Surety Bonds
NCSBA has received a number of inquiries seeking copies of board members’ or superintendents’ “surety bonds.” In addition, we are aware of several instances in which a board has been “served” with a notice of intent to file a claim against the board’s surety bond or surety liability policy. We wanted to ensure that board members are aware that:
- North Carolina law does not require local board of education members or superintendents to post bonds.
- The North Carolina School Boards Trust (NCSBT), NCSBA’s risk management program, does not provide surety bonds for board members or superintendents.
- NCSBT does provide Errors & Omissions/General Liability (EOGL) coverage for boards that choose to participate in the NCSBT EOGL Fund. If an NCSBT EOGL Fund member receives a public records request seeking a copy of its EOGL Coverage Agreement and needs to have a copy of the Agreement re-sent to the district, please contact Melody Coons at mcoons@ncsba.org or Donna Lynch at dlynch@ncsba.org.
Some of the instances in which a board has been “served” have taken place during public comment or at the end of the board meeting, with individuals coming directly to the board table. We wanted to alert you to this possibility so that you can consult with your board counsel about how best to respond to such “service” if it happens during your meeting. As always, we recommend that you share with your board attorney any documents that have been “served” on the board or otherwise assert any legal claims.