New pick for Wake school board didn’t move into district until after he was named
Update 2:35 p.m. Saturday: Craston Artis has given up his appointment to the Wake County school board because of questions raised about his place of residence. Read more here.
The Wake County school board will decide Tuesday whether its pick to be its newest member has met the legal requirements to be sworn into office.
The school board voted Jan. 14 to appoint Craston Artis II to fill the vacant District 4 seat, but canceled his swearing-in ceremony due to questions about his residence. The board will review documents that Artis provided this week that show he planned to move into his new apartment earlier this month but didn’t do so until after he was appointed.
“I had an agreement to move in on January 8th based on having made payment but was told on January 7th my moving in would be delayed,” Artis wrote in an email Thursday to school board chairwoman Lindsay Mahaffey. “I trust this demonstrates my earnest attempt to secure residency prior to the interview process.”
The District 4 seat that covers much of Southeast Raleigh had been held until Dec. 31 by Keith Sutton, who resigned to become superintendent of Warren County Public Schools. His replacement must live in District 4 to finish his term, which expires in November.
Six people applied to fill the vacancy. One person was disqualified because the address listed on their application was not in District 4.
“We looked at everyone’s residence as far as making sure that their residence on the resume was correct and that it was in District 4,” Mahaffey said in an interview Friday.
Of the remaining applicants, the board voted 7-1 to appoint Artis, an educator and former teacher, who promised to make equity issues a focus if he was appointed.
Different address on voter records
According to an email Wednesday from Mahaffey to Artis, questions were raised after the vote about how his voter registration listed a different address outside District 4. The district contacted Artis, who confirmed his address as being the one listed on the application, according to the email.
Artis changed his voter registration records on Tuesday to show the new address. He said in an interview earlier this week that he had signed a lease for his new address in December and no longer lives with his wife at the old Raleigh address listed on the voter registration records.
After more questions were raised, the board gave him a deadline of 12 p.m. Thursday to submit documents showing his place of residence.
“The Board does wish to proceed with continued due diligence in reviewing this matter both expeditiously and fairly, with a focus on assuring that the citizens in District 4 have an appointed representative,” Mahaffey said in the Wednesday email.
Artis submitted a driver’s license issued Wednesday showing his new address, a utility bill for his new address that he paid for on Thursday and a Dec. 6 rent payment for his new address.
Not a Wake County resident?
Artis hasn’t even been a Wake County resident for the past nine months, according to Rebecca Jackson-Artis, Craston’s estranged wife. Jackson-Artis said in an interview Saturday that her husband has been living with his parents in Goldsboro since April.
“He would be a good asset to the Wake County school board,” Jackson-Artis said in the interview. “However this is my issue with Craston. You should never get any position, whether it’s corporate or nonprofit or political office, based on lies and exaggeration.”
Craston has wanted to get political office in Southeast Raleigh, according to his wife. They plan to get divorced this year.
Jackson-Artis has offered to attend Tuesday’s meeting to answer any questions that the board may have about her husband’s residency status.
“I don’t hold back speaking truth,” Jackson-Artis, the mother of two Wake students, tweeted Saturday. “This is why no one in politics contacted me. I know people on the school board and they know me.
“They could’ve called me. They didn’t because everyone on that board has a personal agenda. I’m on no one’s side except the students of WCPSS.”
Craston Artis did not directly respond to his wife’s allegations in a phone call Saturday, but said the media should be careful about publishing any of her charges.
Moved into new address this week
Artis received an extension for the 12 p.m. deadline Thursday to submit a copy of his lease application agreement. The agreement shows a start date of Jan. 8 and an end date of Nov. 7 — one day before the school board election.
The lease agreement includes an email from the apartment complex’s assistant manager saying Artis’ initial Jan. 8 move-in date needed to be delayed until Wednesday, Jan. 19.
The board will discuss the documentation on Tuesday. The discussion is required to be in open session.
“The board will need to make the decision,” Mahaffey said.
If the board decides that Artis isn’t eligible, it could pick from one of the other applicants or reopen the application process.
“I’m prepared for a full discussion on the time line of events,” board member Karen Carter tweeted Friday. “The community deserves the complete picture of what has occurred. Please sign up to attend the Special Called Board Meeting Tuesday at 2 pm or watch it streamed live.”
Carter was the lone person who didn’t vote for Artis.
This story was originally published January 21, 2022 at 4:31 PM.
