Wake County Board of Education District 8
Lindsay Mahaffey
Are you an incumbent?
Yes
1. Do you support the City of Raleigh’s $275 million parks bond on the ballot this November?
Yes
2. Do you support the $353.2 million Wake Tech bond on the ballot this November?
Yes
3. Do you support the $530.7 million Wake County schools bond on the ballot this November?
Yes
4. If elected, what are your plans for working with the Wake County Board of Commissioners to achieve our schools’ needs?
I have been fortunate to have cultivated a working relationship with our county commission for the past 6 years that I have served on the Board of Education. Together our Boards have been working on a multi-year funding plan for the district to help make up for financial shortfalls from the state. This past year as Chair of the School Board, we were able to secure additional funding past the County Manager's recommendation to provide higher wages for our non-certified staff, to maintain one of the highest teacher salary supplements in the state, and address issues with maintenance and operations - a budget that was slashed during the recession. I hope to continue this strong relationship with local leaders who see a strong value in our Pre-K - 12 education system.
5. How do you plan to engage and build trust with parents, employers, and other stakeholders of your school district?
Partnership and trust building with our community and stakeholders is an ongoing effort. The district has continually worked to increase communication with parents, and improve processes so that they are agile. Recently, the Board has looked into an Ombuds position to help families navigate processes within the district. We have quarterly Board Advisory Committee meetings where parent representatives from the schools meet with board members, and often meet one on one with parents. Our community partnerships expand to the business community and higher education with partnerships for Career and Technical Education opportunities as well as access to higher education opportunities by expanding our early college options for students.
6. What will you do to improve school safety in Wake County?
WCPSS has been continuously working to improve school safety. Each year, In 2019, there was a safety audit from a national school safety group that made recommendations. WCPSS is implementing these recommendations. WCPSS has a strong MOU with our SRO program and a strong relationship with law enforcement agencies across the county. Each year we host an SRO summit for officers and administrators to learn about different issues and how to best relate to students and understand WCPSS' discipline process. We also need to help provide additional supports for our students and teachers, and continue to increase our counselors, social workers and school psycologists to the recommended professional averages for schools. Our students should feel safe, secure, and valued in our schools.
7. What are the growing trends in student needs, and how should the Wake County Public School System address them?
Increasing student behavioral health supports with more school counselors, social workers and psychologists. Having community partnerships like our tutoring program that allows background checked volunteers to help elementary students that are struggling. Making sure our district is aware of needs from the business community and our community at large so that our students are prepared to be good citizens of the world.
8. How do you propose the Wake County Public School System overcome its current labor shortage? Please give specific steps you wish to see taken.
WCPSS has a 'grow your own' program with the Future Teachers program where graduating Seniors that are going to school for education can sign a contract with WCPSS and have a guaranteed job upon college graduation. There is also a program for what was formerly known as 'lateral entry' teachers, and a way for Instructional Assistants to receive supports if they decide to get their teaching degree. We also have recommendations from the NC DRIVE task force to help with recruiting and retaining a diverse teaching pool. Raising staff salaries helped stop attrition in some areas like child nutrition services, but we have to continue to push the state to raise salaries and work with the county commission to do better for our staff members.
9. What should the school system focus on to ensure children are ready for the jobs of tomorrow?
Much of our Vision 2020 strategic plan was working to align expectations of our higher ed and business partners with the profile of a WCPSS graduate. Out of that plan came the 4C's (collaboration, communication, critical thinking and cooperation). soft skills identified by the business community that are essential to many jobs in local industry. Our new strategic plan framework that was just approved extends that. In addition we have a robust Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, which was formerly known as vocational, that prepares students for the workforce of tomorrow in a variety of career pathways. WCPSS also partners with local colleges and universities, for students that wish to graduate with some college credits under their belt, not just in our early colleges, but through dual enrollment opportunities with Wake Tech available at every high school in the district.
Are you an incumbent?
Yes
1. Do you support the City of Raleigh’s $275 million parks bond on the ballot this November?
Yes
2. Do you support the $353.2 million Wake Tech bond on the ballot this November?
Yes
3. Do you support the $530.7 million Wake County schools bond on the ballot this November?
Yes
4. If elected, what are your plans for working with the Wake County Board of Commissioners to achieve our schools’ needs?
I have been fortunate to have cultivated a working relationship with our county commission for the past 6 years that I have served on the Board of Education. Together our Boards have been working on a multi-year funding plan for the district to help make up for financial shortfalls from the state. This past year as Chair of the School Board, we were able to secure additional funding past the County Manager's recommendation to provide higher wages for our non-certified staff, to maintain one of the highest teacher salary supplements in the state, and address issues with maintenance and operations - a budget that was slashed during the recession. I hope to continue this strong relationship with local leaders who see a strong value in our Pre-K - 12 education system.
5. How do you plan to engage and build trust with parents, employers, and other stakeholders of your school district?
Partnership and trust building with our community and stakeholders is an ongoing effort. The district has continually worked to increase communication with parents, and improve processes so that they are agile. Recently, the Board has looked into an Ombuds position to help families navigate processes within the district. We have quarterly Board Advisory Committee meetings where parent representatives from the schools meet with board members, and often meet one on one with parents. Our community partnerships expand to the business community and higher education with partnerships for Career and Technical Education opportunities as well as access to higher education opportunities by expanding our early college options for students.
6. What will you do to improve school safety in Wake County?
WCPSS has been continuously working to improve school safety. Each year, In 2019, there was a safety audit from a national school safety group that made recommendations. WCPSS is implementing these recommendations. WCPSS has a strong MOU with our SRO program and a strong relationship with law enforcement agencies across the county. Each year we host an SRO summit for officers and administrators to learn about different issues and how to best relate to students and understand WCPSS' discipline process. We also need to help provide additional supports for our students and teachers, and continue to increase our counselors, social workers and school psycologists to the recommended professional averages for schools. Our students should feel safe, secure, and valued in our schools.
7. What are the growing trends in student needs, and how should the Wake County Public School System address them?
Increasing student behavioral health supports with more school counselors, social workers and psychologists. Having community partnerships like our tutoring program that allows background checked volunteers to help elementary students that are struggling. Making sure our district is aware of needs from the business community and our community at large so that our students are prepared to be good citizens of the world.
8. How do you propose the Wake County Public School System overcome its current labor shortage? Please give specific steps you wish to see taken.
WCPSS has a 'grow your own' program with the Future Teachers program where graduating Seniors that are going to school for education can sign a contract with WCPSS and have a guaranteed job upon college graduation. There is also a program for what was formerly known as 'lateral entry' teachers, and a way for Instructional Assistants to receive supports if they decide to get their teaching degree. We also have recommendations from the NC DRIVE task force to help with recruiting and retaining a diverse teaching pool. Raising staff salaries helped stop attrition in some areas like child nutrition services, but we have to continue to push the state to raise salaries and work with the county commission to do better for our staff members.
9. What should the school system focus on to ensure children are ready for the jobs of tomorrow?
Much of our Vision 2020 strategic plan was working to align expectations of our higher ed and business partners with the profile of a WCPSS graduate. Out of that plan came the 4C's (collaboration, communication, critical thinking and cooperation). soft skills identified by the business community that are essential to many jobs in local industry. Our new strategic plan framework that was just approved extends that. In addition we have a robust Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, which was formerly known as vocational, that prepares students for the workforce of tomorrow in a variety of career pathways. WCPSS also partners with local colleges and universities, for students that wish to graduate with some college credits under their belt, not just in our early colleges, but through dual enrollment opportunities with Wake Tech available at every high school in the district.
