Wake County Board of Education, District 7: Maddie Segal

Name: Maddie Segal

Age: 39

Party affiliation: Democrat

Campaign website: https://www.maddiesegal.com/

Occupation & employer: Director of Industry Engagement, The Plant Based Foods Association

Years lived in the area: 8

1. What is your past or current involvement with Wake County Public Schools? What makes you qualified for this job?

“As a WCPSS parent, the success of our public schools is personal to me. That is why I have served as an at-large representative on the District 7 Board Advisory Council, a PTA member, and a statewide advocate with School Meals for All NC and Moms Demand Action. When current District 7 Board Member Chris Heagarty announced he was not seeking reelection, I saw an opportunity to bring both a parent’s ground-level perspective and professional policy experience to serve our broader community.

I bring over 13 years of experience in community advocacy and policy, and I view our public schools as essential support structures for all Wake County children and families. I aim to build on a legacy of thoughtful, collaborative leadership in District 7. I am honored to have earned the endorsement of a majority of our sitting school board members, local elected officials, and community advocates. I look forward to putting my experience to work for District 7.”

2. What are the three main issues that you believe the Wake County Public Schools Board of Education needs to address in the upcoming years?

“Empower & Retain Top Educators and Support Staff: Reduce administrative burdens, advocate for competitive compensation across all school personnel, fully staff special education and mental health support, and restore professional trust and respect in the classroom.

Thoughtful Use of Technology: Ensure technology is used intentionally to enhance learning, support teachers, and prepare students for a digital world without replacing meaningful human connection and hands-on classroom instruction.

Ensure Basic Needs & Secure Robust Public Funding: Work toward universal free meals to eliminate food insecurity in schools while fiercely advocating for full, sustainable public school funding at the state and local levels.”

3. In your opinion, how should the school board approach its mandate to pass a balanced budget when costs (teacher and staff pay, building maintenance, materials, transportation, etc.) are rising every year and the state continues to underfund Wake’s public schools? For example: Which types of funding cuts are you most or least comfortable approving? How aggressively should the school board lobby Wake County for more funding? 

“With state and federal funding shifting, our schools are being asked to do more with less. Balancing a budget in the face of rising costs and state underfunding requires us to stretch every single dollar, but we cannot cut our way to educational excellence.

When looking at budget adjustments, my rule is to keep cuts as far away from the classroom as possible. I am least comfortable approving cuts to teachers, special education staff, or student mental health supports. Instead, I want to search for smart operational efficiencies, like switching to reusable lunch trays or implementing more energy-efficient switches, which can save schools significant money over time without harming student learning.

But local fixes are only a temporary solution. Wake County taxpayers already carry an unfair burden to cover state funding gaps. As your board member, I will lobby our General Assembly for full state funding and competitive pay, while building a strong partnership with our County Commissioners to protect our local supplements.”

4. North Carolina recently passed a law barring teachers from instructing their students on “divisive concepts” related to racism, sexism, and inequality. The Trump administration says it has cut billions of dollars in spending for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives nationwide. WCPSS still has an equity policy in place, but has eliminated its Office of Equity Affairs to come into compliance with the new state law. How do you think these changes will affect the WCPSS community? What should the school board be doing to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion districtwide?

“Losing the Office of Equity Affairs doesn’t change the basic job of a school board: making sure every child in our district gets what they need to succeed. The reality now is that equity work can’t just be assigned to one central office, it has to be built into how everyone in the school building operates within the bounds of the law. My role will be to ensure state mandates are handled in a way that protects student dignity and offers staff clear, legally sound guidance so they can run safe & welcoming classrooms without fear.

Compliance with state law is non-negotiable, but meeting the law doesn’t mean giving up on our kids and staff. The board advances inclusion by focusing on everyday opportunities. For example, ensuring our special education classrooms have the staff they need to be successful, or equitably allocating resources to schools with higher needs. Just as our district has navigated complex laws in the past without sacrificing student well-being, we can follow the law while still ensuring belonging and safety for everyone who comes into our schools.”

