State Lawmakers Order New School Board District Maps Be Completed By November 17, 2023
JOHNSTON COUNTY – In a questionable move, the Johnston County Public School Board voted 5-to-2 today (Monday) to switch to odd-year district elections, pending approval from state lawmakers. In adopting the Resolution, the Board of Education requested the NC General Assembly approve a local bill to postpone the 2024 elections until 2025, giving all members an additional year in office, and time to draw district maps.
State lawmakers who represent Johnston County tell The Johnston County Report they support school board members being elected by districts, but will not allow them to delay their elections 12 months, or change their future election cycles to odd-years.
In a special called meeting at 8:00am Monday, school board chair Lyn Andrews presented a plan to modify future elections. The Resolution approved would have implemented district elections in off-years. The disputed portion of the Resolution was the postponement of the 2024 election of four school board candidates to 2025. Incumbents Lyn Andrews, Kay Carroll, Ronald Johnson, and Mike Wooten are up for election. The filing period for the 2024 elections opens in just a few weeks, December 4, 2023.
The majority of school board members contend the one-year delay is needed to allow for residency district maps to be drawn and implemented in 2025, allowing better geographical representation of elected school leaders.
Future school board elections in odd-years (2025, 2027, 2029, etc.) would be held when municipal elections take place for mayors and town council members, not for any countywide offices, like commissioners, district attorney, clerk of court, or the sheriff. This would require the Johnston County Board of Elections to open additional, if not all, voting sites outside municipalities in odd-years, solely for the school board race.
Ronald Johnson, who voted against the Resolution, called it a “thief in the night” attempting to make changes without giving the public an opportunity to voice their opinions. Michelle Antoine also voted no, stating 65 percent of Johnston County residents live outside municipalities and odd-year elections could disenfranchise voters.
Vice Chair Terry Tippett said there would always be pros and cons to any change.
State Lawmakers Respond
Monday afternoon, local elected state leaders Senator Benton Sawrey, Rep. Howard Penny Jr., Rep. Larry Strickland, and Rep. Donna White reviewed the Resolution adopted by the school board just hours earlier.
In a joint statement released Monday night by all four members of the Johnston County delegation, they agreed to support switching from at-large to district elections for all 7 school board seats, but would not agree to postpone the 2024 elections, or switch to odd-year election cycles.
The following joint statement from the Johnston County delegation was released to The Johnston County Report:
“We reviewed the resolution and want to work with the Johnston County Board of Education to address issues with its election process. We all feel that Johnston County’s citizens deserve local representation. There are no current members of the Board residing in Benson, Cleveland, McGee’s Crossroads, Meadow, or Kenly. Our commissioner model works with respect to the residency boundaries and ensures that someone on the board lives in each part of the county. Every member of the school board today appeared to indicate some support for residency boundaries and we are willing to take an incremental step and implement those for the 2024 election and examine whether to move future elections to odd-numbered years during the short-session. We also have concerns about extending the terms of the current members of the board for an additional year.”
Late-Monday, Senator Sawrey attached language to an existing a senate bill to make the changes the Johnston County delegation supports. The bill could be adopted as early as tomorrow (Wednesday).
The bill, if approved Wednesday as anticipated, would give the Johnston County Board of Education until November 17, 2023 to draw residency maps that will be effective for the 2024 election cycle. While some may say the turnaround time to adopt new maps may be short, the Senate, House and Congressional maps were completed in less than a month. Johnston County already has data available for the maps leftover from the county commission district revisions made this summer.
The highlights of the school board elections changes are: non-partisan elections; residency boundaries; elected at-large by all voters of the county; no person’s term will be extended by one year; the 2024 school board elections will take place with the filing period beginning December 4, 2023 and continuing through December 15, 2023. Based on a prior law that was unchanged, if for example four people file to run for a school board seat, there will be a March 5, 2024 Primary where the top two candidates advance to the November 5, 2024 General Election.
Responding to the changes, Johnston County GOP Chairman Marshall Conrad said Tuesday morning, “The Johnston County Republican Party applauds the Legislative Delegation’s decision to make the incremental change of creating residency districts for the Johnston County Board of Education. We believe that this change will ensure that all areas of Johnston County have equal representation on the School Board and allow parents the opportunity to be closer to their elected member and therefore have more involvement in the education of their children. In addition, we believe this will help bring down the temperature of the School Board Election, so that the work of the Board can continue. As a Party, we feel confident that we will win in 2024 and beyond and place the focus of the School Board on the education of our children, as it should be.”
School Board Chair Lyn Andrews released the following statement Tuesday morning. “We are looking forward to the opportunity to have all areas within our county represented on the Johnston County Board of Education. The board will be working hard to meet the requirements before the November 17, 2023 deadline. We look forward to providing our communities the opportunity to have input in this process.”
First, I know, for a fact, Ron Johnson is not going to be running for reelection. Second postponing an election, for any reason, looks like corruption to me. Third , and finally, this, Board of Education is, perhaps the most dysfunctional elected group I have ever witnessed. If anything should happen, it should be a complete election for all new board members.
Well summarized!
Folks do us progressive liberal democrats that are left on this board know that our days are numbered and are up at the next election? Lyn “Ma” Andrews you at least tried to save our progressive inclusive liberal school board and we salute you for doing so!!! Why are all of you CRT, transgender hating parents so mad at the pro-masking school board members, the children and your tax money belongs to our school board and as some of these school board members have said, they answer only to the teacher union and to science!!! You parents have our school board members scared to even show support for the Palistinians and to show disgust of Israel occupying palastine!!! At least off year elections will lower the turnout of these redneck Trump loving knuckle dragging Independents and Republicans so we can get more closet democrats elected as we did with Terry “Judas” Tippett…..
DAM,DAM,DAM!!!!!
Clearly, your comment is in jest.
But please….
the correct spelling is P-A-L-E-S-T-I-N-E.
I-M-A-G-I-N-A-R-Y C-O-U-N-T-R-Y
fify
Hmmmm elected officials voting to extend their elected time……what could go wrong? Why not just adopt the same districts as they have for the county commissioners? I guess thats too easy.
Wait, don’t board members get a stipend and/or payment while serving? How could they think extending their term and getting paid would make sense. I wonder if they would agree to not take any payment for their extra year?
” Progressive ” is all inclusive, or at least should be …..even your discriminatory labeled redneck knuckle draggers. We can’t have it both ways now can we ? Seems to me in the case where public servants must campaign for election, there’s is so much corruption and deal making that the office is bound to fail. Taxpayer vetting and financing candidates could fix all the BS.
FINALLT, a true example of election fraud.
Maybe they joined the wrong board by mistake because last time I checked it was called a school board not a personal interest board. It is a simple fundamental rule that carries over from being a parent which is to act in the best interest of the children period.
Progress is a myth. In joco it would be nice to return to functional. Fire the whole board
When was the last time this board actually did their job and got something accomplished?? Asking for a parent.
Dude you are the only person in joco i would never vote for. Go back to San Francisco w the other groomers