WAKE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION DISTRICT 08 Choose 1
The Wake County Board of Education is the local governing body of the Wake County Public School System. Its nine members are currently elected from separate county districts in nonpartisan races and serve simultaneous 4-year terms. Board members must reside in the district they represent.The 9-member school board has 5 primary responsibilities: 1. Employ the superintendent2. Establish policy 3. Determine annual operating and capital budgets 4. Approve student assignment boundaries 5. Oversee the management of the school district’s major systems, including budget and finance, curriculum and instruction, personnel and auxiliary services
Biographical Information
Position/philosophy statement
Lindsay Mahaffey is the mother of 3 students in WCPSS. As a former classroom teacher she believes in student centered decision making, supporting our staff, building stronger communities.
Current Occupation
Mom, former teacher
Age (optional)
42
Campaign Mailing Address
PO BOX 213
NEW HILL, NC 27562
NEW HILL, NC 27562
Campaign Phone
(919)335-3648
Campaign Email
electlindsay@gmail.com
Campaign Website
http://electlindsay.com
Campaign Facebook URL
http://Facebook.com/Lindsay4Wake
Campaign Youtube URL
What experience and skills make you the best candidate for this office? (Max. 750 characters)
Having served on the board since 2016, I have vast institutional knowledge of this district, and having worked outside of the district I bring a unique perspective that helps address our challenges. My experiences as a parent in the district inform my decision making, as well as my ability to listen to residents, teachers, and administrators in the district. I am able to look at our organization and help craft improvements, such as approving the new strategic plan, hiring a new Superintendent, implementing new policies, and approve staff retention and recruitment initiatives -- all in service to improve student outcomes. I enjoy this work, and wish to continue to level up this district for our students.
What are the most important responsibilities of a school board member? (Max. 750 characters)
Having a shared vision with our Superintendent that puts the needs of our students first. Adopting a budget that works to improve outcomes for our students. Making sure we have working conditions as well as salaries that allow for retention and recruitment of highly qualified educators. Advocating at the state and local level to facilitate what is needed in our schools. Setting up a strategic plan with metrics of accountability to focus on academics and student well being in order to best support academic success of our students. Supporting and increasing district with the community to make sure our shared goals of student success are known and supported.
What are the critical state funding needs for this county’s schools and how would you address those needs? (Max. 750 characters)
The critical state funding gap sad that the state is not addressing its constitutional responsibility to provide a sound basic education for North Carolina's public schools. WCPSS is working with the County Commission to use local tax dollars to fund one of the highest teacher salary supplements in the state, provide 'Master's Pay' for staff with advanced degrees, provide raises for staff to $17.75 starting for staff & $20/hr for bus drivers to address transportation needs. WCPSS provides a building sub for each school and has used local dollars to increase the number of social workers & counselors in WCPSS. It would be great if these could be paid for using state funding. It is estimated the state is withholding over $170m dollars.
How would you assess teacher satisfaction in your district, and how would you promote professional development? (Max. 750 characters)
It is imperative we listen to those who work closely with our students to better understand the needs of said students. Which is why WCPSS not only has the state's teacher working conditions survey, we have recently implemented a survey for all staff to provide feedback to the district. Being able to use that feedback to provide resources for our educators is key. One of those resources is professional development "PD". Each year district wide teacher workdays provide an opportunity for teachers to access "PD" provided by the WCPSS Office of Professional learning. Paid professional development is one of my long term goals as we work to keep staff up to date on student centered best practices for the classroom.
Pre-Kindergarten is: [Importance Scale]
Very unimportant
Somewhat unimportant
Neither important nor unimportant
Somewhat important
Very important
Please explain your choice. (Max. 750 characters)
Pre-K is the foundation of learning. There is a vast body of research that shows the correlation on access to Pre-K allows for better school readiness and better educational outcomes in the early grade levels. Pre-K access is shown to help close the opportunity gap for racial subgroups. Being able to access Pre-K attendance can also have an effect on college readiness by the end of grade 12. WCPSS has been expanding the number of Pre-K classrooms in the district every year, including the Early Learning Center at Memory Rd. WCPSS has begun hosting an early learning summit with Pre-K providers in Wake to help the transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten. I absolutely support increasing access to Pre-K.
Describe your philosophy on recruiting and retaining qualified teachers. (Max. 750 characters)
WCPSS has begun this work not only by having one of the highest salary supplements in the state, but working on the Future Teachers Program to foster WCPSS graduates that have a love of teaching to return to WCPSS after college and work for the district. WCPSS is using local dollars to pay teachers with advanced degrees in education. These are programs we need to continue to expand, while also working on increasing the aforementioned professional development opportunities, addressing the plateau in pay on the state pay scale for veteran teachers. I would love for the state to restore the NC Teaching Fellows Program, and allow for traditional calendar teachers to stretch their pay over the summer months and to help with budgeting.
