When the filing period for the 2024 school board races concluded at noon on Friday, 15 people had filed for the six seats that are on the ballot.

Two notable items: Dist. 3 incumbent Carrie Sutton is not seeking reelection, and former Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner — who lost reelection for mayor this past fall — is running for Dist. 4.

Warner is one of two people who are challenging incumbent Dist. 4 board member Donna Blackmon Vann. The other is Rebecca Pedigo of Fayetteville.

The races are nonpartisan. The election is Nov. 5.

On the nine-person school board, six seats are on this year’s ballot. These are the Dist. 1 through Dist. 6 seats. The remaining three seats are elected at-large (county-wide) and won’t be contested until 2026.

As of noon Friday, according to the Cumberland County Board of Elections, the following people have filed:

Dist. 1

Including Spring Lake and parts of Fayetteville from Fort Liberty to the Murchison Road corridor and downtown Fayetteville area. It has the E.E. Smith High School district.

  • Incumbent Alicia Jones Chisolm of Fayetteville.
  • Kathi Gibson of Fayetteville.
  • Mary A. Hales of Fayetteville.

Dist. 2

Has part of Fort Liberty plus parts of western Fayetteville including the Cliffdale Road, Raeford Road, Lake Rim and Arran Hills areas. It serves the Seventy-First and Westover High School districts.

  • Incumbent Deanna Turner Jones, chairperson of the board, of Fayetteville.
  • John Lee of Fayetteville.

Dist. 3

The district has western, northwestern and central Fayetteville neighborhoods along Raeford Road, Cliffdale Road, Morganton Road, Yadkin Road and Bragg Boulevard. It includes the Terry Sanford and Westover high school districts. Carrie Sutton is the incumbent and did not file for reelection.

  • Delores T. Bell of Fayetteville.
  • Tom Hatch of Fayetteville.
  • Bryan Moore of Fayetteville.

Dist. 4

Runs from central Fayetteville to Hope Mills. It serves the Douglas Byrd and Seventy-First high school districts.

  • Incumbent Donna Blackmon Vann of Fayetteville.
  • Rebecca Pedigo of Fayetteville.
  • Former Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner, of Hope Mills.

Dist. 5

The district covers all of Cumberland County east of the Cape Fear River (including Eastover, Stedman, Wade, Falcon and Godwin), plus portions of northeast Fayetteville’s Ramsey Street corridor, and the Linden area of northern Cumberland County. It has Pine Forest and Cape Fear high schools.

  • Incumbent Susan Williams, who lives near Eastover.
  • Tracy Pelt of Fayetteville.

Dist. 6

This covers the southwest corner of Cumberland County including parts of Hope Mills and the Gray’s Creek area. It serves the South View, Grays Creek and Jack Britt high school districts.

  • Incumbent Nathan Warfel, vice chairperson of the board, of Hope Mills.
  • Terra B. Jordan of Hope Mills.

Election schedule

In addition to the school board candidates, the November ballots in Cumberland County will have candidates for president, for governor, for other statewide offices, for the courts, the General Assembly, the county board of commissioners, for county register of deeds, and for the Soil and Water Conservation District.

Upcoming dates and deadlines:

  • Sept. 6: First day of absentee ballots being mailed to voters who requested them. Voting in the 2024 general election begins when absentee ballot voters receive, fill out and return their ballots.
  • Oct. 11: Last day to register to vote in the Nov. 5 general election.
  • Oct. 17: In-person early voting begins.
  • Oct. 29: Last day to apply to vote by mail.
  • 3 p.m., Nov. 2: End of in-person early voting.
  • Nov. 5: Election Day.

Note: This article has been updated with the final candidate filings.

Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.

This story was made possible by contributions to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy.

Paul Woolverton is CityView's senior reporter, covering courts, local politics, and Cumberland County affairs. He joined CityView from The Fayetteville Observer, where he worked for more than 30 years.

One reply on “15 people file for Cumberland Board of Education elections”

  1. The district boundaries/schools served are not as clear cut as the article might imply. The implication is that certain schools are contained entirely in certain districts when in reality most schools are partly in two or more separate districts. For instance, the article implies that 71st is limited to District 4 when in reality it is partly within Districts 2, 3, 4, and 6. Terry Sanford is not only in District 3 but also Districts 1 and 4. E.E. Smith is not limited to District 1 but also 2, 3, and 5. https://www.ccs.k12.nc.us/Page/8781

Comments are closed.