Request By:
Mrs. Janet Duty
231 Washington Avenue
Bellevue, Kentucky 41073
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in answer to your letter of August 24 in which you refer to the fact that you are a member of the Bellevue Board of Education and would like to know whether or not you could serve as deputy clerk in the newly formed circuit court system in Campbell County, which involves your holding a civil service position.
Under the new court sytem, this office has taken the position that circuit court clerks are state officers and, as a consequence, could serve as a member of a school board without creating a constitutional or statutory incompatible situation, since both positions are considered state offices. See OAG 76-509, copy attached. Of course, since the office of circuit clerk is a state office, a deputy circuit clerk would also be considered a state officer and, as a consequence, there would be no constitutional or statutory incompatibility between this office and that of school board membership for the reasons cited in the attached opinion.
Since we do not have a copy of the civil service regulations governing the position of deputy clerk, we cannot determine whether or not any provision exists that would prohibit a civil service employee from holding another office [such as a member of a school board] or from becoming a candidate for such office in the future. We suggest that you consult with the local commonwealth or county attorney concerning this question.