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G.S. ch. 115C, subch. VIII, art. 36

G.S. ch. 115C, subch. VIII, art. 36
in effect

G.S. 115C-500 Superintendents must furnish boundaries of special taxing districts.

§ 115C-500.  Superintendents must furnish boundaries of special taxing districts. It shall be the duty of superintendents to furnish tax listers at tax listing time the boundaries of each taxing district as provided in G.S. 115C-276(m). (1981, c. 423, s. 1.)

G.S. 115C-501 Purposes for which elections may be called.

§ 115C-501.  Purposes for which elections may be called. (a) To Vote a Supplemental Tax. - Elections may be called by the local tax-levying authority to ascertain the will of the voters as to whether there shall be levied and collected a special tax in the several local school administrative units, districts, and other school areas, including districts formed from contiguous counties, to supplement the funds from State and county allotments and thereby operate schools of a higher standard by supplementing any item of expenditure in the school budget. When supplementary funds are authorized by the carrying of such an election, such funds may be used to employ additional teachers other than those allotted by the State, to teach any grades or subjects or for kindergarten instruction, to establish and maintain approved summer schools, to make the contribution to the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System of North Carolina for such teachers, or for any object of expenditure: Provided, that elections may be called to ascertain the will of the voters of an entire county, as to whether there shall be levied and collected a special tax on all the taxable property within the county for the purposes enumerated in this subsection. In such event, the supplemental tax shall be apportioned among the local school administrative units in the county pursuant to G.S. 115C-430. (b) To Increase a Supplemental Tax Rate. - Elections may be called in any school area which has previously voted a supplemental tax of less than the maximum for the purpose of increasing the rate of tax previously voted but not to exceed the maximum. (c) To Enlarge City Administrative Units. - Elections may be called in any districts, or other school areas, of a county administrative unit to ascertain the will of the voters in such districts or other school areas, as to whether an adjoining city administrative unit shall be enlarged by consolidating such districts, or other school areas, with such city administrative unit, and whether after such enlargement of the city administrative unit there shall be levied in such other districts, or other school area or areas, so consolidated with the city administrative unit the same school taxes as shall be levied in the other portion of the city administrative unit. (d) To Supplement and Equalize Educational Advantages. - Elections may be called in any area of a county administrative unit which is enclosed in one common boundary line to ascertain the will of the voters as to whether there shall be levied and collected a special tax to supplement and equalize the standards on which the schools in such areas are operated, and at the same time repeal any special taxes heretofore voted by any parts of such area. (e) To Abolish a Special School Tax. - Elections may be called in any local school administrative unit, district or other school area which has previously voted a supplemental tax, to ascertain the will of the people as to whether such tax shall be abolished. (f) To Vote School Bonds. - Boards of county commissioners are authorized as provided by law to call elections to ascertain the will of the voters as to whether bonds for school purposes may be issued. (g) To Provide a Supplemental Tax on a Countywide Basis after Petition for Consolidation of City or County Administrative Units. - Elections may be called for an entire county on the question of a special tax to supplement the funds from State and county allotments and thereby operate schools of a higher standard by supplementing any item of expenditure in the school budget, where the boards of education of all the city administrative units in said county have petitioned the county board of education for a consolidation with the county administrative unit pursuant to the provisions of the first paragraph of G.S. 115C-70(a) and prior to the approval of said petitions by the county and State boards of education. In which event, and provided the petitions so specify, if said election for a countywide supplemental tax fails to carry, said petitions may be withdrawn and any existing supplemental tax theretofore voted in any of the city administrative units involved or in the county administrative unit shall not be affected. If the vote for the countywide supplemental tax carries, said tax shall not be levied unless and until the consolidation of the units involved shall be completed according to the requirements of the first paragraph of G.S. 115C-70(a). (h) To Annex or Consolidate Areas or Districts from Contiguous Counties and to Provide a Supplemental School Tax in Such Annexed Areas or Consolidated Districts. -  An election may be called in any districts or other school areas, from contiguous counties, as to whether the districts in one county shall be enlarged by annexing or consolidating therewith any adjoining districts, or other school area or areas from an adjoining county, and if a special or supplemental school tax is levied and collected in the districts of the county to which the territory is to be annexed or consolidated, whether upon such annexation or consolidation there shall be levied and collected in the territory to be annexed or consolidated the same special or supplemental tax for schools as is levied and collected in the districts in the other county. If such election carries, the said special or supplemental tax shall be collected pursuant to G.S. 115C-511 and remitted to the local school administrative unit on whose behalf such special and supplemental tax is already levied. (i) To Vote School Bonds and Taxes in Certain Merged School Administrative Units. - Elections for the purpose of authorizing the levy of certain taxes and the issuance of bonds shall be called by a merged school administrative unit described in G.S. 115C-513 with the consent of the boards of county commissioners of both counties in which the merged unit is located. The election shall be conducted and the results canvassed by the boards of elections of both counties. The boards of elections shall certify the results of the election to the board of education of the merged school administrative unit. The board of education shall certify and declare the result of the election, which shall be determined on an aggregate basis from the results certified by the boards of elections. The board of education shall publish a statement of the result once as provided in the Local Government Bond Act, Article 4 of Chapter 159 of the General Statutes. (j) All elections called under this section shall be conducted in accordance with G.S. 163-287. (1955, c. 1372, art. 14, s. 1; 1957, c. 1066; c. 1271, s. 1; 1959, c. 573, s. 9; 1961, c. 894, s. 2; c. 1019, s. 1; 1975, c. 437, ss. 2-4; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1991, c. 325, s. 2; 2013-381, ss. 10.16, 10.17; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, ss. 3.1(a), (b), 6.1.)

