State lawmakers in the Senate have approved a bill that would change how leaders of the Wake County school board are elected.
would scrap the current boundaries for board seats. It would also move board elections from odd to even-numbered years, when voters choose their representatives in Congress and the General Assembly.
The measure's Republican sponsors say that change would increase turnout in school board elections. But Democrats, including Senator Josh Stein, say the measure is designed to help Republicans regain control of the school board.
"This legislation is about a Republican majority in the General Assembly inserting itself into local affairs in order to exact partisan payback. This is not what we should be doing as it relates to school boards. We should be focused on the kids," says Stein.
The measure would also turn two of the board's nine seats into regional districts. It passed 33-17 along party lines. It now goes to the state House.
