Embattled Charlotte school board wants to hide at the bottom of the ballot

General Assembly should remove carve-out in election bill

Bombarded with criticism from all sides, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board is now trying to hide at the bottom of the 2022 ballot.

The General Assembly shouldn’t let them.

In North Carolina, most local governments hold their elections in odd-numbered years, like 2021. But with results of the U.S. Census delayed, several dozen municipalities across the state that elect representatives by district will need to delay their elections to avoid legal challenges.

A bill to help them out is nearly complete. Senate Bill 722 would move most of these local elections to early 2022 — with Election Day falling on March 8, April 26 or May 12, depending on how the U.S. House and Senate primaries go.

The city of Charlotte’s elections will happen on that schedule. But not the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, at least under the current version of the bill.

In a special carve-out, the CMS board’s election would be delayed until the regular 2022 general election in November. The school board req…