Forsyth school board elections to be non-partisan

The North Carolina General Assembly passed a law Monday that will make school board elections in Forsyth County non-partisan. The Winston-Salem chapter of Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment, or CHANGE, spearheaded the campaign to reform school board elections in the county. Prior to the passage of House Bill 833, Forsyth was one of only 10 school districts that did not follow North Carolina state statutes, which call for non-partisan school board elections. Sandra Mikush, co-chair of the CHANGE committee tasked with pushing the bill through the General Assembly, described the bill’s passage as “a surprising, refreshing signal that citizens can use the civic process, organize and create change.” Mikush said two previous attempts to pass similar legislation failed. “It’s encouraging that a broad-based citizen group can get together and do something that couldn’t be done within the political process,” Mikush said. CHANGE’s position statement declared that Forsyth was the only metropolitan county in the state to pass a local law allowing partisan school board elections. Rep. Larry Womble (D-Forsyth) and Rep. Earline Parmon (D-Forsyth) sponsored the measure. Womble said he listened to the thousands of citizens who were behind the bill. “School board issues aren’t political issues but the school board is political. Non-partisan school board elections make it incumbent upon the candidate ant the electorate to educate themselves,” he said. Mikush said CHANGE will not endorse any particular candidate but will encourage citizens to run for school board. “CHANGE will work to have a thoughtful and informative campaign for the next school board election,” she said. — KTB