GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2015

HOUSE BILL 189

RATIFIED BILL

AN ACT to provide for a referendum to reduce the size of the rockingham county board of education over four years from eleven members to seven by redrawing the election districts to reduce the number of districts from six to four so that four members are elected by district and by reducing the number of members elected at large from five to three; to change the method of election of the board to partisan; and to clarify the appointment of vacancies to the board.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

PART I. REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF BOARD MEMBERS

SECTION 1.1. Chapter 15 of the 1993 Session Laws and S.L. 2005‑307 are repealed.

SECTION 1.2. Notwithstanding the PLAN FOR MERGER OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS IN ROCKINGHAM COUNTY INTO ONE SYSTEM, as approved by the State Board of Education on July 2, 1992, under G.S. 115C‑67, effective from the first Monday in December of 2016, the Rockingham County Consolidated Board of Education shall consist of nine members as follows:

(1) Four of the members shall be elected from districts, one each from a single‑member district as described in Section 1.4 of this act, and shall serve four‑year terms. The qualified voters of each district shall elect a person who resides in that district, and only the qualified voters of the district may vote in that election.

(2) Five of the members shall be members elected from the county at‑large in the 2014 election and shall serve four‑year terms.

SECTION 1.3. Notwithstanding the PLAN FOR MERGER OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS IN ROCKINGHAM COUNTY INTO ONE SYSTEM, as approved by the State Board of Education on July 2, 1992, under G.S. 115C‑67, effective from the first Monday in December of 2018, the Rockingham County Consolidated Board of Education shall consist of seven members as follows:

(1) Four of the members shall be members elected from districts beginning with the 2016 election and shall be elected quadrennially thereafter for four‑year terms, one member elected each from a single‑member district as described in Section 1.4 of this act. The qualified voters of each district shall elect a person who resides in that district, and only the qualified voters of the district may vote in that election.

(2) Three of the members shall be members elected from the county at‑large beginning in the 2018 election and quadrennially thereafter for four‑year terms.

SECTION 1.4. Beginning in 2016, the four districts are as follows:

District 1: Rockingham County: VTD: CO, VTD: MC: Block(s) 1570414001023, 1570414001026, 1570414001027, 1570414001029, 1570414001030, 1570414001031, 1570414002002, 1570414002003, 1570414002004, 1570414002005, 1570414002006, 1570414002007, 1570414002008, 1570414002009, 1570414002010, 1570414002016, 1570414002017, 1570414002018, 1570414002019, 1570414002020, 1570414002021, 1570414002022, 1570414002023, 1570414002024, 1570414002025, 1570414002026, 1570414002027, 1570414002040, 1570414002041, 1570414002042, 1570414002043, 1570415001000, 1570415001001, 1570415001002, 1570415001003, 1570415001004, 1570415001005, 1570415001006, 1570415001007, 1570415001008, 1570415001014, 1570415001015, 1570415001016, 1570415001017, 1570415001018, 1570415001019, 1570415001020, 1570415001021, 1570415001022, 1570415001023, 1570415002021, 1570415002022, 1570415002023, 1570415002024, 1570415002025, 1570415002026, 1570415002027, 1570415002029, 1570415002030, 1570415002031, 1570415002032, 1570415002033, 1570415002034, 1570415002035, 1570415002039, 1570415002040, 1570415003000, 1570415003001, 1570415003002, 1570415003003, 1570415003004, 1570415003005, 1570415003006, 1570415003007, 1570415003008, 1570415003009, 1570415003010, 1570415003011, 1570415003012, 1570415003013, 1570415003014, 1570415003015, 1570415003016, 1570415003017, 1570415003018, 1570415003019, 1570415003020, 1570415003021, 1570415003022, 1570415003023, 1570415003024, 1570415003025, 1570415003026, 1570415003027, 1570415003028, 1570415003029, 1570415003030, 1570415003031, 1570415003032, 1570415003033, 1570415004037, 1570415004038; VTD: RD‑1, VTD: VA, VTD: WM.

District 2: Rockingham County: VTD: HO: Block(s) 1570410021000, 1570410021002, 1570410021003, 1570410021004, 1570410021005, 1570410021006, 1570410021007, 1570410021008, 1570410021010, 1570410021012, 1570410021013, 1570410021014, 1570410021015, 1570410021016, 1570410021017, 1570410021018, 1570410021019, 1570410021035, 1570410022002, 1570410022003, 1570411004035, 1570411004036; VTD: IR, VTD: LI, VTD: MC: Block(s) 1570414002033, 1570414002034, 1570414002038, 1570415004000, 1570415004001, 1570415004002, 1570415004003, 1570415004004, 1570415004005, 1570415004006, 1570415004007, 1570415004008, 1570415004009, 1570415004010, 1570415004011, 1570415004012, 1570415004014, 1570415004019, 1570415004020, 1570415004021, 1570415004024, 1570415004025, 1570415004026, 1570415004027, 1570415004028, 1570415004029, 1570415004030, 1570415004031, 1570415004032, 1570415004033, 1570415004034, 1570415004035, 1570415004036, 1570415004039, 1570415004040, 1570415004041, 1570415004042, 1570415004043, 1570415004044, 1570415004045, 1570415004046, 1570415004047, 1570415004048, 1570415004049, 1570415004050, 1570415004051, 1570415004052, 1570415004053, 1570415004054, 1570415004055, 1570415004056, 1570415004057, 1570415004058, 1570415004059, 1570415004060, 1570415004061, 1570415004062, 1570415004063, 1570415004064, 1570415004065, 1570415004066, 1570415004067, 1570415004068, 1570415004069, 1570415004070; VTD: NB, VTD: RC.

