Section 1

Amends SL 1969-874, as amended, as follows. Requires Catawba County Board of Education (Board) members to be nominated in primaries and elected at general elections, beginning in 2024 (previously, elected at general elections based on the number of vacancies). Requires Board candidates to file their notices of candidacy at the same time as other county offices (was, a described date), and provides for partisan election of the Board (currently, provides for nonpartisan plurality election). Refers to qualified voters instead of electors. Makes conforming, clarifying, and technical changes.

Adds a new section 6.1 to require vacancies of the Board for positions elected on a partisan basis to be filled by appointment by the remaining members pursuant to GS 115C-37.1, beginning in 2024. Provides for filling vacancies for Board members elected on a nonpartisan basis in 2020 and 2022 by appointment of remaining Board members until the next Board election, whereby the remaining unexpired term must be filled by election.  

Specifies that the act does not affect the terms of office of any member elected in 2020 or 2022 to the Catawba County Board of Education. Requires the members of the Catawba County Board of Education elected in 2020 and 2022, or any member appointed to fill a vacancy for the remainder of an unexpired term for a member elected in 2020 or 2022, to serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.

Applies to elections held beginning in 2024.

Section 2

Changes the elections for the Hickory City Board of Education (Board) set forth in SL 1971-930, as amended, as follows. Changes the elections from nonpartisan with no primary election to partisan, beginning in 2023, with seats filled by nomination in primaries and by election in general elections. Requires elections to be conducted in accordance with GS 163-279(a)(2) and GS 163-291. Requires registration and elections to comply with state education and election laws (GS Chapters 115C and 163; was, laws, rules, and regulations applicable to elections for county offices). Establishes residency requirements for Board candidates, requiring all candidates to be qualified voters residing within the Hickory Administrative School Unit. Provides for vacancies for Board positions elected on a partisan basis to be filled by appointment by remaining members pursuant to GS 115C-37.1. Makes conforming and technical changes. Repeals Sections 5 and 6 of the session law, relating to nonpartisan election procedures. 

Provides that the terms of members elected to the Board in 2019 or 2021 are not affected by the act.

Section 3

Changes the elections for the Board of Trustees of the Newton-Conover City Administrative Unit set forth in SL 1935-200, as amended, as follows. Changes the name of the board to the Newton-Conover City Board of Education (City Board). Provides for staggered four-year terms, beginning in 2023, with three members representing the Newton district, and three members representing the Conover district (previously, four trustees were from Newton, and two from Conover, and served three-year terms). Makes elections partisan rather than nonpartisan. Requires elections to be conducted in accordance with GS 163-279(a)(2) and GS 163-291. Requires registration and elections to comply with state education and election laws. Establishes residency requirements for Board candidates, requiring all candidates to be qualified voters residing within the Newton-Conover Administrative School Unit. Provides for elected members to take office on the first Monday in December following election. Provides for vacancies for Board positions elected on a partisan basis to be filled by appointment by remaining members pursuant to GS 115C-37.1. Repeals obsolete language and provisions relating to nonpartisan election procedures. Makes further conforming and technical changes. 

Provides that the terms of members elected to the City Board in 2019 and 2021 are not affected by the act. 

Section 4

Makes conforming changes to GS 115C-37.1. Effective December 1, 2024.

Section 5

Applicable to the Hickory City Schools and Newton-Conover City Schools only, enacts GS 115C-37.2, setting forth the procedure for filling vacancies on the city boards of education elected on a partisan basis, with appointments by the person, board, or commission specified in the public or local act, subject to consultation with the county executive committee of a political party when the vacating member was elected as the nominee of a political party, within 30 days of the vacancy. Effective December 1, 2023.