Thompson, 062220 SCAGO, AGO 3241

• Case Date: June 22, 2020
• Court: South Carolina

Richard E. Thompson, Jr., Esq. AGO 3241 No. 3241 South Carolina Attorney General Opinion State of South Carolina Office of the Attorney General June 22, 2020          Richard E. Thompson, Jr., Esq.          Thompson & King          P.O. Box 14230          Anderson, SC 29624          Dear Mr. Thompson:          Attorney General Alan Wilson has referred your letter to the Opinions section. Your letter states the following:

I serve as local counsel to the Anderson County Board of Education. One of the duties of the board is to appoint replacement trustees to serve in the event a trustee dies, resigns, or a vacancy exists for any reason. See 1976 S.C. Code Section 59-19-60.

The duly elected trustee in the above referenced seat in Anderson County District Two recently died while in office. As a result of this vacancy, the county board has begun the process of selecting a replacement trustee.

A question has arisen as to how long the replacement trustee will serve; is it until a successor is elected in the 2020 general election or the 2022 general election? This question is believed to have arisen based on 1982 Act No. 509 and 1983 Act No. 227.

         Law/Analysis          It is this Office's opinion that a court would hold a vacancy on one of the boards of trustees of the school districts of Anderson County is initially filled by appointment by the County Board of Education and that such an appointee only serves until a successor takes office on January first following the next general election. The 2019 supplement to the South Carolina Code Index to Local Laws cites Act 227 of 1983 (the "1983 Act") as the appropriate legislation to reference concerning vacancies on a school district board of trustees in Anderson County. The Act explicitly amended Act 509 of 1982, § 3 (the "1982 Act"). Section 3 of the 1982 Act read, - "In case of a vacancy in the board of trustees, such vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment by the County Board of Education." (emphasis added). The 1983 Act, however, amended this language to read, "In case of a vacancy in the board...