District 3: Rockingham County: VTD: DR, VTD: EC, VTD: ED‑1, VTD: LK‑2.

District 4: Rockingham County: VTD: AV, VTD: HO: Block(s) 1570410013031, 1570410013033, 1570410021020, 1570410021021, 1570410021022, 1570410021023, 1570410021024, 1570410021025, 1570410021026, 1570410021027, 1570410021028, 1570410021029, 1570410021030, 1570410021031, 1570410021032, 1570410021033, 1570410021034, 1570410021036, 1570410021037, 1570410021038, 1570410021039, 1570410021040, 1570410021041, 1570410022020, 1570410023000, 1570410023001, 1570410023009, 1570410023010, 1570410023011, 1570410023012, 1570410023013, 1570410023014, 1570410023015, 1570410023016, 1570410023017, 1570410023019, 1570410023020, 1570410023021, 1570410023022, 1570410023024; VTD: HU, VTD: MA, VTD: MD.

SECTION 1.5. Notwithstanding Section 1.2 of this act, until the 2018 election of at‑large members as set forth in Section 1.3 of this act, the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners shall not appoint a replacement for a vacancy of a member elected at‑large to serve the remainder of the unexpired term unless there are less than three members who were elected at‑large serving on the Rockingham County Board of Education.

SECTION 1.6. Sections 1.1 through 1.5 of this act become effective only if approved by a majority of the qualified voters of the County of Rockingham in a referendum. The election shall be conducted by the Rockingham County Board of Elections on May 3, 2016. The question on the ballot shall be:

"[ ] FOR [ ] AGAINST

Reducing the membership of the Rockingham County Board of Education from eleven members to seven members over a four‑year period by redrawing the districts and reducing the number of the members elected by district from six to four and reducing the number of at‑large members from five to three, with all current members completing their terms of office."

PART II. CHANGE IN THE MANNER OF ELECTION TO PARTISAN

SECTION 2.1. Section 2 of S.L. 1995‑651 is repealed.

SECTION 2.2. Notwithstanding the PLAN FOR MERGER OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS IN ROCKINGHAM COUNTY INTO ONE SYSTEM, as approved by the State Board of Education on July 2, 1992, under G.S. 115C‑67, beginning in 2018, the election of members on the Rockingham County Consolidated Board of Education shall be on a partisan basis at the time of the general election in each even‑numbered year as terms expire. Candidates for election to the Rockingham County Board of Education shall be nominated at the same time and in the same manner as other county officers. Members elected shall take office and qualify on the first Monday in December of the year of their election, and the terms of their predecessors shall expire at that same time. This section does not affect the terms of office of any person elected in 2014 and 2016 to the Rockingham County Board of Education.

PART III. BOARD VACANCIES

SECTION 3.1. Section 3 of S.L. 2005‑307 reads as rewritten:

"SECTION 3. The five at‑large members shall be elected in 2006 and quadrennially thereafter for four‑year terms. The six district members shall be elected in 2008 and quadrennially thereafter for four‑year terms. In case of any vacancy, the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners shall appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the unexpired term. The Rockingham County Board of Education shall nominate one or more persons for each vacancy, and the Board of Commissioners may not appoint someone not nominated by the Board of Education."

SECTION 3.2. In case of any vacancy on the Rockingham County Board of Education, the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners shall appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the unexpired term, who shall be a member of the same political party of the vacating member if that vacating member was elected as a nominee of a political party. The Rockingham County Board of Education may nominate one or more persons for each vacancy to submit to the Board of Commissioners for its consideration within 30 days from the date the seat becomes vacant.

PART IV. EFFECTIVE DATE

SECTION 4. Sections 1.1 through 1.5 of this act become effective upon ratification of the approval by the voters of the referendum set forth in Section 1.6 of this act. Part II of this act becomes effective January 1, 2018. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law and applies to vacancies occurring on or after that date.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 28^th day of May, 2015.

s/ Daniel J. Forest

President of the Senate

s/ Tim Moore

Speaker of the House of Representatives