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LEGISLATIVE UPDATEMarch 18, 2013
LEGISLATURE
309LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BLDG.
300N.SALISBURY STREET
RALEIGH,NC27603
(919)[email protected]
15TH
SENATE DISTRICT
2600FAIRVIEW ROAD
RALEIGH,NC27608
(919)781-3464
[email protected]
SENATE BILL 236 COUNTIES RESPONSIBLE FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION
I have filed Senate Bill 236, a bill to turn over public school
construction and ownership from CountyBoards of Education to County
Boards of Commissioners. It has received a lot of attention from
thepress and correspondence from constituents, so I would like to
take this opportunity to discuss thespecifics of this bill and why
it is important for North Carolina.
Senate Bill 236 will provide savings for county taxpayers across
North Carolina. There would be aconsolidation of services to save
money because Counties already have site/facility acquisition
staffsand could absorb those duties. Secondly, Boards of Education
pay sales tax on purchases, buCounties do not. Thirdly, Counties
rely heavily on bond ratings from Moodys, Standard & Poors,
andFitch. The better the rating a County has, the cheaper the money
the County can borrow for alservices the County provides. Counties
need the benefit of having schools as assets rather than jushaving
liabilities. They already pay for the sites and construction, thus
they should own the asset. Afinancially strong County benefits all
citizens.
The biggest reason I have filed this bill is because Boards of
Education need to focus on educatingstudents and not on land
acquisition and construction. Decisions like these need to be made
bybusiness people, not educators. County commissioners tend to have
business backgrounds (seebelow), whereas school board members tend
to have education backgrounds, which are great foeducating our
children. County commissioners are better suited at making these
types of businessdecisions.
I have done some research to find the occupational backgrounds
of our urban Boards of Educationand Boards of Commissioners. I
investigated the four biggest counties/school systems in
NorthCarolina: Mecklenburg, Wake, Guilford, Forsyth, and Durham
Counties. 62% of countycommissioners have business backgrounds
compared to 9% of school board members41% of school board members
have backgrounds in education compared to 16% of
countycommissioners. Below are two pie charts showing the
occupational backgrounds of county
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commissioners and school board members from the aforementioned
counties (my office has thecounty-by-county results if youre
interested):
Businesspeople know how the market works, how to strike the best
land deals, how to build bettebuildings, etc., thus it makes sense
for them to be responsible for the construction and ownership
oschool buildings. Educators know how to teach students, thus they
should stay focused on educatingour children.
Education, 18,41%
Business, 4, 9%Medical, 4, 9%
Law, 3, 7%
Government, 2,4%
Homemaker, 3,7%
Pastor, 4, 9%
Other, 2, 5%
Unknown, 4, 9%
NC URBAN SCHOOL BOARD OCCUPATIONS
SCHOOL BOARDS
Charlotte-MecklenburgWake County
Winston-Salem/Forsyth CountyGuilford CountyDurham County
Business, 23, 62%Education, 6, 16%
Government, 4,
11%
Other, 3, 8% Law, 1, 3%
NC URBAN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' OCCUPATIONS
COUNTIES
MecklenburgWake
GuilfordForsythDurham
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SENATE BILL 325 WAKE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICTS
The second bill I have recently filed is SB 325, a bill that
will create new electoral districts for theWake County Board of
Education. Many times parents are confused under the current Wake
Countyschool board plan as to who represents them on the board. For
instance, a parent could live in oneschool board district, but
their childs school is located in another. To whom do they voice
theiconcerns?
With the passage of SB 325, parents will have two members on the
Board of Education. Voters wielect one person in a small district
for a four-year term starting in 2014. They will also elect
oneperson to represent a large district for a four-year term
starting in 2016. All-in-all, Wake County wihave seven small
districts and two large districts, meaning nine members on the
Board of Education.
TWO PROPOSED LARGE DISTRICTS
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SEVEN PROPOSED SMALL DISTRICTS
This is not an unusual concept for Triangle citizens. The model
Im proposing is exactly the samemodel that the Durham County Board
of Education uses. Durham County voters elect one candidateto
represent a large district and elect another candidate to represent
them in a small district. It is acommon sense solution to a problem
we face in Wake County.
I am hopeful both bills will pass the legislature and receive
Governor McCrorys signature. Imcommitted to reaching the greatest
outcome for Wake County students. One bill allows county schoo
boards to focus more of their time educating students, while the
other will provide more responsiverepresentation to Wake County
students and parents.
As always, it is a pleasure to serve you in the North Carolina
Senate!
Sincerely,
Neal Hunt
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J oin in the conversation and connect with me
Direct questions/comments to Kyle Hall [email protected]
(919)733-5850
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