improvement Act override an older private act that gave the Maury County Quarterly Court the power to elect school board members?

Subject

Opinion No. 12-08, Education Improvement Act - Number of School Board Members, January 18, 2012

Plain-English summary

Maury County's school board was governed by a 1973 private act that fixed the board at ten members and gave the Quarterly County Court the power to elect those members, one from each magisterial district. In 1992 the General Assembly passed the Education Improvement Act and added what is now Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1). That section opens "[n]otwithstanding any other law to the contrary, there shall be a board of education elected by the people," then caps membership at the number authorized by general or private act for boards in existence on January 1, 1992, or the number actually serving on January 1, 1993. The Legislature can change membership by future private act, within a floor of three and a ceiling of eleven.

Representative Butt asked whether the EIA displaced the 1973 private act. The AG said yes on the appointment piece and partly yes on numbers.

• Popular election required. The "notwithstanding" clause overrode the Quarterly County Court selection mechanism. From the EIA forward, the board had to be elected by the voters.
• Membership cap. § 49-2-201(a)(1) capped the board at the number authorized in 1992 or the number actually serving in 1993. The General Assembly could change the number later by private act, within the 3 to 11 range.
• District representation. The 1973 act also required one member per magisterial district. § 49-2-201(a)(1) did not address district representation directly, so the AG concluded the district-representation requirement of the 1973 private act remained in force.

The AG cited State ex rel. Strader v. Word (1974) for the principle that private acts give way to a general statewide statutory scheme to the extent necessary to make the scheme work.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2012. 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.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201 has been amended several times. Any current question about a county's school board composition should be checked against the current statute and any post-2012 private act for that county.

Background and statutory framework

The 1973 private act. 1973 Tenn. Priv. Acts 44, § 1 directed that the Maury County board of education shall consist of ten members, one elected by the Quarterly County Court from each magisterial district.

The EIA's general rule. Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1) (enacted by 1992 Tenn. Pub. Acts 535, § 39, and amended in 1995, 1998, and 2002) starts with a "notwithstanding" clause requiring popular election. Except in counties with a charter or metropolitan form of government, the board's size is fixed at the number authorized for the board in existence on January 1, 1992, or the number actually serving on January 1, 1993. The Legislature may change the number by later private act, within a floor of three and a ceiling of eleven.

The supersession principle. When a general statewide scheme conflicts with an earlier local private act, the private act yields to the extent necessary to give the general scheme effect. State ex rel. Strader v. Word, 508 S.W.2d 539, 547 (Tenn. 1974). The Quarterly Court appointment mechanism in the 1973 private act could not coexist with the EIA's flat requirement that the board be "elected by the people," so the appointment mechanism gave way.

Common questions

Q: Did Maury County voters start electing the school board after this opinion?
A: The popular-election rule traces to the 1992 EIA, not the 2012 opinion. The opinion confirmed that the existing statewide rule had already displaced the private act's Quarterly Court appointment power. The 2012 opinion is best read as legal cleanup for a county that may have been uncertain which rule controlled.

Q: Can the General Assembly still change the size of the Maury County school board?
A: Per the opinion's reading of the statute, yes, by private act, within a 3-to-11 range. Verify current text before relying on this.

Q: Did the 1973 act's one-member-per-magisterial-district rule survive?
A: The AG said yes. The EIA addressed who picks the members (the voters, not the Quarterly Court) and how many there are, but it did not speak to district representation. So the AG read § 49-2-201(a)(1) as leaving the district-by-district structure of the 1973 private act in place.

Q: Does this analysis apply to charter or metropolitan counties?
A: No. The EIA's membership cap expressly excludes "counties with a county charter or metropolitan government charter." For those counties the relevant charter governs.

Citations and references

Statutes and private acts:

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1)
• 1973 Tenn. Priv. Acts 44, § 1
• 1992 Tenn. Pub. Acts 535, § 39

Case:

• State ex rel. Strader v. Word, 508 S.W.2d 539 (Tenn. 1974)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2012/op12-008.pdf