5. WCPSS, like other North Carolina school districts, is losing students (and dollars) to charter and private schools. Do you support North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship voucher program for private schools? What should WCPSS do to retain more students and families, and how should the district manage the funding loss from students moving to charters?

“While I support a family’s right to choose where their child goes to school, I don’t support using taxpayer dollars for private school vouchers. Vouchers drain funds from public education, and the vast majority of new voucher applicants were already enrolled in private schools. When our public schools are struggling to cover basic operational needs, public tax dollars shouldn’t subsidize private tuition for wealthy families.

To address stagnant enrollment and compete with both charter and private options, we must invest in what draws families to WCPSS: magnet schools, expanded CTE programs, robust athletics, and diverse electives. Having great programs isn’t enough if we only talk about them inside an echo chamber. We need to actively communicate our strengths to families outside the public school system, listen to why they left, and use those insights to shape compelling academic offerings. While the General Assembly has left local districts without reasonable caps on charter expansion, WCPSS must focus on what we can control: retaining students by making our public schools so strong that families choose WCPSS first.”

6. Wake County voters will have the option to support a $680 million school bond for new school construction and facility repairs. Do you support the bond? Why or why not?

I fully support the $680 million bond referendum on the November ballot as a critical investment in healthy, safe learning environments for our students. Because this bond addresses a targeted set of urgent facility renovations and growth needs, strict project prioritization and transparent fiscal management remain essential. While local bond funding is our most cost-effective tool to build and repair schools, I will also advocate for strong local and state partnerships to secure reliable long-term capital funding so Wake County’s infrastructure keeps pace with our rapidly growing community. This bond is a vital step forward for our district.

7. Last school year, a state investigation found that WCPSS failed to reliably transport two students with disabilities to and from school in violation of their legally-binding Individual Education Plans. WCPSS paid over $2 million in settlements to special education families since the start of 2025. And this spring, the school board unanimously rejected the superintendent’s proposal to cut $18 million in special education funding to plug a budget hole—but did not meaningfully increase the budget for special education, as the local chapter of the North Carolina Association of Educators implored them to do. What should WCPSS be doing to better support students with disabilities and their teachers?

“Special education is a non-negotiable priority, and our families and educators were entirely right to reject proposed funding cuts. However, preserving the status quo isn’t enough when system failures are already costing our students their education, stranding children without reliable IEP transportation, and draining millions in legal settlements. To truly support our families, WCPSS must fix core transportation logistics and ensure proactive compliance upfront so taxpayer dollars fund classroom services rather than legal fees.

Moving forward, our highest priorities must be directly supporting our special education teachers and ensuring we don’t lose any more support staff roles that reduce the burden on some of our most dedicated staff. We must streamline administrative workflows, protect support personnel roles, and implement targeted retention incentives to combat burnout in special education classrooms. At the same time, we must aggressively fight North Carolina’s arbitrary 13% special education funding cap at the state level while maximizing our local budget allocations right now to fully reflect true student needs. Budget decisions also must be transparent and driven by community and staff input long before proposals reach the board.”

8. How should WCPSS address the ongoing challenge of school bus driver turnover as drivers leave the school system for better-paying positions in the private sector? 

“To remain competitive with the private sector, WCPSS must make bus driving a predictable, supportive, and stable career without blowing out our budget. Private companies may offer higher base hourly rates, but WCPSS can offer superior job stability and quality-of-life benefits if we structure the workday effectively.

We should provide dual-role opportunities by combining morning and afternoon routes with midday campus support, like facilities or cafeteria assistance. This gives drivers guaranteed 8-hour workdays instead of unpaid split-shift downtime. We can also expand optional year-round pay programs to ensure steady paychecks through the summer. Finally, we must improve daily working conditions by enforcing clear student conduct standards on the bus, allowing drivers focus strictly on safety on the road.”