Additional Comments (Max. 1000 characters)
WCPSS has a strong and bold vision for leveling up the district under Superintendent Taylor's leadership. Providing new opportunities for students at PreK, in Career & Technical Education (vocational), and access to Early College programming. We are continuing to improve student academic outcomes, address student wellbeing, provide more opportunities for students entering the workforce, enlisting in the military and enrolling in a college degree program. Working to increase pay for employees to increase retention efforts, being able to improve recruitment of new staff members, and work with our county commission to address funding gaps is the work that I will continue to do. I am proud to have helped facilitate these improvements in our district and hope to continue working to level up what our district has to offer, for our students, for our staff and for our families. Making student centered decisions is my continued goal and I hope the voters of District 8 will vote to re-elect me.
Biographical Information
Position/philosophy statement
I believe the youth of our nation, regardless of background, deserve a high quality public school education. Likewise, I believe it is time we elect a WCPSS teacher to the Board.
Current Occupation
Residential Real Estate
Age (optional)
44
Campaign Mailing Address
105 THEOPHILOUS TRCE
HOLLY SPRINGS, NC 27540
HOLLY SPRINGS, NC 27540
Campaign Phone
919-579-8761
Campaign Email
elect.elizabeth.mcduffie@gmail.com
Campaign Website
http://www.mcduffie4schoolboard.org/
Campaign Facebook URL
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565660193331
What experience and skills make you the best candidate for this office? (Max. 750 characters)
My experience as a professional educator of nearly twenty years makes me exceptionally well rendered for this position. I resigned in June of 2024 after teaching at the elementary, middle and high school level as an English as a Second Language teacher for a decade in WCPSS. My eldest child also graduated from WCPSS so I have parental perspective, as well.
It is critical for the success of our schools that there is at least one board member who has worked under the policies set forth by our school board. I will be able to bring perspective and experience to the table, not to mention be best able to represent the parents, teachers and students of our county.
What are the most important responsibilities of a school board member? (Max. 750 characters)
The responsibility of a school board member is to uphold the interest of the communities they represent by adapting and reviewing sound policy and planning for budgetary needs. They must establish district goals, build effective leadership, and set forth improvement mechanisms; not only the schools, but for the Board itself. They must approve curricular materials, facility plans, and school assignments which keep the students, teachers and families at the heart of their decisions.
What are the critical state funding needs for this county’s schools and how would you address those needs? (Max. 750 characters)
I believe the best way to approach funding is to start with a zero-based budget. This method ensures that each item to be funded is justified. I am certain that it is possible to reallocate some funds from areas that are of less need to those of higher need.
Funding should be prioritized but what directly impacts instruction. We need to ensure that we are providing our teachers and students the resources they need to be academically successful. Another example is facilities management. Many HVAC units need repair/ replacement, not to mention schools that need plumbing repair, equipment upgrades etc. We can’t educate our students when the schools have to closed because of mechanical failure!
How would you assess teacher satisfaction in your district, and how would you promote professional development? (Max. 750 characters)
The teacher attrition rate is simply too high. That’s the biggest indicator. When you take a look at Teacher Working Condition Survey, it shows that many teachers feel there is unruly behavior in school. This needs to be addressed. We need to hold our students to a higher level of accountability for their learning and actions. That has already been assessed. It’s time to fix it!
As a teacher myself, I will say that the quality of professional development has declined over the years. Most teachers want to attend workshops from professionals that model what to do in the classroom, rather than just tell you what to do over a Canvas Course or lecture. Also, many teachers simply need more time to plan their lesson in their classrooms.
Pre-Kindergarten is: [Importance Scale]
Very unimportant
Somewhat unimportant
Neither important nor unimportant
Somewhat important
Very important
Please explain your choice. (Max. 750 characters)
Pre- Kindergarten is the first building block of early literacy and socialization for many children. As a teacher, I would argue that all grades are important, however. As a child continually passes through developmental phases, academic instruction, social and motor skills, as well as language development, all play a crucial role in the child’s learning. Even when a child learns to decode words and sound out sentences in Kindergarten, the shift of learning to read and reading to learn can lead to discrepancies in comprehension in late elementary school. I believe this is where we need to put a lot of focus as well.
Describe your philosophy on recruiting and retaining qualified teachers. (Max. 750 characters)
My philosophy is simple. We make school a great place to be! We ought to take the Teacher Working Conditions Survey seriously and start to fix what the teachers say is broken with better policy initiatives. We need to invite open dialogue with teachers enabling them to voice their grievances without fear of reproach. We also need to make sure the salaries are keeping up with inflation, but that’s not the sole reason teachers are leaving. I know from my own experience!
Additional Comments (Max. 1000 characters)
Wake County has a record of decline in overall academic performance in the past 10-20 years, despite small increases here and there. While the teachers work incredibly hard to ensure scholastic success, the School Board and administrative leadership need to lead in a new direction. Based on the fact that the private, charter, and homeschooling options have increased significantly in the past 5 years, we need to make sure that our public schools are a competitive option for parents. We need to ensure that students are ready for life after high school, not by relaxing the standards of success, but by improving our programs to fit the needs of our learners. Many students in high school students would benefit from a career and technical education diploma pathway to go straight into the workforce or a trade program as opposed to simply lowering the expectations and graduation requirements. We can do better than that. It’s time for change! It’s time to elect a teacher to the Board!