Name as it appears on the ballot: Lindsay Mahaffey 

Age: 40

Party affiliation: Democrat

Campaign website: electlindsay.com

Occupation & employer: Teacher – SAHM/School Board Member

Years lived in the area: 7

1. In 300 words or less, please give us—and our readers—your elevator pitch: Why are you running? Why should voters entrust you with this position? What are your priorities, and what would you want to see the school board do differently or better over the course of your term?

I have had the honor of representing District 8 since 2016, and I am the current board chair. I am the mom of three children who have been enrolled in WCPSS since kindergarten. I taught French for eight years and have my Master’s in Teaching Social Science. 

I have a strong belief in educating the whole child, balancing well-rounded academics with social and emotional supports. 

I believe strong partnerships with parents, our community, businesses, and other levels of education like Smart Start and our Higher Ed help provide many opportunities for students to succeed in WCPSS.

2. Given the direction of the school district, would you say things are on the right course? If not, for what specific changes will you advocate if elected?

There was strong community support to raise the minimum salary for our non-certified and our certified staff. We have to keep that momentum going to retain and recruit folks into education. We have made progress towards getting closer to the national average of counselors, social workers and psychologists to help support our students – we must continue to push this forward. Pusing for a more equitable district not just in our strategic plan framework that was recently adopted, but having an equity policy. Continuing to expand our Pre-K programming and our options for Career and Technical Education and Early College opportunities for High Schoolers. 

3. What are the three main issues that you believe the Wake County Board of Education needs to address in the upcoming year?

Continuing to work on supports for student and staff well-being. Continuing to work on staff retention and recruitment. Continuing to work on professional development opportunities for staff so they can better help our students. 

4. Describe something you think the school board should have prioritized differently in the current budget. Do you think the budget supports students from lower income families as well as from affluent families? Does the budget meet the district’s infrastructure needs?

We have a wide range of goals outlined in our multi-year plan with the Wake County Commissioners. 

5) What is your understanding of what Critical Race Theory is? Is CRT currently taught in K-12  public schools? What are your thoughts on House Bill 324, the bill Gov. Cooper vetoed because he said it “pushes calculated, conspiracy-laden politics into public education?” Would you support such a bill?

I had not heard of Critical Race Theory until it started showing up in my inbox. My understanding is that it is a framework for law students to see how historically marginalized groups are impacted by legislation. We have a non-discrimination policy. I would not support this bill if I were in the legislature. 

6)  Does the General Assembly have a constitutional obligation to comply with the state Supreme Court order in the Leandro case to fully fund public schools and give every child in North Carolina a sound basic education?  

Yes. 

7) Orange County’s Board of Education has passed some of the most progressive policies in the state around strengthening racial equity and providing a safe, inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ students to learn. Should Wake follow Orange’s lead and implement Gender Support guidelines that create a protocol for students who are transitioning or want to?

We should have rules and procedures to ensure proper understanding across the district that follows advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics and what are best practices for our students. 

8) How do you think the current school board handled the COVID-19 pandemic? Please explain your answer. 

As best as we could given the information that was available at the time. I was on the board. 

9) Recently, groups of parents with students in WCPSS have mounted efforts to ban certain books from school classrooms and libraries. The school board and school administrators pushed back on these efforts. Did the board and school system handle this controversy appropriately? What more, if anything, should be done to address efforts to ban books in schools?  

Yes. We have library media coordinators and teachers that are able to select age appropriate books for students that are reflective of the diversity in the world. We have guidance set into place should someone object to materials that are in the library.

10) Do police officers (School Resource Officers) have a role in schools? Do you agree with the way the current board is trying to address the role of SROs in Wake County Schools?

WCPSS recently went through a process to strengthen the Memorandum of Understanding with local law enforcement agencies to better define the role of the School Resource officer. This involved soliciting feedback from the community. WCPSS provides training for SROs and Administrators twice a year, and meets regularly with representatives from law enforcement agencies with SROs in the district. Yes.

11) Research has shown an achievement gap for Wake County Schools students based on race and socioeconomic status. What specific policies would you support or what actions would you take to help close the gap so that race and socioeconomic status don’t persist as predictive factors?  

Our recently adopted strategic plan framework recognizes that academic excellence must be rooted in equity in order to ensure all students are successful. Working to provide more opportunities for students, as well as professional development for our educators to address these opportunities will help as well as working to diversify our staff using guidance from the DRIVE task force.

12) How should WCPSS address its ongoing shortage of educators, support staff, bus drivers, school nurses, mental health professionals, and other key staff?’

I would like to see the NC General Assembly work to restore the NC Teaching Fellows Program, raise pay for staff members, restore Master’s Pay and implement the Leandro Plan as recommended by the WestEd report. The school districts cannot do this on their own. North Carolina has a constitutional duty to provide a sound basic education and this work has fallen on the shoulders of school boards and county commissions to make up for the lack of responsibility shown by the legislature. WCPSS will continue to do the best we can with the resources we have. 

13) Is the district currently doing enough to assist disabled students? What more could it do?

As the mom of a child with an IEP and another with a 504 I know personally the school district is working the best they can. The Federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act is not fully funded and the NC dollar amount for students with IEPs has not increased since around 1993. 

14) If there is anything else you would like to address, please do so here.

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