Wake County school board changes its leadership, as Sutton ousts Martin for chairman
A divided Wake County school board chose Keith Sutton on Tuesday to replace Jim Martin as its new chairman.
Sutton, an education consultant and board member since 2009, defeated Martin in a 5-4 vote at the board’s annual meeting. Roxie Cash was unanimously elected as the new vice chairwoman, filling the position that Sutton held the past year.
After the vote, Sutton said that North Carolina’s largest school district has much work to do, including making schools “healthy, balanced and integrated” and promoting student achievement for all its children.
“I think this is an opportunity to bring a different leadership style to our board and the direction that we’re moving in,” Sutton said.
He said that several board members had expressed frustration with the pace of dealing with equity and inclusion issues in the district. But he said it didn’t have anything to do with Martin’s leadership.
Sutton said he will be able to handle leading the school board while also seeking the Democratic nomination for state superintendent of public instruction in 2020. If he is elected state superintendent, he would have to resign from the school board.
School board chairs typically serve for two one-year terms, but there’s precedent for replacing the chair early. Sutton was ousted as chairman after one year in 2013 in a split board vote.
Martin, a professor at N.C. State University and board member since 2011, was elected chairman in 2018. After losing re-election to the chairman post, he declined a nomination to become the vice chairman.
Sutton received votes from Cash, Monika Johnson-Hostler, Lindsay Mahaffey and Heather Scott. Martin received votes from Bill Fletcher, Chris Heagarty and Christine Kushner.
After the vote, Martin was praised for his time as chairman.
“I am grateful for the leadership that you have displayed over the past year,” Johnson-Hostler said.
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 6:12 PM.
