Name as it appears on the ballot: Lindsay Mahaffey
Campaign website: www.electlindsay.com
Phone number: (919) 335-3648
Email: electlindsay@gmail.com
Years lived in the county: 3
1. What do you believe are the three most important issues facing the Board of Education? What are your priorities for addressing these issues?
Three of the most important issues facing the Board of Education are growth, school security, and equity. With growth, we need to continue communicating with parents about the opening of new schools and maintaining partnerships with our county commissioners to ensure our schools are funded for both new school construction and renovating existing schools. Security in school is not just making sure that students are protected outside threats, but making sure they have support to navigate their social and emotional growth, including working with teachers and counselors to ensure they feel safe and secure. Making sure our school are more equitable ties into core belief 2 of the Wake County Strategic Plan says that every student is expected to learn, grow, and succeed while we eliminate the ability to predict achievement based on socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity. From teaching students about restorative practices, putting in professional development that addresses unconscious bias for our teachers and staff, along with making sure our policies are supportive of all students are some ways the board is working towards this goal.
2. What in your record as a public official or other experience demonstrates your ability to be an effective Board of Education member? This might include career or community service; be specific about its relevance to this office.
I am an educator; I’ve taught grades K-12 and made sure that social-emotional learning, mindfulness, and metacognition were part of my teaching practices. I am also the mother of three girls, two of which are currently enrolled in WCPSS. I am currently the only parent of elementary age children serving on the board of education. My classroom experience, and my passion for teaching and learning helps inform my decisions on the board.
3. If you are challenging an incumbent, what decisions have the incumbent made that you most disagree with? If you are an incumbent, what in your record and experience do you believe merits another term?
I have a great team of people I work with on the board. We’ve worked hard to learn each other’s strengths and rely on each other. I am currently the only K-12 educator serving on the board. I believe my experience of being someone who has taught is a great asset. During my tenure the Board of Education expanded the office of equity affairs, and has begun working towards a dress code that is gender neutral. We have also pushed for more counselors and social workers so our students can get more support outside of academics.
4. Research, including a report from the NC Justice Center, suggests that North Carolina’s schools are becoming more segregated by race and economic status. What do you think is driving this trend, and do you think this is an issue WCPSS needs to address? Please explain your answer.
I think this is a trend that we’re seeing across society; inequality is increasing at an accelerating rate. This shows up in a number of ways including housing, which eventually impacts the local schools. Having a diverse student population is an asset for schools. Research shows that when schools have a high concentrations of poverty - the academic performance of those schools tends to be lower. Students living in poverty are more likely to have adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that lead to toxic stress and impact academics. One of the strengths of WCPSS is the magnet program, whose aim is to diversify schools so that students can have access to different ideas and cultures as well as programming that they would not get at their base school.
5. What effects do you believe the popularity of charter schools is having on the school system? Is it exacerbating segregation or draining resources from neighborhood schools, as some critics contend?
Yes. In order for public schools to receive the funding flexibility that charters have, a school must be underperforming academically for 2 out of the past 3 years. If it’s recognized that this flexibility can positively impact the academic performance of a school, why not extend that flexibility to all of our schools?
6. In light of recent funding debates, some Wake County commissioners have suggested shifting school-tax authority to the Board of Education. Do you think this is a worthwhile idea? Why or why not?
I believe that is up to the legislature. My priority is working with the schools and the school district with the funding we have and advocating for our students and teachers.
7. Assuming the Board of Commissioners retains taxing authority in the near term, what steps do you believe the Board of Education can or should take to repair the sometimes strained relationship with the commissioners over funding questions?
I wouldn’t call the relationship strained. My job as a member of the Board of Education is to craft and advocate for a budget that supports our academic program, students, teachers and support staff. Recently, Commissioners in Wake County and all over the North Carolina, have had to put more and more funding towards unfunded mandates from the state. The Board of Education has had more and will continue to hold joint meetings to inform the BOC of our initiatives so together we can lobby the legislature to fund a sound and basic education. The property taxes of Wake County residents should not be used to fund the state’s obligation. We should be using that on program enhancements, teacher supplements and paying our bus drivers and support staff a living wage.
8. In the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School earlier this year, what do you think should be done to make schools safer? Do you see preventing such shootings as a “school safety” issue?
After Columbine, schools went to a policy of zero tolerance. This lead to teachers being asked to police their students behavior rather than helping them grow and learn from their mistakes. This was counterintuitive to the nature of teaching. Thankfully, trends in education have brought the importance of relationships back to the forefront. This should not just be an effort on behalf of the classroom teachers, but with everyone including bus drivers, support staff, administration. Students knowing that they are cared for by the adults around them impacts students in a positive manner. As far as our buildings, a safety audit is done every year. Our district’s security team and facilities team are constantly working to improve and upgrade security. This includes designs for new and renovated buildings, increasing the number of cameras on campuses, and implementing single entry buzzer systems in all of our buildings. This is a continuing process as the safety of our students is a priority.
9. In a similar vein, do you support the placement of school resource officers in Wake schools? If so, what do you think their role should be? If not, what do you propose as an alternative?
State statute says that we must have an SRO at every high school. I would like to see students referred to counselors, putting in place restorative justice programs, and a reduction in referrals to law enforcement. If our focus is on social and emotional learning alongside academics, we should not be referring students to the police.
10. Black students make up about a quarter of Wake County public school students, yet, according to the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, are nearly eight times more likely to be suspended than their white peers. Why isn’t WCPSS doing a better job of reaching students of color? Are racial disparities an issue you think the board of education needs to address?
The answer to this question involves breaking down implicit bias on the individual and systemic levels. We must be telling in our words and actions that our students of color are important and their experience and lens is important to us. The board must continually work to address inequality and make sure that our students of color are truly receiving an equitable education.
11. Identify and explain one principled stand you would be willing to take if elected that you suspect might cost you some points with voters.
This year I proposed WCPSS adopt a gender-neutral dress code. I am thankful to my colleagues on the board for acknowledging that dress codes can be a barrier to teaching and learning. Young women are dress coded more often than young men, contributing to a climate of inequality in our schools.
