Request By:
Mr. Darvin K. Estes
Superintendent
Bath County Schools
Owingsville, Kentucky 40360
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General.; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in answer to your letter of November 3 in which you request an opinion concerning the following three questions:
"If a teacher or other school employee is chosen to serve as an election official by the County Election Committee, is the person required to serve? If the person serves, is the Board of Eduation required to pay the person for a day's work when missed because of the election? Are election officers paid?"
In answer to your initial question as to whether or not a school teacher is required to serve, if chosen, as an election officer by the county election board, the answer would be in the negative.
KRS 117.045 simply provides that the county board of elections shall select the election officers from a list of four (4) names submitted to the board for each precinct by the respective party executive committees. From this list, the board of elections selects those who are to serve, however, there is nothing in this statute or any other that would prevent a person so selected from refusing to do so for whatever reason he may have. If he refuses, then a vacancy occurs which is to be filled by the county board from whatever names are left on the list submitted by the party committee. If there are none, then the board makes its own selection.
Concerning your second question as to whether or not the board of education is required to pay a teacher for the day's work that he misses because of service as a precinct election officer, our response again would be in the negative since such service would require the teacher to be away from school work for the entire day. In other words, we do not believe that the teacher can be paid compensation from school funds for the day on which he does not perform any teaching duties. See OAG 62-468, copy enclosed.
Your last question is whether or not election officers are paid for performing their duties. The answer would be in the affirmative and we refer you initially to KRS 117.045(4) which provides that each election officer shall be paid a minimum of fifteen dollars ($15) per day and such an additional amount as may be determined by the county board of elections, with the approval of the fiscal court. All election officers are also authorized to be paid a minimum of five dollars ($5) by the county for attending the preelection instructional session required by KRS 117.185.