Roxie Cash
919-612-3650
Years lived in the county: 33 years
1. What do you believe are the three most important issues facing the Board of Education? What are your priorities for addressing these issues?
* Funding - The Wake County Commissioners have had to carry a heavy load for supplementing the Wake County School Budget. We need the funding, of course. We need to be supplemented but we also need to get the legislation to fund their unfunded mandates put onto the schools. The two boards, as well as other schools systems in NC, need to diligently and clearly plead our case on this. Sound transparency and clear pictures of what is happening along with combined voices are necessary for this change.
*Bridging the achievement gap - Early education will need to be funded and provided to get the children on equal ground coming into Kindergarten. Also more teachers to identify K-2 diverse and gifted children. We need to be able to catch these young minds early and recognize the talent and wisdom they have so that they can be given tools to move those talents ahead.
Then encourage the small child to use the strengths they come with to be successful.
* Social and emotional support with counselors and psychologists in our schools to build the relationships that we need to have in order to identify crisis in a child and challenges that they bring with them to their day. The safety and security of our schools is tied closely to the emotional support of the student. Relationship building is critical and urgent.
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 have been on the Board since 2016, however, I was on the Board 1991 to 1999 as well.
I served as Chair for two of those years. This part of Wake County’s history is critical for me to have to try to bring some of those diversity values back to the school system that have been broken over the last decade. I was mentored by people like John Gilbert, Harriet Webster, and Bill McNeal during the 90’s. I became convinced of the delicate balance that had been built over years of great leadership before me when city and county schools were integrated. I learned from the best. This has been broken and I would like to serve another term to continue to try to rebuild some of it. The county is larger and the traffic is more congested. However, to make the magnet system strong again and make sure vacant seats are filled as growth is an issue would be a priority of mine.
I am a health care professional and have worked in cancer care for years.
I worked in the health department, opening up the Sunnybrook site. I still work in local hospitals. I just completed 7 years working as an Oncology Pharmacist in Central Prison where I helped maximum security prisoners deal with terminal illness and pain and addiction.
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?
As an incumbent, I have been an advocate for public education since 1986 when my children were in Wake County schools. I have grandchildren in the schools now. I have a lifelong dedication to public education. Experience matters which I have. I have credibility with the current board members and the county commissioners. I feel that will help us work together now. I am also very responsive to my constituency. I am known for that.
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.
We do need to be very cautious of this. Of course, housing patterns lend to this greatly. Affordable housing shortage has been recognized by the city and county governments for awhile. However, I believe, recently there has been more movement to attacking that issue.
Again, the magnet system needs to be healthy. It worked before and can still work if we look at programming, marketing, and transportation for magnet schools. The WCPSS needs to be at the table on this to work towards solutions. However, wherever the child is, their needs must be met with resources.
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?
It does exacerbate the segregation. We, as a public school system, have to do better.
We need to be the first choice and the best choice for all families. It is our job to compete well.
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 do not have the authority to change that. I am not sure if that works best or not.
I know that we should have a sound argument for the budget that we are asking for from the commissioners. Having school-tax authority would put the challenge on us to be responsive to the public for what we spend. However, we should be doing that anyhow. I believe that the public generally knows why the taxes go up when it is for the schools. I think we take some of that responsibility now as we should.
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 work very well with all the commissioners. I suggested when I came back on the board, that we needed to have regular meetings as two full boards more often. It was something that was done in the 90’s quite regularly. Constant dialogue and relationship building is always important. I think full boards need to be at the table when that happens. We are having those now. I feel very good about the boards working together. Again, I’d like to think that I am a piece of good dialogue now between the boards. I feel like I have credibility with both boards that will be effective
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?
It is a school safety issue. We need to be sure the security measures that we have in place are being followed. Campus security is essential by keeping entrances locked and continuing to improve entrance areas with cameras, vestibules, SROs, and other things as we build and renovate our schools. However, knowing the child and the signs and supporting every child takes people in the building that are qualified to do this. Besides, staff and teachers, we must fund the amount of counselors required to do this. This will be a critical focus of the school board.
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?
Yes, I support SROs in the schools. I believe they are there to secure the school when needed, to help when disruption happens, and to build relationships with the students so as to be someone that any child can let know if they feel unsafe about something.
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?
Yes, this is still a challenge that we cannot take our efforts away from in the future.
Training in cultural differences as well as more efforts to have diversity in our teaching staff is necessary. We need to keep children in school and we need to help teachers with intervention in order to do that. This will take more human capital and funding. It is very important to stay focused on it.
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.
Sometimes for the health of a school, I will be willing to make assignment decisions that are not popular. However, trying to make moves slowly and with transparency has helped me in the past. I have to be willing to meet about any of my decisions. Also, stability for the children already at a school is important to me. I often agree with an area move but allow families that have started in a school to stay.
