The General Assembly is contemplating a proposed constitutional amendment that would, among other changes, allow the legislature to appoint four individuals to the State Board of Education (SBE). Currently, the governor appoints all eleven members to the SBE, including the chair. Members serve staggered, eight-year terms.
If passed in its current form, the governor would make eight appointments to the SBE, the legislature would appoint four, and the elected Superintendent of Public Instruction would become the board’s chief administrative officer and supervise hiring at the Department of Public Instruction.
One purpose of the proposed amendment is to provide a check on gubernatorial appointments to the State Board of Education. But a layer of accountability already exists in state law. According to the NC General Statute 115C?10: Appointment of Board,
The Governor shall transmit to the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, on or before the sixtieth legislative day of the General Assembly, the names of the persons appointed by the Governor and submitted to the General Assembly for confirmation; thereafter, pursuant to joint resolution, the Senate and the House of Representatives shall meet in joint session for consideration of an action upon such appointments.
In the past, the General Assembly considered the SBE confirmation process a statutory formality. If the governor appointed a member to the State Board of Education, he or she was guaranteed confirmation by the legislature.
Why not use the confirmation process to vet prospective members of the board? That is what it is there for.