G.S. 115C-502 Maximum rate and frequency of elections.

§ 115C-502.  Maximum rate and frequency of elections. (a) A tax for supplementing the public school budget shall not exceed fifty cents (50¢) on the one-hundred-dollar ($100.00) value of property subject to taxation by the local school administrative unit: Provided, that in any local school administrative unit, district, or other school area having a total population of not less than 100,000 said local annual tax that may be levied shall not exceed sixty cents (60¢) on one-hundred-dollars ($100.00) valuation of said property. (b) If a majority of those who vote in any election called pursuant to the provisions of this Article do not vote in favor of the purpose  for which such election is called, another election for the same purpose shall not be called for and held in the same local school administrative unit, district, or area until the lapse of six months after the prior election. However, the foregoing time limitation shall not apply to any election held in a local school administrative unit,  district, or other school area which is larger or smaller than the local school administrative unit, district, or area in which the prior election was held, or to any election held for a different purpose than the prior election. (1955, c. 1231; c. 1372, art. 14, s. 2; 1957, c. 1271, s. 2; 1959, c. 573, s. 10; 1975, c. 437, s. 5; 1981, c. 423, s. 1.)

G.S. 115C-503 Who may petition for election.

§ 115C-503.  Who may petition for election. Local boards of education may petition the board of county commissioners for an election in their respective local school administrative units or for any school areas therein. A majority of the qualified voters who have resided for the preceding 12 months in an area which is adjacent to a city administrative unit may petition the county board of education for an election on the question of annexing such area to the city administrative unit. For any of the other purposes enumerated in G.S. 115C-501, twenty-five percent (25%) of the qualified voters who reside in a local school administrative unit may petition the local board of  education for an election. (1955, c. 1372, art. 14, s. 3; 1961, c. 1019, s. 2; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 975, s. 7.)

G.S. 115C-504 Necessary information in petitions.

