News & Observer endorsements: Our choices for the Wake County school board

The Wake County Board of Education election is a big one in size and significance.

All nine board seats are up and 29 candidates filed to fill them, though a few have dropped out or failed to campaign. Many have been drawn to run by an unusual number of open seats. Five incumbents are not seeking reelection and another seat is occupied by an appointee.

The crowd of candidates also reflects heightened interest and emotion around the board’s role. Its meetings have been jarred in the past two years by complaints about COVID-related school closings, mask requirements and learning loss, as well as divisions over how children are taught about racism, gender and sexuality.

Voters will only vote on candidates running in their district. Since candidates win with a plurality, districts with several candidates could see one win with less than 50 percent of the vote.

The big field features diverse ideas about public education, but generally the choice is between traditional supporters of public schools and those who are suspicious of the public school establishment. The public comment periods of meetings have included threats to sue school board members, claims that school funding is being hidden or misspent and readings from school library books considered too sexual for children.

Katie Long, a public school parent and now a candidate in District 7, tried to personally serve board members with a notice that she would file a legal complaint alleging that the board had broken state, federal and international laws.

The Wake school board went through a similar chaotic period after conservative opponents of school assignments based on diversity won control in the 2009 election. Board meetings erupted in protests that led to arrests and national attention. Now, the tension is not about local policy, but a national “parental rights” movement that seeks to block schools from “indoctrinating” children with progressive ideas about diversity.

Lindsay Mahaffey, the Board of Education chair who is seeking reelection in District 8, said, “People have yelled at school board members for years, but this is a little different.”

Now the accusations and innuendo about the schools board’s failures and agenda have spilled into the campaigns. “It’s one thing to have to defend your record. It’s another to have to constantly correct misinformation and conspiracy theories,” said Chris Heagarty, the board’s vice chair, who is seeking reelection in District 7.

Among the candidates are those who are upset about school closures and masking mandates. A verbal confrontation over requiring masks led to Chad Stall, a District 6 candidate, being barred from being on the grounds of his child’s elementary school. Another candidate, Michele Morrow, who is running in District 9, attended the Jan. 6, 2021 rally that turned violent at the U.S. Capitol. Morrow said she did not participate as the rally turned into a riot.

Board of Education candidates are listed at the end of a long Wake ballot and the election is nonpartisan. Voters unfamiliar with the candidates may skip voting for a school board candidate. That could lead to not only a new board, but also to a fundamentally reoriented board.

We’ve considered the candidates, spoken with many of them, and consulted with people supportive of public schools. Here are our recommendations for the Wake County Board of Education.

District 1: Ben Clapsaddle

District 2: Monika Johnson-Hostler (incumbent)

District 3: Doug Hammack

District 4: Tara Waters (appointed to complete the term of Keith Sutton)

District 5: Lynn Edmonds

District 6: Sam Hershey or Dajma Livingston

District 7: Chris Heagarty (incumbent)

District 8: Lindsay Mahaffey (incumbent)

District 9: Tyler Swanson

This story was originally published October 26, 2022 at 9:46 AM.