Video: Lawmakers Racing To Pass Bill For Replacing Superintendents

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi lawmakers are considering a measure that would let school boards appoint replacements for elected school superintendents who resign in the next three years.

In 2016, the Legislature enacted a law making all 55 elected superintendents appointed beginning in 2020.

Webster County Superintendent Jack Treloar, who was elected, resigned Dec. 31. House Education Committee Chairman John Moore, a Brandon Republican, says it would cost the county $60,000 to elect a school chief to serve only part of a term.

House Bill 32 would allow school boards to appoint superintendents to fill any vacancy in the state.

Moore says lawmakers must move quickly on the bill to beat a deadline requiring Webster County to set an election within 10 days, explaining his committee’s unusual action on the session’s first day.