A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to create a staggerING of the terms of members of the Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education and to revise elections for the wake county Board of education.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

PART I. CREATE A STAGGERING OF THE terms of members of the Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education
SECTION 1.(a)  Section 2(a)(5)(ii) of Chapter 112 of the 1961 Session Laws, as rewritten by Chapter 466 of the 1985 Session Laws, and as amended by Chapter 696 of the 1991 Session Laws, S.L. 2009‑72, and Section 2(b) of S.L. 2011‑141, reads as rewritten:
"(ii)	Effective on the first Monday in December 1986, the Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education shall be composed of nine members, serving four‑year staggered terms. The terms of those elected shall expire on the first Monday in December.
In 2022, to implement staggering of the terms, all members shall be elected and serve as follows:
(1)	Two persons shall be elected from District 1. The person receiving the highest number of votes shall serve a four‑year term, and such seat shall be up for election in 2026 and every four years thereafter. The person receiving the second highest number of votes shall serve a two‑year term, and such seat shall be up for election in 2024 and every four years thereafter.
(2)	Four persons shall be elected from District 2. The two persons receiving the highest and second highest number of votes shall serve a four‑year term, and such seats shall be up for election in 2026 and every four years thereafter. The persons receiving the third and fourth highest number of votes shall serve a two‑year term, and such seats shall be up for election in 2024 and every four years thereafter.
(3)	Three members shall be elected at large from all of Forsyth County. The persons receiving the highest and second highest number of votes shall serve a four‑year term, and such seats shall be up for election in 2026 and every four years thereafter. The person receiving the third highest number of votes shall serve a two‑year term, and such seat shall be up for election in 2024 and every four years thereafter.

For an at‑large seat, any qualified voter of Forsyth County is eligible to vote. For the district seats, only residents of the district shall be eligible to be candidates and only qualified voters of the district shall be eligible to vote.
The districts as established for the purpose of this subparagraph are subject to change under G.S. 115C‑37(i)."
SECTION 1.(b)  Section 2(a)(5)(i) of Chapter 112 of the 1961 Session Laws reads as rewritten:
"(i)	The board shall be composed of nine persons and the members of the board shall continue in office (regardless of the terms for which they were originally appointed) until their successors are elected and qualified, as hereinafter provided."
SECTION 1.(c)  This section does not affect the terms of office of any person elected in 2018 to the Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education. Each member of the Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education elected in 2018, or any member appointed to fill a vacancy for a member elected in 2018, shall serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.
SECTION 1.(d)  This section is effective when it becomes law.

PART II. revise elections for the wake county Board of education
SECTION 2.(a)  Section 7 of Chapter 717, Session Laws of 1975, as amended by Sections 2 and 3 of Chapter 321, Session Laws of 1977, and as rewritten by Section 3 of Chapter 742 of the 1981 Session Laws and amended by Section 2 of S.L. 2013‑110, and as ordered by Raleigh Wake Citizens Association, et al., v. Wake County Board of Elections, et al., Court Order 5:15‑CV‑00156‑D, Document 104, dated August 9, 2016, and Raleigh Wake Citizens Association, et al., v. Wake County Board of Elections, et al., Consent Decree 5:15‑CV‑00156‑D, Document 129, dated December 28, 2017, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 7. (a) Beginning in 2022, members of the Wake County Board of Education from Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 shall be elected by the nonpartisan plurality election method in accordance with G.S. 163‑292 and G.S. 163‑294.2 to a term to expire on the first Monday in December of 2025. Only persons who are registered to vote in the district shall be permitted to file a notice of candidacy for election in that district. Only the qualified voters of that district may vote in that election. Notwithstanding G.S. 163‑294.2(c) and G.S. 163‑106, candidates seeking office shall file their notices of candidacy with the board of elections no earlier than 12:00 noon on the second Monday in June and no later than 12:00 noon on the first Friday in July (except if that is the 4th day of July then at 12:00 noon on the next business day) preceding the election. Such election shall be governed by the provisions of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes and shall be held to coincide with the general election for county officers in even‑numbered years.
(b)	In accordance with G.S. 115C‑37(i), following the return of the 2020 census, the Wake County Board of Education shall revise the electoral district boundaries established in 2011 by that Board as needed to correct for population imbalances. Those electoral districts shall be used for elections beginning in 2022. The Wake County Board of Elections shall make subsequent revisions to electoral district boundaries in accordance with G.S. 115C‑37(i).
(c)	The four members of the Wake County Board of Education who were elected in 2020 for two‑year terms from Districts 1, 2, 7, and 9, or any member appointed by the remaining members of the board to fill a vacancy for one of those seats, shall have their terms extended for one year until the first Monday in December of 2023, and shall serve until a successor has been elected and qualified."
SECTION 2.(b)  Section 7 of Chapter 717, Session Laws of 1975, as amended by Sections 2 and 3 of Chapter 321, Session Laws of 1977, and as rewritten by Section 3 of Chapter 742 of the 1981 Session Laws and amended by Section 2 of S.L. 2013‑110, and as amended by subsection (a) of this section, and as ordered by Raleigh Wake Citizens Association, et al., v. Wake County Board of Elections, et al., Court Order 5:15‑CV‑00156‑D, Document 104, dated August 9, 2016, and Raleigh Wake Citizens Association, et al., v. Wake County Board of Elections, et al., Consent Decree 5:15‑CV‑00156‑D, Document 129, dated December 28, 2017, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 7. (a) The Wake County Board of Education shall consist of nine members who shall be elected by the nonpartisan election and runoff method in accordance with G.S. 163‑279(a)(4), 163‑293, and 163‑294.2. Beginning in 2023 and quadrennially thereafter, elections shall be held for Districts 1, 2, 7, and 9. Beginning in 2025 and quadrennially thereafter, elections shall be held for Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8. Only persons who are registered to vote in the district shall be permitted to file a notice of candidacy for election in that district. Only the qualified voters of that district may vote in that election. Such election shall be governed by the provisions of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes.
(b)	In accordance with G.S. 115C‑37(i), following the return of the 2020 census, the Wake County Board of Education shall revise the electoral district boundaries established in 2011 by that Board as needed to correct for population imbalances. Those electoral districts shall be used for elections beginning in 2022. The Wake County Board of Elections shall make subsequent revisions to electoral district boundaries in accordance with G.S. 115C‑37(i).
	"
SECTION 2.(c)  Section 5 of S.L. 2013‑110 is repealed.
SECTION 2.(d)  Subsections (a) and (c) of this section are effective when they become law. Subsection (b) of this section becomes effective January 1, 2023. Each member of the Wake County Board of Education elected in 2020 from Districts 1, 2, 7, and 9, and elected in 2022 from Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8, or any member appointed by the remaining members of the Board to fill a vacancy of any of these seats, shall serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.

PART III. EFFECTIVE DATe
SECTION 3.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.