{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/22.1-53.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/22.1-53.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/22.1-53.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/22.1-53.html"}],"law_id":80305,"edition_id":1,"section_id":80305,"structure_id":13938,"section_number":"22.1-53","catch_line":"How composed; appointment and terms of members; vacancies; tie breaker","history":"Code 1950, \u00a7 22-100.3; 1954, c. 391; 1956, c. 671; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 161; 1980, c. 559.","full_text":"A\n\nThe school board of each school division to which the provisions of this article are applicable shall be composed of no fewer than six nor more than nine members, the exact number to be determined by the governing body of the county or city if the school division is composed of less than one county or city or by agreement of the governing bodies of the counties and cities in the school division if composed of part or all of more than one county or city. Unless the governing bodies of the counties and cities in a school division composed of part or all of more than one county or city agree upon some other equitable and reasonable criteria, the number of members of the school board from each county and city or part thereof in the division shall be apportioned according to the population in the school division of each such county or city or part thereof, provided that each county or city shall have at least one member.B\n\nWithin sixty days prior to the effective date for the formation of the division school board, the governing body of each county and city or part thereof in the school division shall appoint the required number of members of the division school board from such county or city as follows: if there be one member, he shall be appointed for a term of four years; if there be two members, one shall be appointed for a term of two years and one for a term of four years; if there be three members, one shall be appointed for a term of two years, one for a term of three years, and one for a term of four years; if there be four members, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, one for a term of three years, and one for a term of four years; if there be five members, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, one for a term of three years and two for terms of four years; if there be six members, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, two for terms of three years and two for terms of four years. Within sixty days prior to the first day of July in each and every year thereafter, there shall be appointed by such governing body for a term of four years beginning the first day of July next following their appointment, successors to the members of the division school board appointed by it whose terms expire on the thirtieth day of June in each such year. Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the division school board shall be filled for the unexpired term by the governing body appointing such member.C\n\nIf each county or city in a division composed of part or all of more than one county or city has an equal number of members, the governing bodies concerned shall jointly select for a term of four years one person who shall be a member of the division school board only for the purpose of voting in case of an equal division of the regular members of the board on any question requiring the action of such board. Such person shall be known as the tie breaker. If the governing bodies are not able to agree as to the person who shall be the tie breaker, then upon application by any of the governing bodies involved to a circuit court having jurisdiction in such school division, the judge thereof shall name the tie breaker and his decision shall be final.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":287463,"text":"The school board of each school division to which the provisions of this article are applicable shall be composed of no fewer than six nor more than nine members, the exact number to be determined by the governing body of the county or city if the school division is composed of less than one county or city or by agreement of the governing bodies of the counties and cities in the school division if composed of part or all of more than one county or city. Unless the governing bodies of the counties and cities in a school division composed of part or all of more than one county or city agree upon some other equitable and reasonable criteria, the number of members of the school board from each county and city or part thereof in the division shall be apportioned according to the population in the school division of each such county or city or part thereof, provided that each county or city shall have at least one member.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":287464,"text":"Within sixty days prior to the effective date for the formation of the division school board, the governing body of each county and city or part thereof in the school division shall appoint the required number of members of the division school board from such county or city as follows: if there be one member, he shall be appointed for a term of four years; if there be two members, one shall be appointed for a term of two years and one for a term of four years; if there be three members, one shall be appointed for a term of two years, one for a term of three years, and one for a term of four years; if there be four members, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, one for a term of three years, and one for a term of four years; if there be five members, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, one for a term of three years and two for terms of four years; if there be six members, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, two for terms of three years and two for terms of four years. Within sixty days prior to the first day of July in each and every year thereafter, there shall be appointed by such governing body for a term of four years beginning the first day of July next following their appointment, successors to the members of the division school board appointed by it whose terms expire on the thirtieth day of June in each such year. Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the division school board shall be filled for the unexpired term by the governing body appointing such member.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":287465,"text":"If each county or city in a division composed of part or all of more than one county or city has an equal number of members, the governing bodies concerned shall jointly select for a term of four years one person who shall be a member of the division school board only for the purpose of voting in case of an equal division of the regular members of the board on any question requiring the action of such board. Such person shall be known as the tie breaker. If the governing bodies are not able to agree as to the person who shall be the tie breaker, then upon application by any of the governing bodies involved to a circuit court having jurisdiction in such school division, the judge thereof shall name the tie breaker and his decision shall be final.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B"}},"ancestry":[{"id":13938,"edition_id":1,"name":"School Boards in Other School Divisions","identifier":"6","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13937,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:21","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:21","permalink":{"id":183949,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13938,"identifier":"6","token":"22.1\/5\/6","url":"\/22.1\/5\/6\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13937,"edition_id":1,"name":"School Boards; Selection, Qualification and Salaries of Members","identifier":"5","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12823,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:21","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:21","permalink":{"id":183811,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13937,"identifier":"5","token":"22.1\/5","url":"\/22.1\/5\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12823,"edition_id":1,"name":"Education","identifier":"22.1","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","permalink":{"id":180949,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12823,"identifier":"22.1","token":"22.1","url":"\/22.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":70600,"structure_id":13938,"section_number":"22.1-52","catch_line":"Application of article; single school board required","url":"\/22.1-52\/","token":"22.1\/5\/6\/22.1-52","metadata":false},{"id":80305,"structure_id":13938,"section_number":"22.1-53","catch_line":"How composed; appointment and terms of members; vacancies; tie breaker","url":"\/22.1-53\/","token":"22.1\/5\/6\/22.1-53","metadata":false},{"id":54994,"structure_id":13938,"section_number":"22.1-54","catch_line":"Members need not be appointed by districts","url":"\/22.1-54\/","token":"22.1\/5\/6\/22.1-54","metadata":false},{"id":56769,"structure_id":13938,"section_number":"22.1-55","catch_line":"Compensation of members","url":"\/22.1-55\/","token":"22.1\/5\/6\/22.1-55","metadata":false},{"id":78663,"structure_id":13938,"section_number":"22.1-56","catch_line":"Transfer of title to school property; adjudication of ownership","url":"\/22.1-56\/","token":"22.1\/5\/6\/22.1-56","metadata":false},{"id":70037,"structure_id":13938,"section_number":"22.1-57","catch_line":"Effective date for formation of board","url":"\/22.1-57\/","token":"22.1\/5\/6\/22.1-57","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":70600,"structure_id":13938,"section_number":"22.1-52","catch_line":"Application of article; single school board required","url":"\/22.1-52\/","token":"22.1\/5\/6\/22.1-52","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":54994,"structure_id":13938,"section_number":"22.1-54","catch_line":"Members need not be appointed by districts","url":"\/22.1-54\/","token":"22.1\/5\/6\/22.1-54","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/22.1-53\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 3 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1954, chapter 391; in 1956, chapter 671; in 1980, chapter 559.<\/p>","references":[{"id":79875,"section_number":"22.1-126.1","catch_line":"Acquisition of property for educational purposes by counties, cities and towns","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-126.1\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":183955,"object_type":"law","relational_id":80305,"identifier":"22.1-53","token":"22.1\/5\/6\/22.1-53","url":"\/22.1-53\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/22.1-53\/","token":"22.1\/5\/6\/22.1-53","dublin_core":{"Title":"How composed; appointment and terms of members; vacancies; tie breaker","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 22.1-53","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> The school board<\/span> of each school division to which the provisions of this article are applicable shall be composed of no fewer than six nor more than nine members, the exact number to be determined by the governing body<\/span> of the county or city if the school division is composed of less than one county or city or by agreement of the governing bodies of the counties and cities in the school division if composed of part or all of more than one county or city. Unless the governing bodies of the counties and cities in a school division composed of part or all of more than one county or city agree upon some other equitable<\/span> and reasonable criteria, the number of members of the school board<\/span> from each county and city or part thereof in the division shall be apportioned according to the population in the school division of each such county or city or part thereof, provided that each county or city shall have at least one member. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> Within sixty days prior to the effective date for the formation of the division school board<\/span>, the governing body<\/span> of each county and city or part thereof in the school division shall appoint the required number of members of the division school board<\/span> from such county or city as follows: if there be one member, he shall be appointed for a term of four years; if there be two members, one shall be appointed for a term of two years and one for a term of four years; if there be three members, one shall be appointed for a term of two years, one for a term of three years, and one for a term of four years; if there be four members, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, one for a term of three years, and one for a term of four years; if there be five members, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, one for a term of three years and two for terms of four years; if there be six members, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, two for terms of three years and two for terms of four years. Within sixty days prior to the first day of July in each and every year thereafter, there shall be appointed by such governing body<\/span> for a term of four years beginning the first day of July next following their appointment, successors to the members of the division school board<\/span> appointed by it whose terms expire on the thirtieth day of June in each such year. Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the division school board<\/span> shall be filled for the unexpired term by the governing body<\/span> appointing such member. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> If each county or city in a division composed of part or all of more than one county or city has an equal number of members, the governing bodies concerned shall jointly select for a term of four years one person who shall be a member of the division school board<\/span> only for the purpose of voting in case of an equal division of the regular members of the board on any question requiring the action of such board. Such person shall be known as the tie breaker. If the governing bodies are not able to agree as to the person who shall be the tie breaker, then upon application by any of the governing bodies involved to a circuit<\/span> court<\/span> having jurisdiction<\/span> in such school division, the judge<\/span> thereof shall name the tie breaker and his decision shall be final. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nHOW COMPOSED; APPOINTMENT AND TERMS OF MEMBERS; VACANCIES; TIE BREAKER (\u00a7\n22.1-53)\n\nA. The school board of each school division to which the provisions of this\narticle are applicable shall be composed of no fewer than six nor more than nine\nmembers, the exact number to be determined by the governing body of the county\nor city if the school division is composed of less than one county or city or by\nagreement of the governing bodies of the counties and cities in the school\ndivision if composed of part or all of more than one county or city. Unless the\ngoverning bodies of the counties and cities in a school division composed of\npart or all of more than one county or city agree upon some other equitable and\nreasonable criteria, the number of members of the school board from each county\nand city or part thereof in the division shall be apportioned according to the\npopulation in the school division of each such county or city or part thereof,\nprovided that each county or city shall have at least one member.\n\nB. Within sixty days prior to the effective date for the formation of the\ndivision school board, the governing body of each county and city or part\nthereof in the school division shall appoint the required number of members of\nthe division school board from such county or city as follows: if there be one\nmember, he shall be appointed for a term of four years; if there be two members,\none shall be appointed for a term of two years and one for a term of four years;\nif there be three members, one shall be appointed for a term of two years, one\nfor a term of three years, and one for a term of four years; if there be four\nmembers, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two\nyears, one for a term of three years, and one for a term of four years; if there\nbe five members, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term\nof two years, one for a term of three years and two for terms of four years; if\nthere be six members, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a\nterm of two years, two for terms of three years and two for terms of four years.\nWithin sixty days prior to the first day of July in each and every year\nthereafter, there shall be appointed by such governing body for a term of four\nyears beginning the first day of July next following their appointment,\nsuccessors to the members of the division school board appointed by it whose\nterms expire on the thirtieth day of June in each such year. Any vacancy\noccurring in the membership of the division school board shall be filled for the\nunexpired term by the governing body appointing such member.\n\nC. If each county or city in a division composed of part or all of more than one\ncounty or city has an equal number of members, the governing bodies concerned\nshall jointly select for a term of four years one person who shall be a member\nof the division school board only for the purpose of voting in case of an equal\ndivision of the regular members of the board on any question requiring the\naction of such board. Such person shall be known as the tie breaker. If the\ngoverning bodies are not able to agree as to the person who shall be the tie\nbreaker, then upon application by any of the governing bodies involved to a\ncircuit court having jurisdiction in such school division, the judge thereof\nshall name the tie breaker and his decision shall be final.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1950, \u00a7 22-100.3; 1954, c. 391; 1956, c. 671; 1971, Ex. Sess., c.\n161; 1980, c. 559.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}