§ 115C-37. Election of board members.
§ 115C‑37. Election of board members.
(a) Method of Election. The county boards of education shallbe elected on a nonpartisan basis at the time of the primary election in 1970and biennially thereafter. The names of the candidates shall be printed on theballots without reference to any party affiliation and any qualified voterresiding in the county shall be entitled to vote such ballots. Except asotherwise provided herein, the election shall be conducted according to theprovisions of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes then governing primaryelections.
The terms of office of the members shall be staggered so as nearlyequal to one half as possible shall expire every two years.
(b) County Board of Elections to Provide for Elections. Thecounty board of elections under the direction of the State Board of Elections,shall make all necessary provisions for elections of county boards of educationas are herein provided for. The county board of elections of each county shallfile with the State Board of Elections a statement specifying the size andmethod of election of members of its county board of education.
(c) City Board of Education. The board of education for anycity administrative unit shall be appointed or elected as now provided by law.If no provision is now made by the law for the filling of vacancies in themembership of any city board of education, such vacancy may be filled by thegoverning body of the city or town embraced by said administrative unit. In theevent that any such vacancy is not filled in this manner within 30 days, theState Board of Education may fill such vacancy.
(d) Members to Qualify. Each county board of education shallhold a meeting in December following the election. At that meeting, newlyelected members of the board of education shall qualify by taking the oath ofoffice prescribed in Article VI, Sec. 7 of the Constitution.
This subsection shall not have the effect of repealing any local orspecial acts relating to boards of education of any particular counties whosemembership to said boards is chosen by a vote of the people.
(e) Vacancies in Nominations for Membership on County Boards. If any candidate nominated on a partisan basis shall die, resign, or for anyreason become ineligible or disqualified between the date of his nomination andthe time for the election, such vacancy caused thereby may be filled by theactions of the county executive committee of the political party of suchcandidate.
(f) Vacancies in Office. All vacancies in the membership ofthe boards of education whose members are elected pursuant to the provisions ofsubsection (a) of this section by death, resignation, or other causes shall befilled by appointment by the remaining members of the board, of a person toserve until the next election of members of such board, at which time theremaining unexpired term of the office in which the vacancy occurs shall befilled by election.
(g) Eligibility for Board Membership; Holding Other Offices. Any person possessing the qualifications for election to public office setforth in Article VI, Sec. 6 of the Constitution of North Carolina shall beeligible 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 alsoemployed by that board of education, shall resign his employment before takingoffice as a member of that board of education.
Membership on a board of education is hereby declared to be an officethat, with the exceptions provided above, may be held concurrently with anyappointive office, pursuant to Article VI, Sec. 9 of the Constitution, but anyperson holding an elective office shall not be eligible to serve as a member ofa local board of education.
(h) Death or Disqualification of Candidate in NonpartisanElection. If a candidate dies or becomes disqualified after the filing periodhas closed and before the election, and the ballots have not been printed, thecounty board of elections shall immediately reopen the filing period for fivedays so that additional candidates may file for election. If the ballots havebeen printed at the time the board of elections receives notice of the death ordisqualification, the board shall reopen the filing period for three days ifthe board determines it will have time to reprint the ballots before theelection.
In the event the board of elections determines that there is not timeenough 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 ordisqualified candidate shall remain on the ballot. Votes cast for suchcandidate shall not be considered and the candidates receiving the highestnumber of votes equal to the number of positions to be filled shall be elected.
(i) The local board of education shall revise electoraldistrict boundaries from time to time as provided by this subsection. Ifdistrict boundaries are set by local act or court order and the act or orderdoes not provide a method for revising them, the local board of education shallrevise them only for the purpose of (i) accounting for territory annexed to orexcluded from the school administrative unit, and (ii) correcting populationimbalances among the districts shown by a new federal census or caused byexclusions or annexations. After the General Assembly has ratified an actestablishing district boundaries, the local board of education shall not revisethem again until a new federal census of population is taken or territory isannexed to or excluded from the school administrative unit, whichever eventfirst occurs. After the local board of education has revised districtboundaries in conformity with this act, the local board of education shall notrevise them again until a new federal census of population is taken orterritory is annexed to or excluded from the school administrative unit,whichever event occurs first, except that the board may make an earlierrevision of district boundaries it has drawn if it must do so to comply with acourt order or to gain approval of a district‑revision plan by the U.S.Justice Department under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. In establishingdistrict boundaries, the local board of education shall use data derived fromthe most recent federal census. (1955, c. 1372, art. 5, ss. 2‑8; 1967, c. 972, ss. 2‑6;1969, c. 1301, s. 2; 1971, c. 704, s. 6; 1973, c. 1446, s. 1; 1977, c. 662;1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1985, c. 404; c. 405, ss. 1, 2; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c.975, s. 10; 1991, c. 400, s. 1.)