On today’s show, we’ll be unpacking the recent town hall forum we held for the candidates in the 2024 New Hanover County school board race. As we’ve been doing for the last few years, we partnered with WECT and Port City Daily on this event — and we’ll be joined in just a little bit by PCD’s Brenna Flanagan.
There are three open seats on the school board this year — Republican Stephanie Kraybill and Democrat Hugh McManus have decided not to run again, and Democrat Stephanie Walker is running for county commissioner.
That makes it a wide-open field with no incumbents, although Democratic candidate Judy Justice, who touts her decades in education, previously served from 2018 to 2022. She’s joined by two fellow Democratic candidates Jerry Jones, a bookstore owner, and Tim Merrick a retired chiropractor and semi-retired consultant
There are also three Republican candidates, who made it through a crowded primary race earlier this year: David Perry has a background in education and IT, and a grandson in the school system; Nikki Bascome, who ran a childcare facility and is a former consultant for Smart Start of New Hanover County and a district substitute; and, Natosha Tew, formerly a firefighter and the City of Wilmington's emergency management coordinator — and also the founder and current legislative liaison for the New Hanover County chapter of Moms for Liberty.
They are, of course, running for a seat on a board that has been riven by partisan fights — at times, to the point of dysfunction – even as staff plead for less politics and focus on more pressing issues. The current board recently fired superintendent Dr. Charles Foust, made deep staffing cuts in the face of a $20-million budget shortfall, and continues to deal with the learning loss from the pandemic. So, whoever wins in November will have their work cut out for them.
Links:
- Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson on the Indoctrination in North Carolina Public Education Report (2021)
- Fact check: NHCS candidate forum gets heated over Covid-19, student accountability — Brenna Flanagan (PCD)
- NHC school board candidate forum: Fact-checking and analysis — Rachel Keith (WHQR)
- State Sen. Michael Lee discusses last year's controversial education legislation
- Voter Guide: New Hanover County Commissioners
- 2024 General Election coverage and voting information