School boards fight forced mergers

The N.C. School Boards Association says mergers should be left to the locals.

Lobbyist Leanne Winner said that a budget provision that would fund only one school district in each of the state's 100 counties was a bad idea.

"We have been — and continue to be — adamantly opposed to it," she said. "We believe those 15 city systems still exist for a reason and that should be a local decision as to whether they continue to exist."

She said the reasons are different for each of the 15 city systems in 11 counties.

Winner argued that the state would not save any money for several years since administrators are signed to three- and four-year contracts.

She also argued the state would lose some federal money if high-poverty districts such as Lexington and Thomasville were merged with Davidson County schools.

Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand has also sponsored a bill and attempted to add a similar provision to the budget in a previous year. 

UPDATE: The Senate Appropriations Committee removed the school system merger provision from the budget this afternoon.