(a)(1) At the time of expiration of the current contract held by the Madison County Superintendent of Education, or at the time of any vacancy in the office of county superintendent of education prior to the contract expiration date, the superintendent of education for Madison County shall be elected by those electors of Madison County who reside in those areas of Madison County that are outside the boundaries of any other school system. The county superintendent of education shall be nominated and elected in the same manner as other county officers are nominated and elected under the state election laws. In order to provide for continuity in the county superintendent’s office, the election for the county superintendent of education shall be held either in conjunction with any regularly scheduled countywide election to be held at a time that sufficiently precedes the expiration of the tenure of office of the current county superintendent of education, or at a special election called for the purpose of electing the county superintendent of education that likewise sufficiently precedes the expiration of the county superintendent’s current tenure of office. The election shall be called by the Judge of Probate of Madison County and the cost of the election shall be paid by the county. Subsequent elections shall be held every four years.

(2) The elected superintendent shall take office on the date prescribed by general law and shall serve a term of four years. Any vacancy in the office of county superintendent of education in the time interim between the vacation of the office due to expiration of the contract of the prior county superintendent of education or due to other causes and the assuming of office by the first elected county superintendent of education shall be filled by the county board of education in the manner prescribed by general law. The appointment shall terminate on the date the elected county superintendent of education assumes office. The interim appointee’s compensation shall be set by the county board of education and the appointee shall serve at the pleasure of the county board of education.

(3) Any vacancy in the office of county superintendent of education subsequent to the election of the county superintendent of education pursuant to this section shall be filled by the county board of education for the duration of the unexpired term.

(b) The county superintendent of education shall possess all the qualifications prescribed for county superintendents of education by the general laws of the state, shall possess all the powers granted by the general laws of the state, and shall perform and discharge all the duties of county superintendents of education prescribed by the general laws of the state.

(c) The county superintendent of education shall receive an annual salary of an amount such as shall be set by the Madison County Board of Education.