Republican NC Rep. Jon Hardister has filed a bill that will ultimately allow the Guilford County Republican Party to fill the Guilford County Board of Education vacancy with the party’s choice – teacher Michael Logan – despite the Democrats on the school board voting Logan down three times.
Hardister filed the bill on Thursday, Feb. 9, and, on Friday, Feb. 10, he said that – due to a clerical error that happened in 2013 when the school board was made into a partisan body – the local Republican Party should have had, and now will have, the right to name whomever it wants to seat with no input from the Democrats on the school board.
Hardister said that he had spoken with non-partisan entities such as the NC School of Government and non-partisan administrative General Assembly staff, and there was agreement that, when the Guilford County school board was changed from a non-partisan body to a partisan one, clerks mistakenly did not remove the language that requires a board to vote on the new proposed member.
In 2013, former NC Sen. Trudy Wade introduced a bill that made the Guilford County school board – at that time a non-partisan body – into a partisan one.
Under North Carolina law, Hardister said, board vacancies are handled in different ways: With partisan boards, like the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, vacancies are filled by a decision of the local party representing the vacant seat. Non-partisan boards, under state law, do require a vote of the pertinent board to add a new member.
In November of last year, former Republican School Board Member Pat Tillman was elected to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, vacating his seat on the school board.
All that means, according to Hardister, is that the local Republican Party should have the ability to name whoever the party wants to name. He said that is the way it should have been and that’s the way it will be once his bill passes.
The new bill, Hardister said, does what the clerks should have done 10 years ago when the nature of the Guilford County School Board changed to a partisan board. The bill strikes the language stating that the board must vote on approving board vacancies.
Hardister said everyone who examines the situation realizes it was a simple error a decade ago, and he added that he does not expect much opposition to the bill.
Hardister said he’s working to get it passed quickly so the Guilford County school board vacancy can be filled in a timely manner.
…don’t understand why any school board should be partisan….
We know the Democrats will vote/be okay with WOKE policies such as CRT and indoctrination is students to their liberal stance. This way voters know how to vote to get these liberals out of office and keep them out.
Tommy, it’s 2023. All boards and commissions are partisan..if not in name then certainly in philosophy. As a voter, why shouldn’t I be given information about the persuasion of a candidate? Why would I vote for someone who does not support my values? On another matter, what a pathetic collection of individuals we have assembled on our school board. No wonder GCS is in the shape they’re in.
Hardister is an effective politician and one that finds solutions.
As long as the solutions benefit the NCGOP. Hardister talks a good game and that makes him an effective politician, but not fully representative of his constituents.
Good for Hardister.
Working hard for this really? Shame we can’t get the same effort with Duke Energy and Christmas 2022. Here’s a story thought Scott
Go back and ask Jon and the rest of our elected leaders why they won’t step up for the people of North Carolina when it comes to Duke Energy? Time to break up the Monopoly Jon time to step up
How do you propose to break it up and where are you going to get your electricity?
Yeah, that’s worked so well in Texas. Get a grip, the power goes off on occasion always has always will.
More then likely goes no where but good try!
Representative Hardister spends most of his time “legislating” via the Next Door app. His partisan comments about Guilford County Schools and the administration of those schools can be found by a simple search. I would believe this bill is a clarification of procedure if the issue was seating a Democrat. (BoEs should not be partisan, but here we are.)
I have seen when Jon Hardister is on ND. I don’t think that is legislating from Next Door; I see it as listening to his constituents, ya know regular folks, living in the nightmare we call government under the NWO