Jackson County one step closer to partisan school board elections
On March 6 Jackson County Representative Mike Clampitt filed a local bill in the North Carolina House of Representatives to make the Jackson County Board of Education election a partisan race. If the bill passes, partisan elections for the school board would begin with the 2026 election.
The bill is titled “an act to provide for the partisan election of members of the Jackson County Board of Education and to make other technical changes. In addition to changing school board elections to even-numbered years, the bill outlines that school board members will be elected on a partisan basis.
Clampitt filed the bill less than a month after Jackson County commissioners signed a resolution asking representatives in the North Carolina General Assembly to support a bill to make school board elections in the county partisan. Commissioners alone cannot make the change from nonpartisan to partisan school board races; a law must be passed by the General Assembly.
Commissioners voted on the resolution in a surprise vote, without giving notice to the public that they were considering the move. The resolution on the agenda for the Feb. 18 meeting only stated the intent to “change the election schedule for municipal elections in Jackson County.” The resolution supported changing municipal elections from odd numbered years to even numbered years.
However, when the item came up for discussion, Commissioner John Smith said he wanted to make an amendment to the resolution.
“I’d like to seek an amendment to add, to make it a partisan election for the school board,” Smith said at the time. “I’d like to amend it to include partisan, make it a partisan election so we have partisan primaries and then partisan election in the fall along with the general.”
Related Items
Upcoming readings at City Lights
Maggie Valley residents look to de-annex from town
The state of JCSO: Overdoses decline, detention center at max capacity
General Assembly considers fourth Helene relief bill
Without any further discussion, Chairman Mark Letson asked for a motion to approve the resolution with the amendment. It was approved unanimously.
“I find it concerning that there was no discussion or reasoning provided by the county commissioners for making this move,” said School Board Chairman Wes Jamison. “This is a major shift in how this board is elected and should have been properly discussed with input from all stakeholders.”
In 2015, out of 115 school districts in North Carolina, 17 of them had boards elected on a partisan basis. By the 2024 election cycle, that number had grown to 52.
“Education should not be driven by party platforms,” Jamison said. “A strong school board is one that brings together people with different perspectives, all working toward the shared goal of providing the best possible education for our students. We don’t need a public school system that appears to serve only one part of the community — we need one that represents and serves everyone. It is my hope that our General Assembly representatives, Sen. [Kevin] Corbin and Rep. [Mike] Clampitt, will recognize this and choose not to move forward with the request made by four of our county commissioners.”
School Board Member Gayle Woody, who previously served one term as a county commissioner and spent 25 years teaching in Jackson County, is also opposed to the move.
“It will not serve the interest of our students and teachers,” Woody said. “School board members, unlike other elected officials, must bear sole allegiance to the students and parents they serve and not leaders or platforms of specific political parties.”
In The Smoky Mountain News’ four-county coverage area, Haywood and Macon counties have nonpartisan elections for Boards of Education; Swain County has a partisan race for school board.
