AN ACT to provide for the partisan election for members of the pitt county board of education.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  Section 1 of Chapter 193 of the 1987 Session Laws, as amended by S.L. 2013‑318, reads as rewritten:

Section 1. Beginning in December 2014, the The Pitt County Board of Education shall consist of nine members. Nine members shall be elected from single‑member districts, as described in Section 5. Only voters residing in the district may vote for the member from that district.

SECTION 1.(b)  Section 4 of Chapter 193 of the 1987 Session Laws, as amended by S.L. 2013‑318, reads as rewritten:

Section 4. Elections shall be held on a partisan basis in even‑numbered years as terms expire, at the time of the regular election of general election. Candidates for election to the Pitt County Board of Education shall be nominated at the same time and manner as other county officers. Members shall take office at the time set by general State law on the first Monday in December following the election and shall serve for staggered terms of four years. Members shall serve until a successor has been elected and qualified. Except as otherwise provided, the election shall be conducted in accordance with Chapters 115C and 163 of the General Statutes.

SECTION 1.(c)  Section 6 of Chapter 193 of the 1987 Session Laws reads as rewritten:

Sec. 6. Vacancies on the Pitt County Board of Education shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the Board. The person appointed shall serve until the next regularly scheduled election for county boards of education, at which time a person shall be elected to fill the remainder of the unexpired term or, if the term is due to expire that year, a new term. The person appointed to fill a vacancy must reside in the same district as the departing member.in accordance with G.S. 115C‑37.1.

SECTION 1.(d)  This section does not affect the term of office of any member elected in 2024 to the Pitt County Board of Education. Any vacancy on the Pitt County Board of Education for a member elected in 2024 shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the Pitt County Board of Education to serve the remainder of the unexpired term. Each member of the Pitt County Board of Education elected in 2024, or any member appointed to fill a vacancy in 2024, shall serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.

SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C‑37.1(d) reads as rewritten:

(d)      This section shall apply only to the Hickory City Board of Education and the Newton‑Conover City Board of Education and in the following counties: Alleghany, Ashe, Beaufort, Brunswick, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Carteret, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Craven, Dare, Davie, Forsyth, Graham, Harnett, Henderson, Hyde, Iredell, Lee, Lincoln, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Pitt, Polk, Rutherford, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Vance, Washington, and Yancey.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective the first Monday in December of 2026, and elections in 2026 and thereafter shall be conducted accordingly.