A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to stagger the terms of the MEMBERS OF THE Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Section 2(a)(5)(i) of Chapter 112 of the 1961 Session Laws reads as rewritten:
"(i)	The Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education shall be composed of nine members who shall continue in office (regardless of the term for which they were originally appointed) until their successors are elected and qualified, as hereinafter provided."
SECTION 2.  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 S.L. 2011‑141, reads as rewritten:
"(ii)	Members of the Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education shall serve staggered four‑year terms. Members shall be elected as follows:

(1)	Two members shall be elected from District 1.
(2)	Four members shall be elected from District 2.
(3)	Three members shall be elected at‑large from all of Forsyth County.

For an at‑large seat, any qualified voter of Forsyth County is eligible to vote. For the district seats, only qualified voters of the district shall be eligible to be candidates and only qualified voters of the district shall be eligible to vote.
The districts are subject to change under G.S. 115C‑37(i)."
SECTION 3.  To implement the staggering of terms, beginning in 2026, all candidates shall be elected and serve as follows:
(1)	Two candidates shall be elected from District 1. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for those seats shall serve a four‑year term, and that seat shall be up for election in 2030 and every four years thereafter. The candidate receiving the second highest number of votes for those seats shall serve a two‑year term, and that seat shall be up for election in 2028 and every four years thereafter.
(2)	Four candidates shall be elected from District 2. The two candidates receiving the highest and second highest number of votes for those seats shall serve a four‑year term, and those seats shall be up for election in 2030 and every four years thereafter. The candidates receiving the third and fourth highest number of votes for those seats shall serve a two‑year term, and those seats shall be up for election in 2028 and every four years thereafter.
(3)	Three candidates shall be elected from the county at large. The candidates receiving the highest and second highest number of votes for those seats shall serve a four‑year term, and those seats shall be up for election in 2030 and every four years thereafter. The candidate receiving the third highest number of votes for those seats shall serve a two‑year term, and that seat shall be up for election in 2028 and every four years thereafter.
SECTION 4.  This act does not affect the terms of office of any person elected in 2022 to the Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education. Each member of the Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education elected in 2022, or any member appointed to fill a vacancy for a member elected in 2022, shall serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.
SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to elections held in 2026 and thereafter.