Wake school board picks its newest member. It’s the 2nd attempt to fill the open spot.
A parent who wants to make sure school employees are aware of any implicit biases will become the newest Wake County school board member.
The school board voted on Thursday for Tarashanda “Tara” Waters to fill the District 4 seat that covers much of Southeast Raleigh. It’s the second try to fill the seat after Craston Artis II withdrew when it was discovered he wasn’t living in District 4 at the time of the board vote.
Tara Waters is a product of the Wake County school system who is now manager of the City of Raleigh’s Volunteer Raleigh program that helps groups find volunteers. During her interview, Waters advocated increasing community engagement and promoting diversity and inclusion through training to help school employees unmask hidden biases.
“There are biases that are shaping the future of our children that people don’t even realize that they have. So making sure that every student has a sense of belonging when they’re in the classroom and when they’re participating at activities, I believe, can start by addressing implicit biases,” Waters told the board.
The District 4 seat became open when Keith Sutton resigned in December to serve as superintendent of Warren County Public Schools. Waters will serve the rest of Sutton’s term, which expires in November.
Confirming eligibility
The board voted on Jan. 14 to appoint Artis, an education consultant and former teacher who promised to make school equity a priority. Questions were raised about his residency status before he was sworn in.
After Artis withdrew, the board reopened the application process. Five people applied, including two people who had initially applied when Artis was picked.
To avoid a repeat, applicants had to submit proof of their residency and voter registration before the interviews on Thursday. Waters lives in Raleigh and is the mother of a preschooler and a middle school student.
Waters will be sworn in at an upcoming meeting.
5 seek school board seat
In addition to Waters, four other people were considered Thursday:
▪ Tama Bouncer is a retired teacher and past president of the Wake County chapter of the N.C. Association of Educators. She talked about expanding the Pre-Kindergaten program and raising teacher pay.
▪ Daniel Lamar Grant-King is an instructional assistant at South Garner High School who has regularly spoken at school board meetings about the need to raise employee pay. He would have to resign if he was picked.
▪ Becky Lew-Hobbs is business operations manager for Daedong USA, which makes agricultural machinery. She has spoken at school board meetings against requiring students to wear masks and she proposed in her application that teachers post their lesson plans two weeks in advance.
▪ Michael T. Williams is a former special-education teacher who is now an education consultant in student transition with the N.C. Department of Public Safety. When he was interviewed in January, he downplayed the need for school equity programs.
Waters was picked on the first ballot, receiving five of the eight votes. She got the votes of board chairwoman Lindsay Mahaffey, vice chairman Chris Heagarty and Roxie Cash, Monika Johnson-Hostler and Heather Scott.
Christine Kushner and Jim Martin voted for Bouncer. Karen Carter voted for Williams.
This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 4:48 PM.
