Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said this week that a move by NC Rep. Jon Hardister meant to affect the way the Guilford County Board of Education fills vacancies will not fly.
Alston said the bill filed last week by Hardister – even if voted into law as currently written – wouldn’t take away the ability of the Democratic majority on the school board to vote not to seat teacher Michael Logan on that board.
The Guilford County Republican Party elected to have Logan fill the vacant seat after former District 3 School Board Member Pat Tillman became a District 3 Guilford County Commissioner.
After three attempts by the Guilford County Republican Party to put Logan on the school board, Hardister filed House Bill 88 on Thursday, Feb. 9. That bill, Hardister said, merely corrects a clerical error that was made by legislative staff a decade ago. At that time, the Guilford County school board was changed by a vote of state legislators from a non-partisan board to a partisan one. The problem, Hardister said, is that, in that 2013 transition, language was mistakenly left in the bill that called for the Guilford County school board to continue to fill vacancies the way non-partisan boards and commissions in the state do – by a majority vote of the board.
Hardister said the only reason that language wasn’t changed then was due to an oversight, just an administrative mistake – one that his new bill fixes.
The practical effect in Guilford County of taking the right to fill the vacancy from the school board members and into the hands of the local Republican party, would no doubt mean that Logan would get the seat.
Hardister filed his bill two days after the school board voted a third time along party lines against allowing Logan on the school board.
Not so fast, said Alston, soon after he heard of Hardister’s bill.
“The school board would still have to vote to accept him,” Alston said.
Alston added that, when District 7 Commissioner Frankie Jones was put on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners – clearly a partisan board – to fill the vacancy left by the death of former Commissioner Carolyn Coleman, the board took a vote to seat Jones.
“The same thing happened when I was put back on the Board of Commissioners,” Alston said of the time he filled a vacancy left by the departure of former Commissioner Ray Trapp
In that case, as well, Alston said, a vote was held by the Board of Commissioners to seat him.
Hardister said consultations with the NC School of Government and other legal experts have informed him that in the case of a partisan school board, the other members are compelled to accept the choice so. While they could technically vote the person down, it would be essentially a “dereliction of duty” since the law compels them to accept the party’s choice.
In essence, Alston is arguing that the board’s vote to seat a particular party nominee is determinative, while Hardister’s view is that that vote is basically window dressing, a formality, but not something that could legitimately keep a political party’s chosen person off the board.
There is one thing that both Alston and Hardister do agree on: If Hardister’s bill becomes law, and the Guilford County school board votes again to reject Logan, the matter will certainly end up in court.
The education of our children/grandchildren should not be determined by politics. Political opinions will impact decisions anyway, but it should not be legislated that partisanship be mandatory. Let’s consider the best interest of the educational welfare of the children and quit making it about politics. Pick the right person for the right reason!
Skip won’t mind going to court, he’s spending your money to do so.
Skip is a bully on the County Commission playground, he will only accept his way, right or wrong.
King skip soon to be known as the “ emperor “ with no clothes you have been warned before KARMA is a bitch coming soon to visit you
Alston is a power hungry politician; only cares about himself.
Lol, Skip is covering his bases for all those kickbacks….just like his President does.
I repeat,,,,why does everything need to be partisan? A school board should be about supporting and enhancing education of our youth, not restricting or hiding or obfuscating truth…
Because Dems support CRT in our schools, books containing porn, etc. I want to know what party a person belongs to so I will know how they will likely vote on most issues. What are the dems afraid of. When Logan is finally seated it is still 6 dems and 3 Republicans. What are the dems worried about.
As usual, Skip Alstons or the highway. I suggest he take the highway. He’s been around too long. He’s like Biden, been in politics most of his life and has nothing to show for it. Sell hotdogs and leave politics alone.
. . . of gov’t, by gov’t, for gov’t shall not perish from this earth. ?
Well said marklsparkl, well said. I’m writing that one down for future use.
Democrats would love another lawsuit. They love spending on everything including wrongheaded divisive political hack stunts. Mr Logan is highly overqualified to serve with this kneejerk party pawns. Anyone that has worked as long as Mr Logan in a local public school deserves unanimous acceptance.
Did anyone think Skip would accept this with a smile and handshake?
It’s skips way or the highway. How much longer is he there? He needs to leave
Hardister might have his chest poked out to far for someone who barely beat an invisible candidate. He certainly loses next time and good riddance to the Republican Party in Guilford county. It was a good but short ride.
The dems in local politics have already damaged Guilford County with their policies. We need to vote them all out!
You should thank every Republican you see. remember Lincoln was a Republican, he was the reason slavery was abolished
The damage is done in Guilford county so I reckon the democrats are welcome to it. Wonder if big city voted a straight ticket last election lol.
Yes…..the dream of Greensboro being the San Francisco of the South is still alive!! Property tax rates are getting there, rents are getting there, the homeless situation getting there, and taxing anything else they can think of including takeout is getting there. So, if we can just get rid of the last of those pesky naysaying Republicans…
This is typical of the Demoncrats want it to be!!!! When they have control they don’t want anyone but their own.. I have just read a quote’ Skip ‘ has been in politics all his life. He probably will die as a commissioner just like the Coleman lady who died recently.
I would like people in Greensboro to wise up and vote all Demoncrats out of office. In the next 4-6 years , if we don’t vote them out they will make it undesirable for anyone to live in or around Greensboro. They are just like the Washington crowd. We want power and we will mistreat everyone under their leadership. First they don’t believe in the same God,as the Christians do. They think they are God and says that all women can kill babies . They also think they can control the weather. If Joe calls you a Terrorist such as parents at school board meetings, the FBI comes after you, if you stand outside an abortion center you can be arrested. In the next several years if we don’t get completely RID of these people the US will become a banana republic. The Dems are against working for a living,they look for a handout.
Look at the Guilford County Schools under the Democrat leadership. Why are they scared? The Democrats are destroying the Schools, Businesses, and everything else. Republicans are trying to at least slow them down. Because of Skip’s leadership, we are paying record taxes. Guilford County need to wake up, look at your Schools, are you proud of that? Politics needs to stay out of the Schools, but we know that’s not going to happen. Logan is well qualified. They just want another Democrat. No Republican is going to satisfy those Democrats. It’s not their choice. Nothing will change until they stop voting in Democrats.
What can the super democrat school board have to fear from ONE Republican??? This is ridiculous. Seat Michael Logan on the School Board and start doing the business the School Board was created to do. This partisan crap needs to go. Michael Logan is more than qualified, so again, I ask, what does the super democrat board have to fear????
Why does the schoolboard have to be elected by political affiliation? Let Joe, Paul, Shelia, Mary, and etc be elected based on their campaign platform, not their political party. Keep politics out, and the education / welfare of the students and teachers take precedence.