When a state-paid teacher leaves a NC public school district, can the school board move a current locally-paid teacher into the now-vacant state-funded position to keep state money flowing?

Plain-English summary

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools asked whether it could move a qualified employee from a locally funded position into a vacant state-funded position and then pay that employee with state funds. Its practice was intended to reduce the time state-funded positions stood vacant and maximize its use of state funds. The Attorney General said the practice was lawful.

G.S. 115C-36 gives local school boards powers and duties over public schools that the law has not expressly assigned elsewhere. It also gives boards general control and supervision over school matters in their administrative units. The opinion found no statute or administrative rule limiting the boards' discretion to assign certified teachers to state or locally funded positions, and no provision assigning that power to another official. It therefore placed the assignment decision with the local board.

The opinion addresses the specific transfer of a qualified employee into a vacant state-funded position. It does not decide questions about repeated transfers, particular allotment restrictions, or a teacher's contractual rights.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1999. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

For a current staffing decision, check the present statutes and rules governing the position and funding source.

Common questions

Q: Did Charlotte-Mecklenburg have to hire someone new for a vacant state-funded position?
A: The opinion found no law barring its stated practice of transferring a qualified employee already paid with local funds into that position.

Q: Who decides whether a certified teacher is assigned to a state or locally funded position?
A: The opinion says the decision rests with the local board of education because no statute or administrative rule cited there assigns it to another entity or official.

Q: Does the opinion approve indefinite transfers to maximize state funding?
A: It evaluates Charlotte-Mecklenburg's practice of filling a vacant state-funded position with a qualified locally paid employee. It does not analyze an indefinite series of transfers or any particular funding allotment rule.

Q: Does the opinion decide whether a teacher may refuse a transfer?
A: No. It addresses the board's authority to assign funding for qualified employees, not an individual employee's contract or employment rights.

Background and statutory framework

The request described a state-funded vacancy arising when a Charlotte-Mecklenburg employee left. The district moved a qualified employee formerly paid with local funds into that vacancy. The Attorney General applied the local-board authority in G.S. 115C-36 and referred to G.S. 115C-40. Its conclusion turned on the absence of a statute or administrative rule limiting the board's assignment discretion or giving that assignment power to someone else.

Citations

• N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-36 (general powers of local boards of education)
• N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-40 (general control and supervision)

Source

• Landing page: https://ncdoj.gov/opinions/filling-vacant-state-funded-teaching-positions/

Original opinion text

REPLY TO: Thomas J. Ziko
Education Section
Telephone: (919) 716-6920
FAX: (919) 716-6764

July 26, 1999

Leslie Winner
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
Post Office Box 30035
Charlotte, North Carolina 28230-0035

RE: Advisory Opinion; Filling Vacant State Funded Teaching Positions; G.S. § 115C-36

Dear Ms. Winner:

On July 7, 1999, you wrote to request an opinion from this office regarding the legality of certain administrative practices in the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS). When an employee paid from a state funded position ceases to be employed with CMS, it has been CMS's practice to "transfer" a qualified employee previously paid with local funds to the vacant state funded position and, thereafter, pay that employee with state funds. As a result of this practice, CMS is able to minimize the time that state positions remain vacant and thereby maximize its use of state funds. You have asked whether there are any laws prohibiting CMS from "transferring" qualified employees from locally funded positions to state funded positions in order to maximize its use of state funds. It is our opinion that the decision to pay qualified employees from state or local funds is a matter within CMS's authority and that there are no laws that prohibit CMS from continuing this practice.

Pursuant to G.S. § 115C-36, "All powers and duties conferred and imposed by law respecting public schools, which are not expressly conferred and imposed upon some other official, are conferred and imposed upon local boards of education." Further, this statute gives local boards "general control and supervision of all matters pertaining to the public schools in their respective administrative units." See also G.S. § 115C-40. No statute or administrative rule in any respect limits the discretion of local school boards in assigning certified teachers to state or locally funded positions or gives that power to any other entity or official. Accordingly, in our opinion the power to assign teachers to either state or locally funded positions rests with local boards of education, and CMS's practice in this regard is lawful.

If we can be of assistance with any other matter, please call.

Very truly yours,

Grayson G. Kelley
Senior Deputy Attorney General

Thomas J. Ziko
Special Deputy Attorney General

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