There are five districts in Brunswick County’s Board of Education. In District 5, Republican Jerry Benton is facing off against Democrat Joanne Levitan. She’s big on school safety but not so much on charter schools.
Joanne Levitan spent almost a decade working for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and 26 years at ADP. She says that gives her expertise with new software and programs, along with budgeting and accounting, to improve the school system.
She says school safety is important, and her plan is to increase the number of social workers, nurses and mental health professionals to address the issues that relate to safety.
Levitan is also concerned about the growth of charter schools in the county.
“My opponent is very much in favor of charter schools. His wife is actually the headmistress of Roger Bacon Charter school and although I feel there's a place for charter schools in Brunswick County, I think there are some problems with charter schools in that they drain money from the public schools and they don't offer the same thing that public schools offer. They don't offer busing. They don't offer school lunch.”
Levitan says if elected she would also push for a vocational high school in fast-growing Brunswick County. And she wants more emphasis on pre-K education.