On Monday, NC Senator Jim Perry (R-Lenoir, Wayne) introduced Senate Bill 767 to allow the recall of the Lenoir County Board of Education members. Prior to the introduction of the bill, Perry sent communication of his intent to the Lenoir County School Board and the Lenoir County Commissioners. 

“What I'm not going to do is ignore the parents of our community when a significant number of them have reached out and expressed concern about their feelings of when their thoughts and concerns were dismissed and they had no system to address their grievances,” said Perry. “They felt ignored like they were not heard.”

The bill states that “a registered voter of the Lenoir County School Administrative Unit may seek the removal of a member who represents the registered voter by filing an affidavit with the Lenoir County Board of Elections that names the member and provides a general statement of the grounds alleged for removal.”

Perry believes all levels of government exist to serve the people. Without those parents, the school board wouldn’t be there.

In the bill, it states, “To be effective, the recall petition must be returned within 30 days after the filing of the affidavit and, to be sufficient, must bear the signatures of registered voters represented by the member equal in number to at least fifteen percent (15%) of the registered voters represented by the member as shown by the registration records of the last preceding general school administrative unit election.”

The Lenoir County Board of Elections will investigate the sufficiency of the recall petition. Upon deeming it sufficient, “The Board of Elections shall order and fix a date for holding a recall election at the next election authorized by G.S. 163-287 occurring more than 60 days after the petition has been certified as being sufficient.”

A simple majority in both chambers of the General Assembly is needed for the bill to pass. Because Governor Cooper will not need to sign the bill, he will not have veto power over it.

“I became aware of Senator Perry's bill yesterday afternoon,” said Lenoir County Board of Education Chair Bruce Hill (D, At-Large). “To my knowledge, there had not been any discussion with the School Board prior to receiving his email concerning recall legislation for the Lenoir County Board of Education. I do appreciate Senator Perry notifying the Board of his intentions of filing the local bill. We will follow the legislative process pertaining to this bill.”

Perry encourages his constituents to reach out about the bill and discuss it.

“I made a commitment to the parents of our community to help improve the situation,” said Perry. “I don’t know if this is the perfect solution.”