Local school officials are expressing their opposition to the prospect of partisan school boards, despite area legislators’ support for the measure.

House Bill 265 debuted on March 8 in the North Carolina General Assembly, and if passed, the bill would switch school board elections in six counties from nonpartisan to partisan. As of now, voters are not provided with a candidate’s party affiliation on the ballot. The six counties in question include: Beaufort, Dare, Haywood, Hyde, Madison and Yancey.

N.C. Rep. Beverly Boswell, who represents District 6, which includes Beaufort County, is a primary sponsor of the bill, and Rep. Michael Speciale, representing District 3, which also includes Beaufort, was added as a sponsor.

Sen. Bill Cook has also voiced his support for HB 265, saying it’s a good way to better inform voters of a candidate’s opinions.

“My view of transparency is that the voters have all the information possible. Approximately 25 of all the school board elections in North Carolina are now elected on a partisan basis. One of the easiest ways for voters to identify who shares their philosophies is through partisan affiliation,” Cook said in a statement Friday.

Boswell did not respond to a request for comments.

Despite legislators’ support, however, Beaufort County school officials are not on board.

“I can only speak for me, but I can say that I am not a fan of this legislation for a lot of reasons,” Board of Education Vice Chair Carolyn Walker said. “My primary reason is that I don’t think politics belong in education. I know you can’t get away from it in other forms of government.”

Walker said she thinks factoring in political parties will lead to a culture of deciding based on party lines, rather than what is best for the students.

“We’ve worked so hard on the issues from a perspective of what’s best for our students and our faculties and our employees in Beaufort County,” she said. “I’m proud of that. I would hate to see it become more about, ‘Well, you’re a Democrat and you feel that way,’ or ‘You’re a Republican and you feel that way.’”

Dr. Don Phipps, superintendent of Beaufort County Schools, agreed.

“Our Board, through the different iterations that I have had the opportunity to work with, have always tried to do what’s in the best interest of our students. At the local level, Boards of Education are serving local constituencies and are hopefully in tune with local interests,” Phipps wrote in an email. “I can certainly speak for our Board; they hear often from our citizens and respond. I hope our Board members will operate in a non-partisan manner, and I would hope that they could run for office in the same manner.”

Walker said she thinks Beaufort County residents trust the Board of Education to make the right decisions, and she is proud to say the board works as a cohesive unit, where party affiliations are not factored into decisions.

The House of Representatives passed HB 265 in early April, and it was sent over to the Senate. On April 11, it passed the first reading in the Senate and now awaits discussion in the Committee on Rules and Operations.

“I am not speaking in support of or against any party or group. I simply believe local education work should be conducted by those serving for reasons that go beyond partisan politics,” Phipps said.