9. How should WCPSS respond to efforts to ban books in schools?

“I firmly oppose book bans in our schools. Diversity in our school libraries is essential for learning, and every child deserves access to stories that spark their curiosity and broaden their worldview. Parents have every right to guide their own child’s reading choices, but they do not have the right to dictate what is available to every other student.

WCPSS already has a clear policy for addressing parental concerns through formal review committees and alternative assignment options. Building a high-quality school library collection requires professional expertise, and we must trust our certified media specialists and educators to curate age-appropriate, enriching materials. WCPSS must stand strong against political censorship and protect our students’ freedom to learn.”

10. Recently, Durham Public Schools implemented a Universal Free Lunch program that provides nutritious free breakfasts and lunches to all of the system’s students. The Wake County school board, on the other hand, voted to charge more for meals this academic year (while also agreeing to form a task force to explore lowering prices and feeding more students) Was this the right move? Should WCPSS follow DPS’s lead and find a way to provide free meals to the district’s students? What strategies can the district employ to bring meal prices down?

“Absolutely – WCPSS should look closely at models like Durham’s, and I strongly believe raising meal prices this year was the wrong direction. Through my work with School Meals for All NC, I remain a passionate advocate for universal free school meals. The evidence from districts providing meals to all students is clear: it reduces absenteeism, improves classroom participation, and decreases behavioral issues.

To move Wake County closer to this goal, our first priority must be maximizing federal funding by aggressively expanding our participation in programs like the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Beyond federal support, I am committed to exploring all available local options, including efficiency gains, grants, and strategic budget adjustments to bridge the gap without shifting costs onto families.

Long term, the state legislature should step up and fund universal meals for all North Carolina students, as several other states have done. Locally, WCPSS should continue prioritizing student nutrition and ensuring that budget decisions reflect our commitment to keeping every child fed and ready to learn.”

11. In 2023, the district set a goal for 90% of its students to meet or exceed grade-level proficiency in 2028, with no disparities based on race, ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status. Recent data show that two-thirds to three-quarters of WCPSS students are testing proficiently on their end-of-grade exams, an increase from 64.4% of students who, at the end of 2025, were meeting or exceeding proficiency. What factors do you believe are contributing to this progress, and what should the district continue to do to boost proficiency across the board and eliminate disparities?

“Our educators and students deserve immense credit for these recent academic gains! These improvements reflect the hard work happening in our classrooms, particularly through focused early literacy instruction and targeted small-group learning.

To build on this momentum and eliminate persistent opportunity gaps, we must ensure every classroom has the resources for individualized learning. We do this by prioritizing instructional support personnel who work directly alongside teachers to deliver small-group interventions for students who need extra support.

Second, we must address the root causes that hold students back. Unaddressed mental health challenges and trauma directly impact behavior and academic success. Having dedicated counselors and social workers in every school keeps students focused on learning and takes some of the crisis management burden off of busy educator’s plates. Investing in staff who support both academic intervention and student well-being is essential to closing disparities and boosting achievement across the board.”

12. Should WCPSS adopt a formal meet-and-confer policy with the Wake County Association of Educators as Durham Public Schools has done? Why or why not? How should the school board work with the group?

Our educators and support staff deserve a meaningful seat at the table. I support establishing a formal Meet and Confer policy in WCPSS because listening to frontline staff leads to better district decisions and higher teacher retention. While Wake County will need to tailor its policy to fit the scale of our large district, neighboring models like Durham show that structured dialogue builds trust and addresses workplace issues early. I am ready to champion a Meet and Confer framework to ensure our teachers have a real voice in Wake County.

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

We need school board leaders who bring both a parent’s perspective and a deep understanding of policy and governance. I bring both of these strengths to the table, and I am ready to put them to work for Wake County families. Please vote for Maddie Segal, for District 7 Board of Education on November 3rd.