Wake school board extends contract of Superintendent Robert Taylor. Here’s how long
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- Wake County school board extended Superintendent Robert Taylor’s contract to June 2029.
- Board approved the extension unanimously and declined a base pay increase for Taylor.
- Contract now requires 120 days notice before resignation, up from 90 days.
In a vote of confidence, the Wake County school board has extended the contract of Superintendent Robert Taylor through June 2029.
The board unanimously voted Wednesday, Nov. 19, to extend Taylor’s contract by an additional two years past June 2027. The board gave Taylor the maximum contract length allowed under state law for superintendents of four years.
“We want the public to know, and we want the staff to know that we have confidence in our superintendent,” school board chair Chris Heagarty said in an interview after the vote. “We want to empower him with the tools to do what he needs to do to further the district’s vision and goals.”
The board did not give a raise to Taylor, whose base salary is $339,930. Heagarty said the board was sensitive about other school employees not getting new state raises this year due to the lack of a comprehensive state budget.
“We’re still waiting on a state budget,” Heagarty said. “There was some talk, would it be appropriate to increase the compensation for the superintendent while all our other workers didn’t have that option?”
In addition to the contract extension, the board modified Taylor’s contract so he’d now have to give 120 days notice, instead of 90 days notice, before he could resign.
The contract extension was approved in a specially called board meeting. Heagarty said they wanted to finalize Taylor’s performance review before appointing a member next week to fill the vacant District 8 seat.
The vote was 7-0. In addition to the vacant seat, board member Cheryl Caulfield was absent for personal reasons.
Superintendent since September 2023
Taylor, 58, was sworn in as superintendent in September 2023. He replaced Catty Moore, who retired after five years as superintendent of North Carolina’s largest school district.
Taylor brought 30 years of education experience in North Carolina into the job, including 10 years as superintendent of Bladen County Schools and two years as a deputy state superintendent. He also had a brief controversial tenure as Mississippi state superintendent.
In Wake County, his first major crisis came two months into his tenure when Taylor dealt with the November 2023 fatal stabbing of a student at Southeast Raleigh High School.
State test scores have continued to rise under Taylor’s watch. But the overall passing rate has not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Taylor has led Wake through a number of other challenges, including school heating and air conditioning issues and loss of federal grants from the Trump administration. Wake says it closed only one school last year for HVAC issues after dozens were closed the prior year.
Taylor has warned that tough budget cuts might be looming next year. This comes after 286 positions were eliminated this school year.
Most recently, Taylor has worked to reassure families of immigrant students that their rights to attend school will be protected during the ongoing Border Patrol operations in the Triangle.
This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 6:49 PM.
