New pick for Wake school board withdraws after residency status questioned
Craston Artis II has abandoned his appointment to the Wake County school board amid questions about whether he was eligible to hold the seat.
The school board had voted Jan. 14 to appoint Artis to the vacant District 4 seat that represents much of Southeast Raleigh. But the board had canceled the swearing-in ceremony and scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday to discuss concerns raised about whether Artis lived in District 4 — a legal requirement for holding the seat.
Artis provided documentation this week that shows he planned to move into his new apartment in District 4 earlier this month but didn’t do so until after he was appointed. But his estranged wife, Rebecca Jackson-Artis, said in an interview Saturday that her husband is no longer a Wake County resident and has lived with his parents in Goldsboro since April.
“In light of political concerns from a small group of citizens, I have reconsidered this as the proper time to seek appointment to the school board,” Artis wrote in an email Saturday to school board chairwoman Lindsay Mahaffey. “I have also found myself in the middle of personal attacks from someone close to me.
“That said, I submit this as the official notice of withdrawal of my name from appointment to the school board at this time. I appreciate you and the board for all the work you do for the young people of Wake County Schools.”
Verifying residency eligibility
District 4 has been without a representative since Keith Sutton resigned Dec. 31 to become superintendent of Warren County Public Schools.
Mahaffey said the board will still meet Tuesday to discuss how to fill the opening, including likely reopening the application process.
Last time, the board had set a one-week window for people to apply. Six people applied but one was disqualified before the interview process began because the applicant listed an address outside District 4.
Two days after the applications were due, the board interviewed the remaining applicants and voted 7-1 to appoint Artis. Mahaffey said a longer verification process may be needed next time.
“We will certainly, hopefully, never encounter anything like this again,” Mahaffey said in an interview Saturday. “We will make sure there is time built in for verification in the timeline so we can be a little more thorough.
“Hindsight is 20/20. We’ll move forward to get representation for District 4.”
Was process transparent?
Artis, an educator and former teacher, had promised to make equity issues a focus if he was appointed.
But before Artis could be sworn in on Jan. 18, questions were raised about how his voter registration record listed a different address from the one on his application. Critics of the school board have gone on social media to question how the position was filled.
“This whole fiasco reeks of corruption — Chair @Lindsay4Wake didn’t do her job to ensure Artis was a resident,” Steve Bergstrom, tweeted Saturday. “Parents enrolling their children in @wcpss schools have to show proof, but not someone being appointed to represent the state’s largest school district?”
Bergstrom unsuccessfully ran against Mahaffey in the 2020 election. Bergstrom has announced he’ll run again for school board this year.
Mahaffey said she’s disappointed in how the process has gone for filling the vacancy. But she said the board has been transparent through the whole process.
“You learn from it,” Mahaffey said. “You move on. We’re certainly committed to transparency, which is why we postponed the swearing-in when there were questions.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2022 at 2:36 PM.
