January 14, 1998
Mr. Charles S. Rountree, III, Chairman Edgecombe County Board of Elections
P.O. Box 10 Tarboro, N.C. 27886
Re: Advisory Opinion; Vacancies in Edgecombe County Board of Education; N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-37.
Dear Mr. Rountree:
You have requested an advisory opinion on whether elections need to be held in 1998 for two seats on the Edgecombe County Board of Education in which vacancies occurred since the last election. Your specific concern is whether Chapter 809 of the 1991 Session Laws, local legislation adopted in 1992 to establish electoral districts for the Merged Edgecombe County Board of Education, is controlling under principles of statutory construction. If it is not controlling, then the provisions for filling vacancies in nonpartisan school board races set forth in
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-37 would control.
The facts giving rise to this question are that the Edgecombe County School System and the Tarboro City School System were merged into one county school system in 1992. Chapter 809 of the 1991 Session Laws established a board of education for the merged system. Section six of the Act provides: "Any vacancy on the board shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the board. The person appointed to fill the vacancy must reside in the district in which the vacancy occurs. The person appointed to fill the vacancy shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term of the vacating member." This provision is different from the general rule for filling vacancies in school board offices elected on a nonpartisan basis set forth in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-37(f). The general law provides: "All vacancies in the membership of the boards of education whose members are elected pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section by death, resignation, or other causes shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the board, of a person to serve until the next election of members of such board, at which time the remaining unexpired term of the office in which the vacancy occurs shall be filled by election." Chapter 809 is not listed in the local modifications under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-37.
Two members of the school board have resigned since the last election in May 1996. A replacement has been appointed by the school board with the anticipation that he would serve the remainder of the four-year term so that no election would be held until the year 2000. No replacement has yet been named for the second vacancy but it is anticipated that the Board of Education will select a replacement to serve until the year 2000 for that seat as well.
Rules of statutory construction do not apply unless an ambiguity exists. Burgess v. Your House of Raleigh, 326 N.C. 205, 388 S.E.2d 134 (1990). The failure of Chapter 809 to specifically reference General Statute § 115C-37 is the reason why it is not listed under Local Modifications to the legislation. The failure to be so listed is merely a function of the failure of the draftsman to reference the general law and does not create an ambiguity if the law is otherwise clear. Cf. State v. Allred, 21 N.C.App. 229, 234, 204 S.E.2d 214, 218 (1974)("That the proclamation made no reference to the statute in no way affected its validity; the existence of the statute, not reference to it in the proclamation, was all that mattered."). Chapter 809 clearly states the method by which vacancies are to be filled in the electoral districts established by the Act. Moreover, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-37 sets forth a plan for filling vacancies in boards of education "whose members are elected pursuant to the provision of subsection (a)." The members of the Edgecombe County Board of Education are filled in accordance with Chapter 809, thus by its own terms N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-37 does not apply.
Even if an inconsistency were perceived and principles of statutory construction applied, the method for filling vacancies set forth in Chapter 809 of the 1991 Session Laws controls. The cardinal rule of statutory construction is that legislation must be construed to accomplish the General Assembly’s intent. State v. Blackstock, 314 N.C. 232, 333 S.E.2d 245 (1985). It is presumed that the General Assembly acts with full knowledge of prior laws and existing laws. Investors Inc. v. Berry, 293 N.C. 688, 239 S.E.2d 566 (1977). If two statutes are irreconcilably in conflict, the later statute will be construed to control the earlier statute. In Re Guess, 324 N.C. 105, 376 S.E.2d 8 (1989); Bland v. City of Wilmington, 278 N.C. 657, 661, 180 S.E.2d 813, 816 (1971).
Thus, it is our conclusion that the plan for election of members of the Edgecombe County Board of Education provides that members appointed to fill vacancies will serve the remainder of the term of the office to which they were appointed without reference to intervening elections. This means that the Edgecombe County Board of Elections does not have to conduct elections in 1998 for the seats filled by election in 1996 for terms ending in the year 2000 which have had a vacancy at some point since the 1996 election.
signed by:
Ann Reed Senior Deputy Attorney General
Susan K. Nichols
Special Deputy Attorney General