1. A. The board of education of a district with an average daily membership (ADM) of more than thirty thousand (30,000) students may be expanded to add a member who shall be elected at large for a term of four (4) years and who shall serve as chair of the board. The chair of the board position may be added upon a majority vote of the district board of education to add the position or upon a majority vote of the electors of the district voting in an election on the question, as provided in subsection D of this section. If the board opts to add the chair of the board position or the electors of the district vote to add the chair of the board position, the chair of the board shall be elected at the next regular election of board members, held pursuant to Section 13A-103 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes, following the decision of the board or approval of the question by vote of the district electors.
2. B. The chair of the board of education shall possess the same qualifications as required for other board members, shall assume office as provided for other members of the board of education, shall be a full, voting member of the board, and shall count for purposes of a quorum or a majority, or other requirements based on number of members on the board. The chair shall preside at all meetings of the board of education in accordance with rules of parliamentary procedure which have been adopted by a majority vote of the board, provided that, in the absence of rules adopted by the board, the chair shall determine and set forth the rules of parliamentary procedure that shall apply at board meetings; assemble and control the agenda for board meetings, provided that, upon approval of a majority of the members of the board, an item shall be placed on the agenda for the same or a subsequent meeting, in accordance with the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act; appoint all committees whose appointment is not otherwise provided for by law; and shall sign all warrants ordered by the board of education to be drawn upon the treasurer for school money. The chair of the board shall possess all powers otherwise provided by law for a member of a board of education, all powers provided by law for the president of a board of education, and such other lawful powers as may be conferred upon the chair by majority vote of the board. The chair shall receive compensation and benefits as conferred upon other members of the district board of education.
3. C. For a district in which a chair of the board has been elected, the district board of education, during the meeting at which the chair of the board assumes office, shall elect a vice-chair who shall serve a one-year term and until a successor is elected and qualified. The vice-chair shall perform all duties of the chair of the board in case of the chair's absence or disability. The board shall also elect clerks and deputies as provided in Section 5-119 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The board shall not elect a president or vice president.

4. D. If the district board of education does not opt to add the chair of the board position to the board as provided in subsection A of this section, a proposal to add the chair of the board position may be submitted to the district electors upon adoption of a resolution by the board to submit the question to the district electors or upon petition that is signed by the requisite number of district electors and meets the requirements set forth in this subsection. The following procedures shall be followed to submit the question to the district electors:

   1. 1. If submitted upon petition, the petition shall be on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the Election Board and contain the number of signatures of district electors equivalent to ten percent (10%) of the school district electors voting in the last district-wide general school election. The petition must be submitted to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Within thirty (30) days the State Superintendent shall notify the district board of education and shall present the petition to the county election board located in the county in which the main administrative office of the district is located.
   2. 2. Within thirty (30) days of presentment of the petition to the county election board, the board shall determine whether the signers of the petition are registered voters of the district and whether the petition has the requisite number of signatures of such registered voters. The county election board secretary shall notify the State Superintendent of the board's determination who shall notify the district board of education of the election board's determination.
   3. 3. If the petition is deemed to have sufficient signatures, the district board of education shall call an election on the question by the electors of the district.
   4. 4. The election shall be held not less than sixty (60) days or more than ninety (90) days of the board's adoption of the resolution to submit the question or the board's receipt of notice from the State Superintendent of the sufficiency of the petition unless the election date would fall between the closure of the filing period and the regular school election for board positions conducted pursuant to Section 13A-103 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes. In that event the question shall be presented at the regular district elections. The question shall be approved upon the assent of a majority vote of the electors voting on the question.
5. E. If a district board of education is expanded to include the chair of the board position either by decision of the board or by vote of the district electors, the chair of the board position shall not be abolished except by a majority vote of the voters of the school district voting on such question at a special election called for that purpose. The question may be presented only upon a resolution adopted by three-fourths (3/4) of the board membership or upon petition that meets the requirements set forth in subsection D of this section. If the question is approved, the chair of the board position shall be abolished at the end of the term of the chair who holds the office when the election is held or upon the chair's resignation or vacancy of the office following the election on the question.

Added by Laws 2000, SB 1532, c. 280, § 1, emerg. eff. June 1, 2000.