Last forum focuses on candidates vying for a seat on the school board

Last week some of the candidates vying for seats on the Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County Schools (WS/FCS) board came together to talk about their priorities and what the future would look like if they were elected.

The forum, held at the Forsyth County Central Library, was the last in a series of three forums hosted by the Black Political Awareness League, The Ministers’ Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity, the Winston-Salem NAACP and The Chronicle.

Here’s a brief overview of the candidates who attended or had representation at the forum.

At-Large. There are seven candidates vying for the three at-large seats on the board. Incumbent Deanna Kaplan (D), Sarah Absher (R), Richard Watts (D), Allen Daniel (R), Sabrina Coone-Godfrey (D), Regina Garner (L) and Michael Hardman (R). Although all candidates were invited, Gardner and Hardman did not attend the forum.

*Kaplan (D), who is the current chair of the WS/FCS Board of Education, did not attend the forum but current board member Elizabeth Motsinger represented her. Priorities for Kaplan as she seeks re-election include teacher recruitment and retention and closing the achievement gap. During the forum, Motsinger praised Kaplan for the work she has done as board chair and as a member. Kaplan was first elected to the board in 2018. The board voted 8-0 in 2021 to appoint her chair.

*Absher (R), a registered nurse, is running because she believes there needs to be transparency and accountability in local schools. If elected she says she will ensure critical race theory and critical gender theory are not taught in schools. When asked what would be her first thing she would do if elected, Absher said she will push for an audit on the district’s third-party vendors. At the top of her platform on her website Absher lists Parents’ Rights. She wrote, “Parents have the right to: Protect their child’s privacy, know what their child is being taught, and be the authority regarding their child’s health.”

*Watts (D) looks to bring 32 years of experience as an educator to the board. Before retiring, Watts served as principal at Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy, Kimberley

Park Elementary and Julian Gibson Elementary. Currently Watts serves as coordinator for Crosby Scholars’ AAMPED (African American Males Pursuing Educational Dream) Program. Watts said the first thing he would do if elected is sit down with groups of teachers, students, and parents to find out what changes they want to see in the district.

“What I want to do first is to gather in small groups around the community’s teachers, students and parents to hear their voices,” said Watts during the forum. He said he would ask them three questions: What’s going well? What’s not going well? How can we improve on what’s not going well?

*Daniel (R), a longtime parent, volunteer and educator in the district, he says he’s running to “restore excellence” to WS/ FCS. If elected Daniel said his first order of business would be to sit down with as many teachers as possible to see what they need.

Daniel says he will give classroom educators the support they need to provide every student within the district the opportunity for an excellent education. “…At the soonest opportunity I would meet with as many teachers as possible to ask them what they need to be able to reach every child right where they are and get them where they need to be to be successful,” Daniel said.

*Coone-Goodfrey (D), is a mother of two children in WS/FCS and serves as a PTA president and on several other committees and boards. One of her main priorities if elected would be improving communication between the board and the community. She has mentioned implementing district level teams that consist of parents, staff and students that will have the opportunity to interact directly with the board. On her website Coone-Goodfrey also lists providing appropriate resources for educators and staff, and addressing emotional and social aspects of learning as priorities as well.

District 1. The fate of District 1, which represents voters within the city limits, was decided in May, during the primary election. Democrats Trevonia Brown-Gaither and incumbent Alex Bohannon will hold the two seats on the board.

*Brown-Gaither (D), a retired educator who worked in the district for 18 years, came out on top in the race that included five candidates vying for two seats. Brown-Gaither, who retired from Parkland

High School in 2021, finished with 26% of the total vote. Brown-Gaither says her goal is to ensure every student has a “S-E-A-T” (Safety Equity Advocacy and Transparency) at the table.

*Bohannon (D), who finished with 25% of the total vote, was chosen to fill a vacant seat on the board last year. He currently works as a diversity compliance specialist for the City of Winston-Salem. Bohannon’s top areas of focus are high-quality instruction for every child, cultural infusion across all subject areas, and a positive workplace culture for every employee.

District 2. In the race for District 2, which represents voters outside the city limits, there are five candidates vying for three seats: incumbent Leah Crowley (R), Robert Barr (R), Steve Wood (R), and Jennifer Castillo (D). Although all the candidates were invited, only Crowley and Castillo attended the forum.

Republican candidate Stan Elrod died Tuesday night. Under state law, Elrod’s name will remain on the ballot, but the executive committee of the Forsyth County Republican Party must name a replacement before Election Day.

*Crowley (R), the only incumbent in the race for District 2, has served on the board since 2018.

Crowley says she ran in 2018 to make a difference and according to her website, if re-elected she will support school choice and improving neighborhood schools and magnet schools, and increased compensation for teachers. She said if re-elected she will continue the work she has already started. “If re-elected I will continue to do the work that I have been doing and that is making the best decisions in the best interest of our students,” Crowley said.

*Castillo (D), a mother of two children currently in the school system, Castillo is the only Democrat running in the race for District 2. She also serves as 1st vice chair for the Forsyth County Democratic Women. She lists her top three priorities as school safety, increasing teacher pay, and better collaboration between the district and local non-profit organizations and businesses. Castillo said, one of the first things she would do if elected is have a review of the budget. “One of the first things I would do, before we even order any spending as part of the board, is get a good review of our budget and see what our spending trends have been the past few years,” she said.

The forum featuring candidates for the Board of Education and previous forums can be viewed on The Chronicle’s Facebook page. One-Stop Early Voting in Forsyth County ends on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 3 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.