§ 115C-504.  Necessary information in petitions. The petition for an election shall contain such of the following information as may be pertinent to the proposed election: (1) Purpose for calling the proposed election. (2) A legally sufficient description of the area, by metes and bounds or otherwise, in which the election is requested. (3) The maximum rate of tax which is proposed to be levied. This subdivision shall not apply to a petition for an election to enlarge a city administrative unit. (4) If the petition is for an election to enlarge a city administrative unit, it shall state therein that, if a majority of those who shall vote in the area proposed to be consolidated with the city administrative unit shall vote in favor of such enlargement, such area shall be consolidated with the city administrative unit, effective July 1 next following such election, and that there shall thereafter be levied in such area so consolidated with the city administrative unit the same school taxes as shall be levied in the other portions of the city administrative unit, including any tax to provide for the payment of school bonds theretofore issued by or for such city administrative unit or for all or some part of the school area annexed to such city administrative unit, unless payment of such bonds has otherwise been provided for. (5) If the petition for an election is to supplement and equalize educational advantages, and if any school districts in the area in which it is proposed to vote such a tax have heretofore voted a supplementary tax, the petition and the notice of election shall state that in the event such election is carried, it will repeal all local taxes heretofore voted in any district except those in effect for debt service in any district, unless such debt service obligation is assumed by the county or otherwise provided for. (1955, c. 1372, art. 14, s. 4; 1957, c. 1271, ss. 3-5; 1981, c. 423, s. 1.)

G.S. 115C-505 Boards of education must consider petitions.

§ 115C-505.  Boards of education must consider petitions. The board of education to whom the petition requesting an election is addressed shall receive the petition and give it due consideration. If, in the discretion of the board of education, the petition for an election shall be approved, it shall be endorsed by the chairman and the secretary of the board and a record of the endorsement shall be made in the minutes of the board. Petitions for an election to enlarge a city administrative unit shall be subject to the approval and endorsement of both county and city boards of education which are therein affected. Local boards of education shall have no discretion in granting an election to abolish a special school tax in any local school administrative unit, or district, or other school area, which has previously voted a supplemental tax, whenever a majority of the qualified voters residing in said local school administrative unit, district or school area shall petition for an election. When such a petition, showing the proper number of names of qualified voters, is presented to a board of education, it is hereby made mandatory that such petition shall be granted and the election held. If at the election a majority of those in the district who have voted thereon have voted "against local tax," the tax shall be deemed revoked and shall not be levied: Provided, that in Alexander, Anson, Beaufort, Buncombe, Carteret, Catawba, Chatham, Chowan, Cleveland, Craven, Currituck, Davidson, Duplin, Franklin, Gates, Greene, Henderson, Hoke, Hyde, Iredell, Jackson, Johnston, Lenoir, Martin, Mecklenburg, Moore, Nash, Onslow, Pamlico, Pitt, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rockingham, Transylvania, Vance, Wake, Warren and Wilkes Counties, petition of twenty-five percent (25%) of the number of voters in the election creating said special tax district, said petition to be signed by qualified voters residing in such special tax district, shall be sufficient. The provisions of this section as to abolishing local tax districts shall not be applied when such local tax district is in debt in any sum whatever, or has obligated or committed its resources in any contractual manner: Provided, that no election for revoking a local tax in any local tax district shall be ordered and held in the district within less than one year from the date of the election at which the tax was voted and the district established, nor at any time within less than one year after the date of the last election on the question of revoking the tax in the district; and no petition seeking to revoke a school tax shall be approved by a board of education more often than once a year. (1955, c. 1372, art. 14, s. 5; 1957, c. 1100; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 975, s. 24.)

G.S. 115C-506 Action of board of county commissioners or governing body of municipality.

