2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes § 116-235. Board of Trustees; powers and duties.

§ 116‑235.  Board of Trustees; powers and duties.

(a)       Academic Program. –

(1)       The Board of Trustees shall establish the standard course of study for the School. This course of study shall set forth the subjects to be taught in each grade and the texts and other educational materials on each subject to be used in each grade.

(2)       The Board of Trustees shall adopt regulations governing class size, the instructional calendar, the length of the instructional day, and the number of instructional days in each term.

(b)       Students. –

(1)       Admission of Students. – The School shall admit students in accordance with criteria, standards, and procedures established by the Board of Trustees. To be eligible to be considered for admission, an applicant must be either a legal resident of the State, as defined by G.S. 116‑143.1(a)(1), or a student whose parent is an active duty member of the armed services, as defined by G.S. 116‑143.3(2), who is abiding in this State incident to active military duty at the time the application is submitted, provided the student shares the abode of that parent; eligibility to remain enrolled in the School shall terminate at the end of any school year during which a student becomes a nonresident of the State. The Board of Trustees shall ensure, insofar as possible without jeopardizing admission standards, that an equal number of qualified rising high school juniors is admitted to the program and to the residential summer institutes in science and mathematics from each of North Carolina's congressional districts. In no event shall the differences in the number of rising high school juniors offered admission to the program from each of North Carolina's congressional districts be more than two and one‑half percentage points from the average number per district who are offered admission.

(2)       School Attendance. – Every parent, guardian, or other person in this State having charge or control of a child who is enrolled in the School and who is less than 16 years of age shall cause such child to attend school continuously for a period equal to the time which the School shall be in session. No person shall encourage, entice, or counsel any child to be unlawfully absent from the School. Any person who aids or abets a student's unlawful absence from the School shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The Director of the School shall be responsible for implementing such additional policies concerning compulsory attendance as shall be adopted by the Board of Trustees, including regulations concerning lawful and unlawful absences, permissible excuses for temporary absences, maintenance of attendance records, and attendance counseling.

(3)       Student Discipline. – Rules of conduct governing students of the School shall be established by the Board of Trustees. The Director, other administrative officers, and all teachers, substitute teachers, voluntary teachers, teacher aides and assistants, and student teachers in the School may use reasonable force in the exercise of lawful authority to restrain or correct pupils and maintain order.

(c)       Personnel. –

(1)       Faculty Members. – Members of the faculty of the School shall be exempt from the provisions of the State Personnel Act. The Board of Trustees shall adopt all policies and regulations governing the qualifications, criteria for employment, assignment, health requirements, terms and conditions of employment, compensation and benefits, and the supervision and management of all faculty members of the School, and such system of employment and employment security as the Board of Trustees may deem to be appropriate.

(2)       Senior Administrative Officers. – The senior administrative officers of the School shall consist of a Director, as provided by G.S. 116‑236, and such other senior academic and administrative officers as shall be selected and employed by the Board of Trustees. They shall be governed by such policies and regulations and provisions for compensation as the Board of Trustees may adopt, and shall be exempt from the State Personnel Act.

(3)       Other Employees. – All other employees of the School shall be subject to the State Personnel Act and to such supplemental policies and regulations, not inconsistent therewith, as may be adopted by the Board of Trustees.

(4)       All employees of the School shall be deemed to be employees of the State and shall be covered by all provisions of State law relevant thereto, including Chapter 97, Chapter 135, and Article 31A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.

(d)       Finances, Property, Obligations. –

(1)       The Board of Trustees shall develop, prepare, and present to the Board of Governors a recommended budget for the School, which shall be transmitted by the Board of Governors to the General Assembly.

(2)       Subject to all applicable State law and to the terms and conditions of the instruments under which property is acquired, the Board of Trustees may acquire, hold, convey or otherwise dispose of, and invest or reinvest any and all real and personal property, except that the Board of Trustees may not convey any of the land constituting the campus, except for necessary easements, without the approval of the General Assembly. All power and authority exercised with regard to the acquisition, operation, maintenance, and disposition of real and personal property shall be subject to the provisions of Chapters 143 and 146 of the General Statutes except as provided in G.S. 116‑238.

