GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2021

H                                                                                                                                                    1

HOUSE BILL 774

Short Title:      Nonpartisan Boards of Education Statewide.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representatives Everitt, Hurtado, and John (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to:	Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

May 4, 2021

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to require that every election for a board of education in the state be held as A nonpartisan election.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑37 reads as rewritten:

"§ 115C‑37.  Election of board members.

(a)        Method of Election. – The county boards of education shall be elected on a nonpartisan basis at the time of the primary election in 1970 and biennially thereafter. The names of the candidates shall be printed on the ballots without reference to any party affiliation and any qualified voter residing in the county shall be entitled to vote such ballots. Notwithstanding any provision of G.S. 153A‑3 to the contrary, a local act shall not supersede the method of nonpartisan election provided for in this subsection. Except as otherwise provided herein, the election shall be conducted according to the provisions of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes then governing primary elections.

The terms of office of the members shall be staggered so as nearly equal to one half as possible shall expire every two years.

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(c)        City Board of Education. – The board of education for any city administrative unit shall be appointed or elected as now provided by law. If the board of education is elected, it shall be elected biennially on a nonpartisan basis. Notwithstanding any provision of G.S. 160A‑3 to the contrary, a local act shall not supersede the method of nonpartisan election provided for in this subsection.

If no provision is now made by the law for the filling of vacancies in the membership of for appointed members of any city board of education, such vacancy may shall be filled by the governing body of the city or town embraced by said the administrative unit. In the event that any such vacancy is not filled in this manner within 30 days, the State Board of Education may shall fill such the vacancy.

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(e) Vacancies in Nominations for Membership on County Boards. – If any candidate nominated on a partisan basis shall die, resign, or for any reason become ineligible or disqualified between the date of his nomination and the time for the election, such vacancy caused thereby may be filled by the actions of the county executive committee of the political party of such candidate.

(f)        Vacancies in Office. – All vacancies in the membership of the boards of education whose members are elected pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section by death, resignation, or other causes shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the board, of a person to serve until the next election of members of such board, at which time the remaining unexpired term of the office in which the vacancy occurs shall be filled by election.

(g)        Eligibility for Board Membership; Holding Other Offices. – Any person possessing the qualifications for election to public office set forth in Article VI, Sec. 6 of the Constitution of North Carolina shall be eligible to serve as a member of a local board of education: Provided, however, that any person elected or appointed to a local board of education, and also employed by that board of education, shall resign his or her employment before taking office as a member of that board of education.

Membership on a board of education is hereby declared to be an office that, with the exceptions provided above, may be held concurrently with any appointive office, pursuant to Article VI, Sec. 9 of the Constitution, but any person holding an elective office shall not be eligible to serve as a member of a local board of education.

(h)        Death or Disqualification of Candidate in Nonpartisan Election. Candidate. – If a candidate dies or becomes disqualified after the filing period has closed and before the election, and the ballots have not been printed, the county board of elections shall immediately reopen the filing period for five days so that additional candidates may file for election. If the ballots have been printed at the time the board of elections receives notice of the death or disqualification, the board shall reopen the filing period for three days if the board determines it will have time to reprint the ballots before the election.

In the event the board of elections determines that there is not time enough to reopen the filing period for three days and to reprint the ballots, then the ballots shall not be reprinted and the name of the deceased or disqualified candidate shall remain on the ballot. Votes cast for such candidate shall not be considered and the candidates receiving the highest number of votes equal to the number of positions to be filled shall be elected.

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SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C‑37.1 is repealed.

SECTION 3.  G.S. 115C‑67 reads as rewritten:

"§ 115C‑67.  Merger of units in same county.

City school administrative units may be consolidated and merged with contiguous city school administrative units and with county school administrative units upon approval by the State Board of Education of a plan for consolidation and merger submitted by the boards of education involved and bearing the approval of the board of county commissioners.

County and city boards of education desiring to consolidate and merge their school administrative units may do so by entering into a written plan which shall set forth the conditions of merger. The provisions of the plan shall be consistent with the General Statutes and shall contain, but not be limited to, the following:

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(3)        The establishment and maintenance of a board of education which shall administer all the public schools of the newly created unit, including:

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b.         The method of constituting and continuing the board of education; the manner of selection of board members, including (i) the number of members of the board, (ii) the method of their election or appointment, (iii) whether members shall be nominated, elected, or appointed from districts or at large, (iv) the manner of determining the nominee, and (v) whether the election shall be partisan or nonpartisan; the length of the members' terms of office; the dates of induction into office; the organization of the board; the procedure for filling vacancies; and the compensation to be paid members of the board for expenses incurred in performance of their duties. To the extent that the method conflicts with G.S. 115C‑35, G.S. 115C‑37, or with any local act concerning any of the units being merged and consolidated, the plan of merger and consolidation shall prevail.

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SECTION 4.  This act shall have the effect of repealing any provisions of local or special acts relating to the partisan election of a local board of education and any conflicting methods of filling vacancies in the membership of boards of education as required by G.S. 115C‑37(f). This act shall not affect the filling of a vacancy on a local board of education that occurs for a seat elected prior to the effective date of this act.

SECTION 5.  Any local act requiring a board of education election to be conducted in an odd‑numbered year shall be held as a nonpartisan election beginning in 2023.

SECTION 6. This act becomes effective with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 2022.