§ 115C-506.  Action of board of county commissioners or governing body of municipality. Petitions requesting special school elections and bearing the approval of the board of education of the local school administrative unit shall be presented to the board of county commissioners, and it shall be the duty of said board of county commissioners to call an election and fix the date for the same: Provided, that the board of education requesting the election may, for any reason deemed sufficient by said board which shall be specified and recorded in the minutes of the board, withdraw the petition by the twenty-fifth day before the election, and if the petition be so withdrawn, the election shall not be held unless by some other provision of law the holding of such election is mandatory. In the case of a city administrative unit in any incorporated city or town and formed from portions of contiguous counties, said petition shall be presented to the governing body of the city or town situated within, coterminous with, or embracing such city administrative unit, and the election shall be ordered by said governing body, and said governing body shall perform all the duties pertaining to said election performed by the board of county commissioners in elections held under this Article. (1955, c. 1372, art. 14, s. 6; 1959, c. 72; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 762, s. 9.)

G.S. 115C-507 Rules governing elections.

§ 115C-507.  Rules governing elections. All elections under this Chapter shall be held and conducted by the appropriate county board of elections. If the purpose of the election is to enlarge a city administrative unit, the notice of election shall include the following: a statement of the purpose of the election; a legal description of the area within which the election is to be held; and a statement that if a majority of those who shall vote in the area proposed to be consolidated with the city administrative unit shall vote in favor of such enlargement such area shall be consolidated with the city administrative unit, effective July 1 next following such election, and there shall thereafter be levied in such area so consolidated with the city administrative unit the same school taxes as shall be levied in the other portions of the city administrative unit, including any tax levy to provide for the payment of school bonds theretofore issued by or for such city administrative unit or for all or some part of the school area annexed to such city administrative unit, unless payment of such bonds has otherwise been provided for. The notice of the election shall be given as provided in G.S. 163-33(8) and in addition include a legal description of the area within which the election is to be held, and, if any additional tax is proposed to be levied, the maximum rate of tax to be levied which shall not exceed the maximum prescribed by this Article, and the purpose of the tax. No new registration of voters is required, but the board of elections, in its discretion, may use either Method A or Method B set forth in G.S. 163-288.2 in activating the voters in the territory. The ballot in such election shall contain the words "FOR local tax and AGAINST local tax" except when the election is held under subsection (c) of G.S. 115C-501, in which case the ballots shall contain the words "FOR enlargement of the ____ City Administrative Unit and school tax of the same rate," and "AGAINST enlargement of the ____ City Administrative Unit and school tax of the same rate." The elections shall be held in accordance with the applicable provisions of Chapter 163 and the expense of the election shall be paid by the board of education of the administrative unit in which the election is held, provided that when territory is proposed to be added to a city administrative unit, that unit shall bear the expense. No election held under this Article shall be open to question except in an action or proceeding commenced within 30 days after the board of elections has certified the results. (1955, c. 1372, art. 14, s. 7; 1957, c. 1271, ss. 6, 7; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 2011-31, s. 11; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, ss. 3.1(a), (b), 6.1.)

G.S. 115C-508 Effective date; levy of taxes.

§ 115C-508.  Effective date; levy of taxes. (a) If, in any election authorized by this Article, a majority of the voters voting in such election vote in favor of the enlargement of a city administrative unit, such enlargement shall become effective July 1 next following such election; and thereafter there shall be levied and collected in the area consolidated with the city administrative unit the same school taxes as shall be levied in the other portions of the city administrative unit. (b) If, in any election authorized by this Article, a majority of the voters voting in such election vote in favor of a supplemental tax, or in favor of the increase of a supplemental tax, or in favor of a tax to supplement and equalize educational advantages, the tax so authorized shall be levied and collected beginning with the fiscal year commencing July 1 next following such election. (1957, c. 1271, s. 8; 1981, c. 423, s. 1.)

G.S. 115C-509 Conveyance of school property upon enlargement of city administrative unit.

§ 115C-509.  Conveyance of school property upon enlargement of city administrative unit. Before any election is called to enlarge a city administrative unit, if any school property is located in the area proposed to be consolidated with the city administrative unit, the board of education of such city administrative unit and the board of education of the county administrative unit concerned shall agree with each other as to the school property to be conveyed and transferred to the board of education of the city administrative unit if a majority of the voters voting in the election vote in favor of such enlargement. And, if such enlargement is authorized by such election, the board of education of the county administrative unit shall, within 10 days after July 1 next following such election, convey and transfer to the board of education of the city administrative unit the property so agreed to be conveyed and transferred. (1957, c. 1271, s. 8; 1981, c. 423, s. 1.)