(3)       The Board of Trustees is authorized to accept, receive, and use any federal funds, or aids, that may be made available by the federal government which, in the judgment of the Board of Trustees, would be beneficial to the operation of the School.

(4)       The Board of Trustees is authorized to establish a permanent endowment fund as provided in G.S. 116‑238.

(5)       The lands and other property of the School shall be exempt from all kinds of public taxation, except as may be provided for by State law.

(6)       The Board of Trustees may establish policies and regulations for the sale of goods and services, not inconsistent with the provisions of Article 11 of Chapter 66 of the General Statutes.

(7)       The Board of Trustees shall not impose any fee without the approval of the General Assembly, unless the fee is a traffic, parking, or motor vehicle registration fee authorized under subsection (e) of this section.

(e)       Regulation of Traffic and Parking and Registration of Motor Vehicles. –

(1)       Unless the context clearly requires another meaning, the following words and phrases have the meanings indicated when used in this subsection:

a.         "Board of Trustees" means the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

b.         "Campus" means that School property, without regard to location, which is used wholly or partly for the purposes of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

c.         "School property" means property owned or leased in whole or in part by the State of North Carolina and which is subject to the general management and control of the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

(2)       Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, all of the provisions of Chapter 20 of the General Statutes relating to the use of highways of the State and the operation of motor vehicles thereon are applicable to all streets, alleys, driveways, parking lots, and parking structure on School property. Nothing in this subsection modifies any rights of ownership or control of School property, now or hereafter vested in the Board of Trustees or the State of North Carolina.

(3)       The Board of Trustees may by ordinance prohibit, regulate, divert, control, and limit pedestrian or vehicular traffic and the parking of motor vehicles and other modes of conveyance on the campus. In fixing speed limits, the Board of Trustees is not subject to G.S. 20‑141(f1) or (g2), but may fix any speed limit reasonable and safe under the circumstances as conclusively determined by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees may not regulate traffic on streets open to the public as of right, except as specifically provided in this section.

(4)       The Board of Trustees may by ordinance provide for the registration of motor vehicles maintained or operated on the campus by any student, faculty member, or employee of the School, and may fix fees for such registration. The ordinance may make it unlawful for any person to operate an unregistered motor vehicle on the campus when the vehicle is required by the ordinance to be registered.

(5)       The Board of Trustees may by ordinance set aside parking lots and other parking facilities on the campus for use by students, faculty, and employees of the School and members of the general public attending schools, conferences, or meetings at the School, visiting or making use of any School facilities, or attending to official business with the School. The Board of Trustees may issue permits to park in these lots and garages and may charge a fee therefor. The Board of Trustees may also by ordinance make it unlawful for any person to park a motor vehicle in any lot or other parking facility without procuring the requisite permit and displaying it on the vehicle.

(6)       The Board of Trustees may by ordinance set aside spaces in designated parking areas or facilities in which motor vehicles may be parked for specified periods of time. To regulate parking in such spaces, the Board of Trustees may install a system of parking meters and make it unlawful for any person to park a motor vehicle in a metered space without activating the meter for the entire time that the vehicle is parked, up to the maximum length of time allowed for that space. The meters may be activated by coins of the United States. The Board of Trustees may also install automatic gates, employ attendants, and use any other device or procedure to control access to and collect the fees for using its parking areas and facilities.

(7)       The Board of Trustees may by ordinance provide for the issuance of stickers, decals, permits, or other indicia representing the registration status of vehicles or the eligibility of vehicles to park on the campus and may by ordinance prohibit the forgery, counterfeiting, unauthorized transfer, or unauthorized use of them.

