Ben Schachtman: Alright, Nikolai — so you reported on this bill last year. Tell us a little bit about it.
Nikolai Mather: Right, so this measure was initially introduced in February 2025 by Rep. Brenden Jones. He’s the house majority leader in North Carolina, and represents Robeson and Columbus counties. The bill kinda flip flopped around, but eventually, the key language got glommed onto a different bill called Various Local Provisions 6.
BS: Catchy title. What did it do?
NM: Well, ultimately, after it became law in early June, it changed Columbus County’s school board elections from nonpartisan to partisan.
BS: Interesting. So what was the motivation behind this change? Did the school board ask for it or something?
NM: Nope. Steve Long was the chair of the Columbus County school board at the time, and he told me that the board did not request the change. I also got up with the county Dems and the county GOP, and both chairs said they didn’t ask Jones for the change. I also got up with the school district, and I was told they didn’t have a comment on the matter. Jones has also not returned my requests for comment.
BS: So, is this something that Jones just decided to do himself?
NM: That seems likely. You know, when I was researching this story, I found out that Columbus County is one of dozens of districts to flip partisan in recent years. Actually, up until about ten years ago, the vast majority of North Carolina school districts were nonpartisan — only ten districts held partisan elections in 2013. But now, the number is much higher — in 2024, for instance, 52 of the state’s 115 school districts held partisan elections.
BS: Hmm – So how, and why are so many districts going partisan?
NM: Well, a lot of these nonpartisan-to-partisan flips seem to stem from what we call “local bills.” These are bills passed by the General Assembly that affect fewer than 15 counties. What’s interesting about these bills is that because they supposedly have such little impact, they don’t need the Governor’s approval in order to pass — they automatically become law when they’re ratified by the general assembly. And so what we’ve been seeing over the years is a lot of local bills pushed by Republican lawmakers turning school boards partisan.
And I mean, it’s different for every district. Some of them decided to go partisan themselves. But some seem to have just gone into work one day and found out, like, 'oh, okay, it’s now Dems versus GOP.' Some of them have been flipped when they really, really wanted to remain nonpartisan. So for example, Pender County Schools passed a resolution in 2017 saying they wanted to stay unaffiliated, but legislators made them go partisan anyway.
BS: That’s really something. So do making these elections partisan give Republicans more of an edge?
NM: Well, it’s hard to say. Voting is weird. Most voters in Columbus County are unaffiliated, but at the same time, the county has swung to the right since Donald Trump was elected in 2016. And if you look at the voting data, people also seem a lot less inclined to cross party lines than they once were — it seems like they go straight Republican or straight Democrat. So I could see how putting an "R" next to someone’s name could get them more voters than if they were unaffiliated.
BS: Well, what I think is also possible is that by making these elections partisan, we give local parties more control over picking candidates. Like, if it was only unaffiliated elections, you could just run on your personal beliefs, or maybe your experience as an educator. But by introducing partisan primaries, it means candidates now have to earn the approval of the dominant political party to get anywhere.
NM: No, exactly.
BS: So what are this year’s primaries looking like right now?
NM: Honestly? For all our talk about these big dramatic changes… they don't look very exciting. There are three incumbents running this year — Irvin Enzor, Chris Worley, and Ronnie Strickland. They’re all running as Republicans, and so far, they have no opponents. There is one Democrat running — her name’s Beatrice Addison — but she doesn’t have any opponents either.
I guess that’s good news if you want to keep your ballot simple. But the stage is now set for much more polarized scuffles in the future.
BS: It sounds like it. But, for now Nikolai, thanks for your reporting!
NM: Thank you!
Read more
- WHQR: NC House makes Columbus County school board elections partisan
- EdNC: North Carolina school board election results by district
- WECT: House approves bill to change Pender County school board elections