G.S. 115C-510 Elections in districts created from portions of contiguous counties.

§ 115C-510.  Elections in districts created from portions of contiguous counties. Districts already created and those that may be created from portions of two or more contiguous counties may hold elections under this Article to be incorporated or to vote a special local tax therein for the purposes enumerated in G.S. 115C-501. Elections for either purpose must be initiated by petitions from the portion of each county included in the district, or the proposed district. In districts already created or proposed to be created, the petition must be signed by fifteen percent (15%) of the registered voters who reside in the area. When the petitions shall have been approved by each of the boards of education of such contiguous counties, they shall then be presented by each of said boards of education to their respective boards of county commissioners. The boards of commissioners of each of the contiguous counties, in  compliance with the provisions of this Article relating to the conduct of local tax elections, then shall call upon the county board of elections to hold an election in that portion of the proposed district lying in its county. Election returns shall be made from each portion of the proposed district to the board of commissioners ordering the election in that portion, and the returns shall be canvassed and recorded as required in this Article for local tax districts. If a majority of the voters who vote thereon in each of the counties shall vote in favor of the tax, or for incorporation, the election shall be determined to have carried in the whole district, and shall be so recorded in the records of the board of county commissioners in each county in which the district is located. If the proposition submitted to the voters in the election is a question of incorporating the district, the ballots for this election shall have printed thereon the words "For Incorporation" and "Against Incorporation." If the election for incorporation is carried, the district is thereby incorporated and shall possess all the authority of incorporated districts. In case the election carried in each portion of the proposed district, the several county boards of education concerned shall each pass a formal order consolidating the territory into one joint local tax district, which shall be and become a body corporate by the name and style of "_______________Joint Local Tax School District of ______Counties." The county board of education having the largest school census and the largest area in the part of the joint local tax district lying in its county shall determine the location of the schoolhouse; but if the largest census and largest area do not both lie in the same county, then the county boards shall jointly select the site for the building; and in case of a disagreement they shall submit the question to a board of arbitration consisting of three members, one member to be named by each board of education if three counties are concerned, or if there are but two counties, then each board shall choose one member and the  two so named shall select the third member. The decision of this board of arbitration shall be binding on all county boards of education concerned. The building of all schoolhouses in such joint local tax districts shall be effected by the county board of education of the county in which the building is to be located under authority of law governing the erection of school buildings by county boards of education. It shall be lawful for the boards of education in the other county or counties to contribute to the cost of the building in proportion to the number of children shown by the official census to be resident within that part of the joint district lying within each county respectively. If the building is to be erected from moneys borrowed from the State Literary Fund or from county taxation, then each county board of education shall contribute to its construction in the proportion set out above and pay over its contribution to the treasurer of the county board having control of the erection of the building: Provided, it shall be lawful for the county board that controls the erection of the building to borrow from the State and lend to the district the full amount of the cost of the building in cases where the entire amount, or part of the amount, is to repaid by the district from district funds. All district funds of a joint local tax district shall be kept distinct from all other funds, placed to the credit of the district, and expended as other local tax or district bond funds are lawfully disbursed. The county board of education and county superintendent of schools of the county in which the schoolhouse is located shall have as full and ample control over the joint school and the district as it has in the case of other local tax districts, subject only to the limitations of this section. All districts formed from portions of contiguous counties before the ratification of this Article are hereby authorized and empowered to exercise all the powers and privileges conferred by this Article. (1955, c. 1372, art. 14, s. 8; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 975, ss. 8, 24.)

G.S. 115C-511 Levy and collection of taxes.