(8)       Violation of an ordinance adopted under any portion of this subsection is a Class 3 misdemeanor. An ordinance may provide that certain acts prohibited thereby shall not be enforced by criminal sanctions, and in such cases a person committing any such act shall not be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(9)       An ordinance adopted under any portion of this subsection may provide that violation subjects the offender to a civil penalty. Penalties may be graduated according to the seriousness of the offense or the number of prior offenses by the person charged. The Board of Trustees may establish procedures for the collection of these penalties and they may be enforced by civil action in the nature of debt. The Board of Trustees may also provide for appropriate administrative sanctions if an offender does not pay a validly due penalty or upon repeated offenses. Appropriate administrative sanctions include, but are not limited to, revocation of parking permits, termination of vehicle registration, and termination or suspension of enrollment in or employment by the School.

(10)     An ordinance adopted under any portion of this subsection may provide that any vehicle illegally parked may be removed to a storage area. Regardless of whether the School does its own removal and disposal of motor vehicles or contracts with another person to do so, the School shall provide a hearing procedure for the owner. For purposes of this subdivision, the definitions in G.S. 20‑219.9 apply.

a.         If the School operates in such a way that the person who tows the vehicle is responsible for collecting towing fees, all provisions of Article 7A, Chapter 20, apply.

b.         If the School operates in such a way that it is responsible for collecting towing fees, it shall:

1.         Provide by contract or ordinance for a schedule of reasonable towing fees,

2.         Provide a procedure for a prompt fair hearing to contest the towing,

3.         Provide for an appeal to district court from that hearing,

4.         Authorize release of the vehicle at any time after towing by the posting of a bond or paying of the fees due, and

5.         If the School chooses to enforce its authority by sale of the vehicle, provide a sale procedure similar to that provided in G.S. 44A‑4, 44A‑5, and 44A‑6, except that no hearing in addition to the probable cause hearing is required. If no one purchases the vehicle at the sale and if the value of the vehicle is less than the amount of the lien, the School may destroy it.

(11)     Evidence that a motor vehicle was found parked or unattended in violation of an ordinance of the Board of Trustees is prima facie evidence that the vehicle was parked by:

a.         The person holding a School parking permit for the vehicle, or

b.         If no School parking permit has been issued for the vehicle, the person in whose name the vehicle is registered with the School pursuant to subdivision (3), above, or

c.         If no School parking permit has been issued for the vehicle and the vehicle is not registered with the School, the person in whose name it is registered with the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles or the corresponding agency of another state or nation.

                  The rule of evidence established by this subdivision (11) applies only in civil, criminal, or administrative actions or proceedings concerning violations of ordinances of the Board of Trustees. G.S. 20‑162.1 does not apply to such actions or proceedings.

(12)     The Board of Trustees shall cause to be posted appropriate notice to the public of applicable traffic and parking restrictions.

(13)     All ordinances adopted under this subsection shall be recorded in the minutes of the Board of Trustees and copies thereof shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State. The Board of Trustees shall provide for printing and distributing copies of its traffic and parking ordinances.

(14)     All moneys received pursuant to this subsection shall be placed in a trust account of the School and may be used for any of the following purposes:

a.         To defray the cost of administering and enforcing ordinances adopted under this subsection;

b.         To develop, maintain, and supervise parking areas and facilities;

c.         To fulfill other purposes related to parking, traffic, and transportation on the campus.

(f)        Status as a Body Politic and Corporate. – The Board of Trustees of the School is hereby made a body corporate and politic, to be known and distinguished as "The Board of Trustees of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics." The Board of Trustees shall be capable in law to sue and be sued and of prosecuting and defending suits for or against the corporation, subject to the provisions of G.S. 114‑2 and G.S. 147‑17.

(g)       The Board of Trustees may adopt such other policies and regulations as it may consider necessary and expedient for the operation and management of the affairs of the School, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Article.

(h)       The Board of Trustees shall keep the Board of Governors fully and promptly informed, through the President of The University of North Carolina, concerning activities of the Board of Trustees, including notices of meetings and copies of the minutes of all such meetings. (1985, c. 757, s. 206(b); 1993, c. 539, ss. 896, 897; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1995, c. 507, s. 15.1; 2002‑126, s. 9.12(c); 2005‑318, s. 2; 2005‑445, s. 8.1.)