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Bill Would Limit School Board Options

WUNC | By Dave DeWitt

Published April 22, 2013 at 4:13 PM EDT

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Dave DeWitt

A change may be coming to how local school boards and boards of county commissioners negotiate over school funding.

Local county commissioners control the purse strings in all 115 of the state’s school districts. Often, the school boards and county commissioners disagree over the amount of money allocated to schools.

Sometimes, that disagreement requires mediation, or even a lawsuit. In a new bill introduced in the North Carolina State Senate, school boards would no longer have the option to take the county commissions to court.

If passed, it would have a significant effect on the leverage during negotiations. The North Carolina School Boards Association opposes the bill; theNorth Carolina Association of County Commissioners supports it.

This latest bill is one of several being considered by the General Assembly that would weaken the authority and power of local school boards. Another bill, also referred to the Senate Education Committee, would transfer all school building ownership from School Boards to the county commissioners.