Can a Virginia town council member also serve on an elected county school board?

Plain-English summary

The Lunenburg County Electoral Board secretary asked AG Jay Jones whether a member of the Town of Kenbridge's elected town council could also be elected to Lunenburg County's elected school board. The AG responded that this issue had been settled by two AG opinions issued in 2011 and reaffirmed those conclusions.

The 2011 opinions (2011 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 71 and 124) read § 22.1-30 of the Virginia Code (the school-board-membership-restriction provision), as amended by the General Assembly in 1993 to remove the words "or serve." The amendment was meaningful: pre-1993 language barred a person from "serving" on the school board if they held certain other offices, while post-amendment language only restricts being "appointed" to the board for that county. Because the question presented an elected school board (not an appointed one), § 22.1-30 does not apply at all. There is no constitutional prohibition either; Article VII, §§ 5 and 6 of the Virginia Constitution address the qualifications and election of city, town, and county officials but do not bar dual service in these particular roles.

§ 22.1-30 has not been amended since 2011. AG Jones invoked the doctrine of legislative acquiescence, citing Beck v. Shelton, 267 Va. 482 (2004), and Browning-Ferris, Inc. v. Commonwealth, 225 Va. 157 (1983): "The legislature is presumed to have had knowledge of the Attorney General's interpretation of the statutes, and its failure to make corrective amendments evinces legislative acquiescence in the Attorney General's view." Without legislative correction in fifteen years, the 2011 reading stands.

The opinion also flagged that the Conflict of Interests Act (§§ 2.2-3100 through 2.2-3131) may be triggered by particular dual-service scenarios, such as a school-funding decision before the town council that affects the school board, but enforcement is reserved to the local Commonwealth's Attorney, not the AG, and the existence of potential conflict scenarios does not bar the dual candidacy itself.

What this means for you

If you are running for both a town council seat and an elected school board seat

The opinion holds you can serve in both if elected: there is no statutory or constitutional bar in this configuration. The opinion notes the Conflict of Interests Act may have implications in particular situations, and that those are for the local Commonwealth's Attorney to investigate, but it holds the potential for such conflicts does not bar the dual service itself.

If you are an electoral board secretary or registrar

You may certify a candidate for both offices in the same election cycle without flagging an eligibility problem on the dual-service ground. The candidate's own decision to seek both offices is permitted.

If you are a Commonwealth's Attorney

Conflict-of-interest enforcement under §§ 2.2-3100 to 2.2-3131 remains your jurisdiction. The dual service is permissible, but if specific transactions or matters create disqualifying personal interests, you have the authority and the duty to investigate.

If you are a citizen or voter

A candidate who runs for both offices and wins both can serve in both. The arrangement is constitutional and statutorily permitted under current Virginia law.

If you are a town or county attorney

For this specific combination, the opinion holds there is no bar: § 22.1-30 (after the 1993 deletion of "or serve") reaches only appointment, so it does not engage when the school board is elected, and neither Article VII, § 5 nor § 6 prohibits the dual service. The opinion reaffirms the 2011 opinions and leans on legislative acquiescence, the General Assembly not having amended § 22.1-30 since. It addresses only this combination, so a different pairing of offices would call for its own analysis.

Common questions

Q: Why does it matter that the school board is elected rather than appointed?
A: Because § 22.1-30 specifically addresses appointment, not service. Post-1993, the statute reads "[m]ay, during his term of office, be appointed as a member of the school board for such county . . ." If the school board is appointed, the statute restricts who can be put on it. If the school board is elected, the appointment-restriction statute does not engage. Voters, not the appointing authority, decide.

Q: What is "legislative acquiescence"?
A: A doctrine of statutory interpretation. When the AG construes a statute and the legislature does not act to amend the statute over time, courts treat the legislature as having tacitly accepted the AG's reading. The Virginia Supreme Court applied this in Beck v. Shelton and Browning-Ferris.

Q: Does this opinion cover every dual-office combination?
A: No. It addresses only the specific pairing of an elected town council seat and an elected county school board seat. The opinion does not opine on other combinations, so a different pairing would need its own analysis under whatever office-eligibility statutes and constitutional provisions apply to it.

Q: What if a conflict of interest arises after election?
A: The opinion points to the Conflict of Interests Act (§§ 2.2-3100 to 2.2-3131) and says the local Commonwealth's Attorney has the duty to investigate conflicts as they come to attention. It also makes clear that the possibility of such conflicts does not bar the dual service in the first place.

