David Wortman is one of four Republicans in New Hanover County hoping to secure a spot for Board of Education on the November ballot. On March 15th, voters will choose three candidates from each party to compete in the November election.
Wortman has a law practice in Brunswick County but makes his home in Wilmington. With two young children, a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old, he says he’s concerned that the New Hanover County School Board is not taking the opinions of parents with kids into consideration when making decisions.
"One of the priorities that I would see coming on the School Board would be allowing a medium between the parents, students and teachers and the board...and help make those decisions – whether it be technology decisions, decisions of our how to spend our money for the school board bond that was passed in 2014…
"In order to have that communication, you have to have members of the board that are actually living the decisions that the school board make[s]."
Performance of struggling schools is also a big concern for Wortman. The quality of the educational system is a major factor in where people choose to live, he says, directly impacting economic development.
"We have 10-11 elementary schools that are operating below the average of the state in reading and math levels. As you know, the North Carolina education system is mired in the middle with all of our states. So we’re actually operating below the national average."