§ 115C-511.  Levy and collection of taxes. (a) If a local school administrative unit or district has voted a tax to operate schools of a higher standard than that provided by State and county support, the board of county commissioners of each county in which the local school administrative unit is located is authorized to levy a tax on all property having a situs in the local school administrative unit for the purpose of supplementing the local current expense fund, the capital outlay fund, or both. (b) Before April 15 of each year, the tax supervisor of each county in which the local school administrative unit is located shall certify to the superintendent of schools an estimate of the total assessed value of property in the county subject to taxation on behalf of the local school administrative unit and any districts therein pursuant to this Article. The board of education, in the budget it submits to the board of county commissioners, shall request the rate of ad valorem tax it wishes to have levied on its behalf as a school supplemental tax, not in excess of the rate approved by the voters. The board of county commissioners may approve or disapprove this request in whole or in part, and may levy such rate of supplemental tax as it may find to be in the best interests of the taxpayers and the public schools, not in excess of the rate requested by the board of education. Upon approving a supplemental tax levy pursuant to this section, the board of county commissioners shall cause the school supplemental tax to be computed for all property subject thereto. The taxes thus computed shall be shown separately on the county tax receipts for the fiscal year, and the county shall collect the school supplemental tax in the same manner that county taxes are collected. Collections shall be remitted to the local school administrative unit within 10 days after the close of each calendar month. Partial payments shall be proportionately divided between the county and the local school administrative unit. The board of county commissioners may, in its discretion, deduct from the proceeds of the school supplemental tax the actual additional cost to the county of levying, computing, billing, and collecting the tax. (c) It shall be unlawful for any part of a tax levied pursuant to this Article to be used for any purpose other than those purposes authorized by the election in the unit or district. (1955, c. 1372, art. 14, s. 9; 1965, c. 584, s. 12; 1975, c. 437, s. 6; 1981, c. 423, s. 1.)

G.S. 115C-512 Expansion of existing supplemental school tax area pursuant to merger of school administrative units in certain counties.

§ 115C-512.  Expansion of existing supplemental school tax area pursuant to merger of school administrative units in certain counties. (a) This section applies to: (1) Counties that have three school administrative units located entirely within the county, only one of which units has a supplemental school tax in effect that is levied exclusively by the elected school board of the administrative unit. (2) Counties that have three school administrative units, two of which are entirely within the county and one of which is located in more than one county. (b) If a school administrative unit in a county to which this section applies merges with another school administrative unit in the county, and one of the merging units has previously voted a supplemental school tax that is in effect prior to and at the time of the merger, then the geographic area subject to the supplemental school tax in effect prior to the merger shall be expanded to include the entire geographic area encompassed by the new school administrative unit resulting from the merger.  The levy and collection of and the expenditure of revenues from the tax shall be expanded as herein provided without approval of the voters of the geographic area directly affected by the merger, and shall be used for purposes provided in G.S. 115C-501(a). (b1) If legislation is enacted providing for the merger of two school administrative units located entirely within a county described in subdivision (a)(2), and one of the merging units has previously voted a supplemental school tax that is in effect, then from July 1, 1991, and for two years following the effective date of the merger, the board of commissioners of the county in which the units are located may create a special tax district pursuant to this Article consisting of one of the merging units and may levy a supplemental school tax in that district at a rate that is different from the rate levied in the remainder of the merged unit.  The tax levied in the special district may be levied without approval of the voters of the district but may not exceed the amount of the supplemental school tax previously voted in one of the merged units.  The supplemental school tax levied pursuant to this subsection may be used for any purpose for which a board of education may budget funds under Article 31 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes. (c) Notwithstanding levying authority in existence prior to the merger, the board of county commissioners shall, upon merger of the administrative units, have the exclusive authority to levy the supplemental tax expanded in accordance with this section, provided that the tax shall be levied at a rate not to exceed the rate of the supplemental school tax in effect prior to the merger of the school administrative units. (1989, c. 768, s. 1; 1991, c. 325, s. 1.)

G.S. 115C-513 Special tax for certain merged school administrative units.

