Article 2.

Local Administration.

§ 115D-12.  Each institution to have board of trustees; selection of trustees.

(a) Each community college established or operated pursuant to this Chapter shall be governed by a board of trustees composed as follows:

(1) Eight trustees appointed by the General Assembly under G.S. 120-121. The General Assembly shall appoint two members annually. One member shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and one member shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

(2) Four trustees elected by the board of commissioners of the county in which the main campus of the institution is located, one of whom may be a county commissioner. In addition, each board of commissioners of any other county in the administrative area that provides plant funds to the institution shall elect two additional trustees to the board, one of whom may be a county commissioner. A board of commissioners may delegate the election of one or more of its trustees to a board of education of a local school administrative unit located in the administrative area of the institution. If the board delegates its authority to elect, the following conditions apply:

a. The delegation shall expire at the end of the term of office of the trustee but may be renewed by the board of commissioners.

b. If an institution's administrative area contains more than one local school administrative unit, the board of commissioners may delegate the election to the boards of education of those units jointly.

c. If the delegated election has not occurred by May 1 of the year in which the election is to be made, the board of commissioners shall revoke the delegation and shall elect the trustee or trustees.

(3) The president of the student government or the chair of the executive board of the student body of each community college may be an ex officio nonvoting member if the board of trustees of the community college agrees.

(a1) No member of the General Assembly shall be a trustee of a local board of trustees.

(b) All trustees shall be residents of the administrative area of the institution for which they are selected or of counties contiguous to the administrative area.

(b1) No person who has been employed full time by the community college within the prior 5 years and no spouse or child of a person currently employed full time by the community college shall serve on the board of trustees of that college.

(c) Vacancies occurring in a seat appointed by the General Assembly shall be filled as provided in G.S. 120-122. Vacancies occurring in a seat elected by a board of county commissioners shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term in the manner in which regular selections are made. (1963, c. 448, s. 23; 1977, c. 823, s. 104; 1979, c. 462, s. 2; 1985, c. 757, s. 147; 1987, c. 564, ss. 10, 12; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1037, s. 111; 1991, c. 283, s. 1; 1995, c. 470, s. 1; 2009-549, s. 19; 2013-410, s. 9; 2023-134, s. 6.10(n).)