Original opinion text

Education Improvement Act - Number of School Board Members
QUESTION
Does the Education Improvement Act of 1992 ("EIA") supersede the provisions of
Chapter 44 of the 1973 Tennessee Private Acts, which sets the number of members for the Maury
County Board of Education at ten members, with one member elected by the Quarterly County
Court from each magisterial district?
OPINION
Yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1) of the EIA generally limits the number of Maury
County School Board members to the number authorized by general law or private act on January
1, 1992, or the number actually serving on January 1, 1993, unless the General Assembly by
subsequent private act authorizes a different number that may be no less than three nor more than
eleven. This statute also provides for popular election by the people of these School Board
members.
ANALYSIS
Chapter 44 of the 1973 Tennessee Private Acts ("Chapter 44") states in relevant part as
follows:
The county board of education of Maury County shall be composed of ten (10)
members, with one (1) member to be elected by the Quarterly County Court of
Maury County from each magisterial district.
1973 Tenn. Priv. Acts 44, § 1.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1)¹ subsequently established, for most Tennessee
counties, the maximum number of school board members in each county, the mechanism by
which that number may be adjusted and how such members are selected. The statute provides:
1 This statute was originally enacted as part of the EIA. 1992 Tenn. Pub. Acts. 535, § 39. The statute has been
amended several times since its original enactment. See 2002 Tenn. Pub. Acts 496, § 1; 1998 Tenn. Pub. Acts 620,
§ 1; 1995 Tenn. Pub. Acts 435, § 1; 1995 Tenn. Pub. Acts 40, § 2. The EIA is designed to create a uniform system
of governance of county, municipal, and special school districts. See Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. 97-054 (Apr. 23, 1997).
Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, there shall be a
board of education elected by the people. Except in counties with
a county charter or metropolitan government charter, the board
shall consist of no more members than the number of members
authorized by general law or private act for boards of education in
existence on January 1, 1992, or the number of members actually
serving on a board on January 1, 1993, except during transition
periods following district reapportionment. In addition to the
membership existing on boards as of January 1, 1992 or January 1,
1993, the general assembly may authorize by private act any
number of school board members that is no less than three (3) nor
Maury County does not have a county charter or metropolitan government charter.
Accordingly, the maximum and minimum number of school board members for the Maury
County School Board is governed by Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1). As provided by that
statute, the maximum number of members of the Maury County School Board is set by the terms
of Private Act 44 (if that private act was still controlling law as of January 1, 1992), or by the
number of members actually serving on the Maury County School Board as of January 1, 1993.
Furthermore, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1), the Legislature can change the number of
Maury County School Board members in the future by private act to any number between three
and eleven, inclusive. See State ex rel. Strader v. Word, 508 S.W.2d 539, 547 (Tenn. 1974) (acts
are superseded as far as necessary to give effect to a general statutory plan of statewide
Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1) also states, "[n]otwithstanding any other law to the
contrary, there shall be a board of education elected by the people." Thus, Tenn. Code Ann. §
49-2-201(a)(1) superseded the provisions in Private Act 44 allowing the Quarterly County Court
to elect members of the Maury County School Board. To the extent Private Act 44 continues to
require representation by district on the Maury County School Board, that requirement does not
Page 2
Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, there shall be a
board of education elected by the people. Except in counties with
a county charter or metropolitan government charter, the board
shall consist of no more members than the number of members
authorized by general law or private act for boards of education in
existence on January 1, 1992, or the number of members actually
serving on a board on January 1, 1993, except during transition
periods following district reapportionment. In addition to the
membership existing on boards as of January 1, 1992 or January 1,
1993, the general assembly may authorize by private act any
number of school board members that is no less than three (3) nor
more than eleven (11).
Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1).
Maury County does not have a county charter or metropolitan government charter.
Accordingly, the maximum and minimum number of school board members for the Maury
County School Board is governed by Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1). As provided by that
statute, the maximum number of members of the Maury County School Board is set by the terms
of Private Act 44 (if that private act was still controlling law as of January 1, 1992), or by the
number of members actually serving on the Maury County School Board as of January 1, 1993.
Furthermore, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1), the Legislature can change the number of
Maury County School Board members in the future by private act to any number between three
and eleven, inclusive. See State ex rel. Strader v. Word, 508 S.W.2d 539, 547 (Tenn. 1974) (acts
are superseded as far as necessary to give effect to a general statutory plan of statewide
applicability).
Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1) also states, “[n]otwithstanding any other law to the
contrary, there shall be a board of education elected by the people.” Thus, Tenn. Code Ann. §
49-2-201(a)(1) superseded the provisions in Private Act 44 allowing the Quarterly County Court
to elect members of the Maury County School Board. To the extent Private Act 44 continues to
require representation by district on the Maury County School Board, that requirement does not
appear to have been superseded by the language of Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1).
ROBERT E. COOPER, JR.
Attorney General and Reporter
Page 3
WILLIAM E. YOUNG
Solicitor General
JAY C. BALLARD
Senior Counsel
Requested by:
The Honorable Sheila Butt
State Representative
106 War Memorial Building
Nashville, TN 37243