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Merger Plan Must Include the Following Related to the New Board of Education <br />^ Establishment and maintenance of a board of education which shall administer all <br />the public schools of the newly created administrative unit <br />^ Termination of any terms of office proposed in the reorganization <br />^ Method of constituting and continuing the board of education <br />^ Manner of selection of members of the board of education including (I) number of <br />board members, (ii) method of their election or appointment, (iii) whether members <br />shall be nominated, elected or appointed from districts or at-large, (iv) manner of <br />determining the nominee, (v) whether the election shall be partisan or non-partisan <br />^ Length of the board members terms of office <br />^ Dates of induction into office <br />^ Organization of the board <br />^ Procedure for filling vacancies <br />^ Compensation to be paid members of the board for expenses incurred in <br />performance of their duties <br />School Board Composition and Roles <br />Laws Authorizing Merger Offer Limited Flexibility in Creating Board of Education for <br />New Unit <br />^ Election plan can allow for board of education to be elected one of three ways: <br />. District method <br />. At-large method <br />. Combination of district and at-large method <br />^ Can be partisan or non-partisan <br />^ Election plan must comply with State and Federal Constitution and 1965 Voting <br />Rights Act and be approved by the United States Department of Justice prior to State <br />Board of Education approval <br />Public Referendum <br />^ In accordance with NC General Statute 115C-68.1(c), BOCC initiated consolidation <br />cannot be subject to a referendum <br />^ In the absence of authority from the General Assembly, such anon-binding <br />referendum should not occur <br />^ Referendum associated with Guilford County merger was the result of a local act of <br />the General Assembly <br />Responsibility for Operation of Schools During Merger <br />. In reviewing other jurisdictions' merger studies and plans, there appears to be some <br />variation and flexibility <br />. Examples include: <br />Existing school boards continue to operate for some defined period <br />. Either through the end of the current fiscal year or until the effective date of <br />merger <br />Interim board may be appointed by BOCC for a period of time, such as one <br />fiscal/academic year <br />