AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SCHOOL FINANCE OFFICERs' employment TO MIRROR THOSE OF ASSISTANT AND ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENTS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 115C‑435 reads as rewritten:

§ 115C‑435.  School finance officer.

Each local school administrative unit shall have a school finance officer who shall be appointed or designated by the superintendent of schools and approved by the board of education, with the school finance officer serving at the pleasure of the superintendent. education. The terms and conditions of employment for school finance officers shall mirror the terms and conditions of employment for assistant superintendents and associate superintendents insofar as they are outlined in subsections (b) and (c) of G.S. 115C‑278. The duties of school finance officer may be conferred on any officer or employee of the local school administrative unit or, upon request of the superintendent, with approval by the board of education and the board of county commissioners, on the county finance officer. In counties where there is more than one local school administrative unit, the duties of finance officer may be conferred on any one officer or employee of the several local school administrative units by agreement between the affected superintendents with the concurrence of the affected board of education and the board of county commissioners. The position of school finance officer is hereby declared to be an office that may be held concurrently with other appointive, but not elective, offices pursuant to Article VI, Sec. 9, of the Constitution.

SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 115C‑278 reads as rewritten:

§ 115C‑278.  Assistant superintendent and associate superintendent.

(a)        Local boards of education shall have authority to employ an assistant superintendent, in addition to those that may be furnished by the State when, in the discretion of the board of education, the schools of the administrative unit can thereby be more efficiently and more economically operated and when funds for the same are provided in the current expense fund budget. The duties of such assistant superintendent shall be assigned by the superintendent with the approval of the board of education.

(b)        Local boards of education may, upon the recommendation of the superintendent, elect assistant or associate superintendents for a term of from one to four years. The term may not, however, exceed the expiration date of the superintendent's contract, unless the remaining time of the superintendent's contract is less than one year. If there is less than one year remaining on the superintendent's contract, the assistant or associate superintendent shall be given a contract through the next school year.

(c)        The term of employment shall be stated in a written contract which shall be entered into between the board of education and the assistant or associate superintendent, a copy of which shall be filed with the Superintendent of Public Instruction as a matter of information. The assistant or associate superintendent may not be dismissed during the term to which he is elected except for misconduct of such a nature as to indicate he is unfit to continue in his position, incompetence, neglect of duty, or failure or refusal to carry out validly assigned duties.

SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to contracts entered into between school finance officers and local boards of education on or after that date.