§ 115C-513.  Special tax for certain merged school administrative units. (a) Scope. - This section applies to a merged school administrative unit that consists of one entire county and part of a second county and is composed of two merging units, one of which is located within one county and one of which is located partly in the same county as the first unit and partly in a second county. A merged school administrative unit to which this section applies may levy taxes as provided in this section to be applied to the payment of notes, bonds, or refunding bonds issued to finance capital costs of school facilities as described in G.S. 159-48. (b) Issuance of Bonds. - The board of education of a merged school administrative unit may issue notes, bonds, or refunding bonds at one time or from time to time to pay the capital costs of school facilities as described in G.S. 159-48. The bonds shall be issued and maintained in accordance with the provisions of Articles 1, 4, 5A, 7, 9, 10, and 11 of Chapter 159 of the General Statutes, except as modified by this section. The board of education of a merged school administrative unit shall call for a referendum authorizing the issuance of notes, bonds, and refunding bonds and the levy of a tax to pay amounts relating to these notes, bonds, or refunding bonds. The referendum may be called only with the consent of the boards of commissioners of both counties in which the merged school administrative unit is located. The referendum shall be held in the merged school administrative unit and only those qualified voters who reside in the unit may vote. The board of commissioners of each county shall have the referendum conducted by the board of elections of its county. After issuance of the approved bonds, the merged school administrative unit shall make timely payments of principal and interest on the bonds after receipt of notification of its debt service obligation pursuant to G.S. 159-35. The provisions of G.S. 159-36 govern a failure by the merged school administrative unit to levy taxes or otherwise provide for payment of the debt. Bonds, notes, and refunding bonds issued under this section shall be exempt from all State, county, and municipal taxation and assessment, direct or indirect, general or special, whether imposed for the purpose of general revenue or otherwise, excluding income taxes on the gain from the transfer of bonds, notes, and refunding bonds, and franchise taxes. The interest on bonds, notes, and refunding bonds is not subject to taxation as income. Article 9 of the North Carolina Uniform Commercial Code, Chapter 25 of the General Statutes, does not apply to any security interest created in connection with the issuance of bonds under this section. (c) Tax. - If a majority of the qualified voters of a merged school administrative unit voting on the question approve the issuance of bonds and levy of a tax as provided in this section, the board of education of the merged school administrative unit may levy a tax on all property having a situs in the merged school administrative unit for the purpose of retiring bonds issued by the unit under this section. Taxes levied pursuant to this section may be levied prior to the issuance of notes or bonds. The authority of a merged school administrative unit to levy a tax pursuant to this section terminates after all of the related notes, bonds, and refunding bonds are discharged or paid. Before April 15 of each year, the tax assessor of each county in which the merged school administrative unit is located shall certify to the superintendent of schools an estimate of the total assessed value of property in the county subject to taxation on behalf of the merged school administrative unit pursuant to this Article. The board of education of the merged school administrative unit, in the budget it submits to each board of county commissioners, shall set the rate of ad valorem tax it levies as a tax under this section. The levy under this section shall be at the rate necessary to provide for payment of interest on and principal of outstanding notes, bonds, and refunding bonds issued by the merged school administrative unit. Each county in which the merged school administrative unit is located shall compute and collect this tax in the same manner that county taxes are collected. The tax shall be shown separately on the tax receipts for the fiscal year. Collections shall be remitted to the merged school administrative unit within 10 days after the close of each calendar month. Partial payments shall be proportionally divided between the county collecting the tax and the merged school administrative unit. The board of commissioners of each county collecting the tax levied under this section may, in its discretion, deduct from the proceeds of the tax the actual additional cost to the county of computing, billing, and collecting the tax. (1991, c. 325, s. 3; 1995, c. 46, s. 4; 2015-264, s. 16(b).)
Source: North Carolina General Assembly (ncleg.gov)URL: https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByChapter/Chapter_115C.htmlFetched: 10/19/2026

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