Jason Clark didn’t see a need for partisan politics when he was elected to the Scotland County school board in 2022.
The way he saw it, his role was to put in place policies and practices that help all students succeed.
“People will say all the time, ‘Oh, you’re a politician,’” Clark said. “And I say that no, I’m not, I’m an elected official, here to represent the teachers and the kids of my district.”
But Clark, who was registered as an unaffiliated voter, switched to the Republican party when the state legislature voted last June to make the Scotland County school board election partisan. House Bill 309 also mandates partisan school board elections during even-numbered election years for Columbus County Schools and districts in Gaston and Johnston counties.
School board elections have become more partisan in North Carolina. An analysis by the North Carolina School Board Association found that 61 of the state’s 115 school boards are now partisan. Nineteen have switched to partisan elections in the last two years, including seven in 2025.
For a school board election to become partisan, the state General Assembly can pass legislation that is considered a local law and does not require the governor’s signature. Republican lawmakers have introduced many of the bills, said Leanne Winner, director of the North Carolina School Board Association.
The primary sponsors of House Bill 309 are Republicans from Union, Forsyth, Wake, and Lincoln counties.
Some school boards have asked lawmakers for partisan elections. But in some cases, lawmakers have introduced bills without seeking input from boards.
Scotland County school board Chairman Rick Singletary said members did not request the change. “Nor were we asked,” he said. “I guess this is just the political arena that we’re in now.”
A spokesperson for Columbus County Schools declined to comment for this story.
Culture Wars
Partisan politics have become increasingly prominent among school boards. So-called culture wars have played out at board meetings across the state, with debates about book bans and diversity efforts. In Moore County, jousting among board members highlighted efforts to align public education with President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again movement.
A pastor urged the Robeson County school board in 2023 to remove a book about a girl who attends a school for young women in Afghanistan. The board denied his request.
Critics of partisan school board elections say politics don’t have a place at the local level, where school board members are tasked with setting budgets, building schools, and competing for teachers.
“Sometimes people might get elected on these culture war issues, but really the role of a school board member is so much bigger and deeper than that,” said Heather Koons, director of communications and research for Public Schools First NC. “[Voters] may be electing someone who is not suited for really addressing the whole range and the whole depth and the complexity of what a good school board member needs to be able to address.”
Brenden Jones, the Republican House majority leader who is running for re-election to represent Columbus and Robeson counties, told the Border Belt Independent that House Bill 309 increases transparency by letting voters know where candidates stand on important issues. He called it “a huge win for Columbus County taxpayers and voters.”
Jones, who chairs the House legislative oversight committee, has been an outspoken critic of public schools, at times accusing them of “grooming” students through gender inclusivity initiatives. He supported the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which makes it illegal for teachers to talk to young students about sexual and gender identity and requires school officials to notify parents if a student changes their pronouns. The measure was signed into law in 2023.
Impact on Candidates
In Scotland County, four Democrats and three Republicans are running to represent the Stewartsville district on the school board. Clark wants to keep his seat, along with incumbent Loretta McNeill, a Democrat.
Democrats currently hold three of the five seats on the board.
Like many rural communities in southeastern North Carolina, Scotland County has shifted to support more conservative candidates. After years of picking Democrats for president, voters chose Donald Trump in 2020 and 2024. Republicans gained a majority on the Scotland County Board of Commissioners in 2024 for the first time in modern history.
Daniel Jermaine Dockery, a Democrat who is running for a school board seat, said highlighting party affiliation puts candidates into a category that doesn’t necessarily align with their vision and goals. He worries that some voters who agree with his platform will overlook him.
“It can be harder to think outside the box, and it takes a thought process to do so,” Dockery said. “It takes having those conversations with voters—that’s all that’s needed—and being able to have an open mind and talk with our constituents through this election cycle.”
Clark said he’s not putting a lot of emphasis on being a Republican. “I just tell people who I am and what I stand for,” he said, “and if that aligns with Democrat or Republican, it is what it is.”
Clark said he has been invited to speak at local Republican events and has felt some pressure as a newcomer. “There are people who have been there for longer than you,” he said.
Columbus County voters have also shifted toward the GOP. All five of the current members are Republicans. Two incumbents, Chris Worley and Irvin Enzor, have no challengers this year. Incumbent Ronnie Strickland will face Democrat Beatrice Addison in November.
Worley said partisan school board elections are helpful to voters. “It’s an opportunity to maybe know a little more about the candidates,” he said. “It opens up a dialogue about where we stand.”
Like the rest of North Carolina, Columbus and Scotland counties have seen a rise in unaffiliated voters. Unaffiliated voters make up the largest voting bloc in Columbus County, with Democrats and Republicans split evenly.
During primary elections, unaffiliated voters can choose which party’s ballot to use.
Ryan K. Spangler, a Democrat running for the Scotland County school board, said a partisan election this year feels like a “trial run.” Much is at stake, he said, as North Carolina schools need more funding.
“We are going to see people’s true colors and intentions,” he said. “And this is going to be a trial run, but when it comes to students, you can’t do these things on a test run.”