The Mississippi Delta Community College Board of Trustees chair position will remain vacant for at least a couple of weeks, perhaps longer.
That all depends on whether a new trustee is nominated and voted on at the next meeting of the Sunflower County Board of Supervisors.
An opinion handed down on July 26 by the Attorney General states that the board position, which was held by former Sunflower County Chancery Clerk Paula Sykes until the term expired on June 30, is now vacant, and it is up to the board of supervisors to fill it.
Board Attorney Johnny McWilliams sent a request for opinion to the AG’s office earlier this summer after discussions were held about the appointment in multiple board meetings, with no action being taken.
Current District 3 Supervisor Dennis Holmes holds this nomination, but he has opted not to nominate anyone to the MDCC board in previous meetings. Holmes is set to retire at the end of his term.
In the June 30, 2018 MDCC Financial Statements, Sykes “announced her retirement as of June 30, 2019.”
However, Sykes could be reappointed.
Whether it be Sykes’ name brought back up for nomination or another prospective board member, it appears from the AG’s opinion that it will have to be Holmes, and not his replacement, who nominates, and it will have to be the current board that votes on it.
“In your factual scenario, the office of the trustee became vacant by operation of law upon the expiration of the statutory term of office as there is no holdover provision authorizing the trustee to remain in office,” the opinion, signed by Special Assistant Attorney General Avery Mounger Lee said. “The Board of Supervisors is statutorily-authorized to make an appointment to fill the vacancy. In fact, the Board of Supervisors is legally required to make that appointment within a reasonable time and will be derelict in its duties if it refuses to do so.”
McWilliams had been uncertain about the board’s responsibility to declare the position vacant. He stated at a previous meeting that he was unsure if that duty fell on the supervisors or the MDCC board itself.
Hood’s office settled that by stating “Since the member’s term expired on June 30, 2019, the Board of Supervisors has the authority to declare the office vacant and make an appointment to fill the vacancy.”
The other question of whether Sykes could “hold over” the position after it expired was also cleared up.
“The position in question becomes vacant upon the expiration of the term of the trustee and will remain vacant until a successor is appointed,” the opinion said.
The opinion is dated July 26, 2019, but the issue was raised and the opinion was not read at the Monday meeting of the Board of Supervisors.
