“It ain’t over until it’s over,” and the appointment to fill the seat on the Guilford County Board of Education vacated by former District 3 school board member Pat Tillman, when he was elected to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, ain’t over yet.

On Thursday, August 17, the North Carolina legislature passed Senate Bill 9, which made the seat, which has been held by Bill Goebel since being appointed by the Guilford County Board of Education on April 4, once again vacant.

Senate Bill 9 passed by both the state House and state Senate, and now the law states, “The term of office of any individual appointed by the Guilford County Board of Education to fill a vacancy occurring between December 1, 2022, and the effective date of this act shall expire on the effective date of this act.”

So as of Thursday, Goebel, who was appointed by the Guilford County Board of Education over the objection of the Guilford County Republican Party Executive Committee, was removed from office.

The District 3 seat on the Guilford County Board of Education, which is now vacant according to the procedure established by Senate Bill 9, will now be filled by the person chosen by the Guilford County Republican Party Executive Committee. The GOP Executive Committee can choose any qualified voter who resides in District 3.

The new law states, “If the county political party executive committee recommends an individual in accordance with this subdivision, that individual shall take the oath of office at the next regular meeting of the Board.”

So according to the new law, the Guilford County Board of Education doesn’t have any say in who will be appointed to an open seat on the board, unless the executive committee of the party does not make a recommendation within 30 days of the vacancy occurring.

The Guilford County Republican Party Executive Committee has announced that it will meet on Wednesday, August 30 for the purpose of selecting the new school board member and has stated, “Any qualified Republican voter residing in District 3 can apply.”

However, every time the Guilford County Republican Party Executive Committee has selected a nominee for the seat, it has selected Michael Logan, who the school board has refused to seat.  It would be shocking if the Guilford County Republican Party Executive Committee did not select Logan, and whoever the Guilford County Executive Committee selects, according to this new law, will be sworn in at the next meeting of the Guilford County Board of Education.