§ 115C-501. Purposes for which elections may be called.
§ 115C‑501. Purposes for which elections may be called.
(a) To Vote a Supplemental Tax. Elections may be called by thelocal tax‑levying authority to ascertain the will of the voters as towhether there shall be levied and collected a special tax in the several localschool administrative units, districts, and other school areas, includingdistricts formed from contiguous counties, to supplement the funds from Stateand county allotments and thereby operate schools of a higher standard bysupplementing any item of expenditure in the school budget. When supplementaryfunds are authorized by the carrying of such an election, such funds may beused to employ additional teachers other than those allotted by the State, toteach any grades or subjects or for kindergarten instruction, to establish andmaintain approved summer schools, to make the contribution to the Teachers' andState Employees' Retirement System of North Carolina for such teachers, or forany object of expenditure: Provided, that elections may be called to ascertainthe will of the voters of an entire county, as to whether there shall be leviedand collected a special tax on all the taxable property within the county forthe purposes enumerated in this subsection. In such event, the supplementaltax shall be apportioned among the local school administrative units in thecounty pursuant to G.S. 115C‑430.
(b) To Increase a Supplemental Tax Rate. Elections may becalled in any school area which has previously voted a supplemental tax of lessthan the maximum for the purpose of increasing the rate of tax previously votedbut not to exceed the maximum.
(c) To Enlarge City Administrative Units. Elections may becalled in any districts, or other school areas, of a county administrative unitto ascertain the will of the voters in such districts or other school areas, asto whether an adjoining city administrative unit shall be enlarged byconsolidating such districts, or other school areas, with such cityadministrative unit, and whether after such enlargement of the cityadministrative unit there shall be levied in such other districts, or otherschool area or areas, so consolidated with the city administrative unit thesame school taxes as shall be levied in the other portion of the city administrativeunit.
(d) To Supplement and Equalize Educational Advantages. Elections may be called in any area of a county administrative unit which isenclosed in one common boundary line to ascertain the will of the voters as towhether there shall be levied and collected a special tax to supplement andequalize the standards on which the schools in such areas are operated, and atthe same time repeal any special taxes heretofore voted by any parts of sucharea.
(e) To Abolish a Special School Tax. Elections may be calledin any local school administrative unit, district or other school area whichhas previously voted a supplemental tax, to ascertain the will of the people asto whether such tax shall be abolished.
(f) To Vote School Bonds. Boards of county commissioners areauthorized as provided by law to call elections to ascertain the will of thevoters as to whether bonds for school purposes may be issued.
(g) To Provide a Supplemental Tax on a Countywide Basis afterPetition for Consolidation of City or County Administrative Units. Electionsmay be called for an entire county on the question of a special tax tosupplement the funds from State and county allotments and thereby operateschools of a higher standard by supplementing any item of expenditure in theschool budget, where the boards of education of all the city administrativeunits in said county have petitioned the county board of education for aconsolidation with the county administrative unit pursuant to the provisions ofthe first paragraph of G.S. 115C‑70(a) and prior to the approval of saidpetitions by the county and State boards of education. In which event, andprovided the petitions so specify, if said election for a countywidesupplemental tax fails to carry, said petitions may be withdrawn and anyexisting supplemental tax theretofore voted in any of the city administrativeunits involved or in the county administrative unit shall not be affected. Ifthe vote for the countywide supplemental tax carries, said tax shall not belevied unless and until the consolidation of the units involved shall becompleted according to the requirements of the first paragraph of G.S. 115C‑70(a).
(h) To Annex or Consolidate Areas or Districts from ContiguousCounties and to Provide a Supplemental School Tax in Such Annexed Areas orConsolidated Districts. An election may be called in any districts or otherschool areas, from contiguous counties, as to whether the districts in onecounty shall be enlarged by annexing or consolidating therewith any adjoiningdistricts, or other school area or areas from an adjoining county, and if aspecial or supplemental school tax is levied and collected in the districts ofthe county to which the territory is to be annexed or consolidated, whetherupon such annexation or consolidation there shall be levied and collected inthe territory to be annexed or consolidated the same special or supplementaltax for schools as is levied and collected in the districts in the othercounty. If such election carries, the said special or supplemental tax shallbe collected pursuant to G.S. 115C‑ 511 and remitted to the local schooladministrative unit on whose behalf such special and supplemental tax isalready levied: Provided, that notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 115C‑508,if the notice of election clearly so states, and the election shall be heldprior to August 1, the annexation or consolidation shall be effective and thetax so authorized shall be levied and collected beginning with the fiscal yearcommencing July 1 next preceding such elections.
(i) To Vote School Bonds and Taxes in Certain Merged SchoolAdministrative Units. Elections for the purpose of authorizing the levy ofcertain taxes and the issuance of bonds shall be called by a merged schooladministrative unit described in G.S. 115C‑513 with the consent of theboards of county commissioners of both counties in which the merged unit islocated. The election shall be conducted and the results canvassed by theboards of elections of both counties. The boards of elections shall certifythe results of the election to the board of education of the merged schooladministrative unit. The board of education shall certify and declare theresult of the election, which shall be determined on an aggregate basis fromthe results certified by the boards of elections. The board of education shallpublish a statement of the result once as provided in the Local Government BondAct, Article 4 of Chapter 159 of the General Statutes. (1955, c. 1372, art. 14, s. 1; 1957, c. 1066; c. 1271,s. 1; 1959, c. 573, s. 9; 1961, c. 894, s. 2; c. 1019, s. 1; 1975, c. 437, ss.2‑4; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1991, c. 325, s. 2.)