Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include both Rowan State House representatives as co-sponsors of the bill. 

Lawsuits to obtain more funding for boards of education would be removed from state law, if the N.C. General assembly passes a bill introduced Tuesday and co-sponsored by Rep. Carl Ford, R-76.

The bill has bipartisan support and would make decisions by county commissioners the final step in allocating school system funding. The bill passed its first reading Wednesday. It was assigned it to the Judiciary II committee.

In its current form, the bill would allow for a joint meeting, facilitated by a mediator, of county commissioners and school board members. It wouldn’t, however, allow formal mediation, similar to the process that occurred in 2014 between Rowan Commissioners and the Rowan-Salisbury School Board. Commissioners and the school board agreed to a list of seven conditions related to a budget dispute.

The proposed bill reads: “If no agreement is reached at the joint meeting of the two boards, the decision of the county commissioners is final. The local board of education shall not file any legal action challenging the sufficiency of the funds appropriated by the board of county commissioners to the local current expense fund, the capital outlay fund, or both.”

It would become effective immediately upon being signed into law. The bill would apply to budget ordinances adopted after it becomes law.

Ford, who served as a Rowan County Commissioner before being elected to the State House, said eliminating the possibility of lawsuits would save taxpayer money.

“Not one brick is laid, not one teacher is paid and not one child is educated,” Ford said in a text message. “Only two people benefit from (lawsuits), the two attorneys representing the boards.”

As of Thursday morning, State Rep. Harry Warren, R-77, had also signed onto the bill as a co-sponsor.

School Board Member Richard Miller, who was chairman during the 2014 mediation process, spoke harshly against the proposal when asked. Miller said the school board’s ability to sue county commissioners serves as a checks and balances system.

“If county commissioners want to be the school board, then do away with the school board,” Miller said.

He said the argument that eliminating lawsuits saves money could be applied to any dispute against the county, adding that the cost of lawsuits isn’t the real motivation behind the bill. Eliminating lawsuits, Miller said, is motivated by a desire for commissioners to increase power.

Commissioners Chairman Greg Edds and School Board Chairman Josh Wagner agreed that lawsuits aren’t the best option in a funding dispute.

“Two boards made up of people of goodwill should be able to agree on what’s best for the community,” Edds said. “I’m not going to comment on what happened last year, but I don’t see that happening with out two current boards. I don’t see mediation or a lawsuit.”

Although Wagner said formal litigation isn’t the best option, he expressed concern that the proposed bill might allow commissioners to set the school system’s priorities based on funding. He said the best way to resolve any disputes about funding was through good communication. The Joint Planning Committee, established as a part of 2014’s mediation, could serve as a medium for communication between the two boards, if the bill passes, Wagner said.

Miller, however, said a joint meeting between commissioners and the school board doesn’t necessarily mean both boards have to agree.

Mediation between Rowan Commissioners and the board of education in 2014 also resulted in $6.5 million to be used for a school central office at 500 North Main Street in Salisbury, $12 million in funding to be used for Knox Middle School renovations or replacing Woodleaf and Cleveland Elementary Schools and $18 million to be used for construction of a new facility to replace Woodleaf Elementary and Cleveland Elementary schools.

Commissioner Craig Pierce, who went through mediation in 2014, agreed with Edds and Wagner, but said state government should fund local school systems or set a specific percentage of tax revenue to be used for the school system. With a set percentage, Pierce said, the school system would always know how much money it would receive and could project its budget based on tax revenue.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246