Q: Did the 1993 amendment make a substantive difference?
A: Yes. Before 1993, the statute barred both appointment and service. After, it only bars appointment. The 2011 AG opinion and this 2026 reaffirmation read the deletion as deliberate.

Background and statutory framework

Virginia's school-board-eligibility statute, § 22.1-30, originally restricted certain officeholders from being either appointed to or serving on a county school board. The 1993 amendment narrowed the restriction to appointment only, leaving service untouched. The 2011 AG opinions used that text to conclude that elected school boards (in localities where the General Assembly had moved to elected boards) were not subject to the restriction at all.

Article VII of the Virginia Constitution establishes the framework for local government officers. § 5 covers county officers, § 6 covers cities and towns. Neither provision prohibits a town council member from also serving on a county school board.

The State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act, §§ 2.2-3100 through 2.2-3131, addresses the natural follow-up question: when a person holds two local offices, what happens when their personal or business interest converges across both bodies? The Act requires disclosure, recusal, and in some cases prohibits transactions outright. It does not, however, function as an eligibility bar.

This 2026 opinion contains nothing new doctrinally. Its function is to confirm that the 2011 conclusions remain Virginia law in 2026, and to do so with the full weight of legislative acquiescence: the General Assembly has had fifteen years and multiple sessions to amend § 22.1-30 if it disagreed, and has not.

Citations

• Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-30 (school board membership; 1993 amendment)
• Va. Const. art. VII, § 5 (county officials)
• Va. Const. art. VII, § 6 (city and town officials)
• Va. Code Ann. §§ 2.2-3100 to 2.2-3131 (State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act)
• 2011 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 71 (town council member can be elected to county school board)
• 2011 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 124 (planning commission member can be elected to county school board)
• Beck v. Shelton, 267 Va. 482 (2004) (legislative acquiescence)
• Browning-Ferris, Inc. v. Commonwealth, 225 Va. 157 (1983) (same)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.oag.state.va.us/annual-reports-opinions/official-opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2026/26-024-Wright-Issued.pdf

Original opinion text

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA

Office of the Attorney General

202 North Ninth Street
renee General Richmond, Virginia 23219
J 804-786-2071

Fax 804-786-1991
Virginia Relay Services
800-828-1120

May 5, 2026 Tl

Oliver L. Wright, If

Secretary

Lunenburg County Electoral Board
160 Courthouse Square
Lunenburg, Virginia 23952

Dear Secretary Wright:

I am responding to your request for an official advisory opinion in accordance with § 2.2-505 of
the Code of Virginia.

You ask two questions:

First, whether a member of an elected town council (Town of Kenbridge) can also serve as an
elected school board member in Lunenburg County. Second, if he cannot hold both which office is this
person lawfully holding.

This issue has been the subject of two opinions of this Office in 2011:

In 2011 Op. Va. Att’y Gen. 71, the Attorney General issued an opinion that a town council member
could also be elected to the county school board. In this Opinion, there is no constitutional bar arising from
either Article VII, § 6 or § 5 of the Virginia Constitution, nor any prohibition arising from § 22.1-30 since
the school board is elected. There may be Conflict of Interest Act (Sections 2.2-3100 through 3131)
implications that the local Commonwealth’s Attorney has a duty to investigate as it comes to that person’s
attention; however, there is no constitutional nor statutory prohibition to serving as an elected town council
member and the county school board provided, he is elected to both.

In 2011 Op. Va. Att’y Gen. 124, this Office rendered an opinion that an appointed member of a
county planning commission can be elected to the county school board. In this Opinion, this Office stated
that the Virginia General Assembly in 1993 removed the words “or serve” from § 22.1-30 so it reads thus:
“(Mlay, during his term of office, be appointed as a member of the school board for such county. . .”

I send you as a courtesy a copy of both prior Opinions.

Section 22.1-30 has not been amended by the General Assembly since the issuance of these two
opinions. The Supreme Court of Virginia held in 2004, quoting a 1983 prior decision that “‘The legislature
is presumed to have had knowledge of the Attorney General’s interpretation of the statutes, and its failure
to make corrective amendments evinces legislative acquiescence in the Attorney General’s view.’” Beck v.

Oliver L. Wright, II
May 1, 2026
Page 2

Shelton, 267 Va. 482, 492 (2004) (quoting Browning-Ferris, Inc. v. Commonwealth, 225 Va. 157, 161-62
(1983)). I see no reason to change these opinions at this time.

Since the member of the elected Kenbridge Town Council may serve as an elected member of the
Lunenburg County School Board, there is no need to reach the second question posed in your request.
Sincerely,

Jay Jones

Attorney General