A bipartisan group of Guilford County legislators has sponsored a bill to end partisan elections for the Guilford County Board of Education, according to the News & Record.
Republican Reps. Jon Hardister and John Faircloth and Democrat Reps. Amos Quick and Ashton Clemmons are the primary sponsors of House Bill 182, filed today in Raleigh.
Guilford County Board of Education races were nonpartisan until the General Assembly passed legislation in 2013, introduced by State Sen. Trudy Wade (R-Guilford), that changed them to partisan. The bill was specific to Guilford County and not applicable statewide.
Guilford’s first partisan school board election was in 2016, when all the seats came up for a vote and newly drawn districts came into play. A second partisan election took place in 2018.
This legislation would revert the races to nonpartisan.
“Many teachers, parents and students have suggested that we revert these elections to non-partisan,” Hardister said. “While partisan politics is a natural element of our society, we don’t need partisan labels on our school board races. Members of the school board should focus on improving education outcomes for children and preparing them for the future.”
