During this past election, voters in North Carolina were able to elect members to the Wake County Board of Education.
The Wake County Board of Education is the governing body for the Wake County Public School System. They have nine elected members that represent districts throughout Wake County. These members represent elementary, middle, high schools and early colleges across Wake County. During regularly scheduled meetings the public is able to offer comments and criticisms concerning substantive ideas, actions or procedures of the board and its members.
The School Board sets policies for the school system which are implemented by the Wake County Superintendent Robert P. Taylor and administrative staff. The North Carolina State Board of Education is responsible for the majority of funding. The State Board also oversees core academic curriculum.
Ms. Cheryl Caulfield represents Wake County’s first District and has been a member of Wake County’s Board of Education since 2022. She moved to Wake Forest 16 years ago, and has worked alongside students, teachers and parents on events from school plays to sports.
Ms. Monika Johnson-Hostler has represented Wake County’s second District since 2013. In 2020, she ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary as the representative of North Carolina’s second congressional district within the U.S. House. Ms. Johnson-Hostler ran for the North Carolina House district 33 and beat her Libertarian opponent Mr. Chris Costello by 21,000 votes. Her last day on the School Board will be Dec. 30 2024, and her replacement will serve through the remainder of her term through Dec. 2026. Johnson-Hostler will assume office in the State’s House of Representatives on Jan. 1 2025.
Dr. Wing Ng represents Wake County’s third District and won re-election by less than 1,000 votes. Ng moved to america when he was 8-years-old. He has been a Physician in Raleigh for over 19 years, caring for people with brain injuries and strokes. Ng is a father of a daughter with Down Syndrome. He served on the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities from 2013-2019, the council helps to set policies that positively impact the disabled community.
Ms. Toshiba Rice represents Wake County’s fourth District and won her re-election by over 20,000 votes. Rice’s main goals are connecting high schoolers with mentors to help them for life after graduation, improving student attendance through working with families and making schools more welcoming and improving employee retention.
Ms. Lynn Edmonds represents Wake County’s fifth District and won her re-election campaign by about 21,000 votes. Ms. Edmonds was a student at Wake County Public Schools Systems (WCPSS) and she is the mother of two WCPSS graduates.
Mr. Sam Hershey represents Wake County’s sixth District. He has been a school board member since 2022. He has coached both high school softball and wrestling. Mr. Hershey has been a part of the Parent Teachers Association where he served as a Treasurer and as the Health and Wellness chair for Douglas Elementary school. He won his re-election by about 22,000 votes.
Mr. Chris Heagarty is the Chair of Wake County’s Board of Education and he represents the seventh district. This role serves as the spokesperson of the board and also sets meeting agendas. Mr. Heagarty emphasizes the importance of addressing building and maintenance issues in schools. “Some people may overlook these important issues but if we have to send students home because there is no heat or no AC it disrupts their learning and the lives of their families as well as the teacher’s plans” Heagarty said.
Ms. Lindsay Mahaffey represents Wake County’s eighth District and won her re-election campaign by 11,000 votes. She has been a member of the board since 2016, she is a teacher and she taught in France. She also has a Master’s degree in Teaching Social Sciences. During Ms. Mahaffey’s time on the school board she, along with other members worked to and, “restored Master’s pay for staff recognized advanced degrees and lifelong learning” Ms. Mahaffey stated on her campaign site.
Mr. Tyler Swanson represents Wake County’s ninth District, where Green Hope resides. He was a Special Education teacher at Enloe Magnet High school. Swanson graduated from N.C. A&T with a degree with a degree in political science. He worked as the North Carolina NAACP Youth secretary and then as the Communications and Policy Director. In 2022, when Swanson was first running for office, one of his main issues was recovering from the pandemic, “dealing with the interrupted learning created during the pandemic is one of my top priorities […] the pandemic highlighted numerous issues facing our schools, and we need to use these lessons learned to rebuild and re-imagine how to overcome our losses academically and emotionally” Mr. Swanson stated on his campaign site.
Four seats will be on the ballot In 2026, districts one, two, seven and nine. The other five seats will be on the ballot in 2028.
