Cumberland County Board of Education District 5: Susan Williams

Name as it appears on the ballot: Susan Williams

Party affiliation: Democrat (Note: This is a nonpartisan race.)

Previous elected offices held: Cumberland County Board of Education, 2012-present

Age as of Election Day: 67

Immediate family members: Mike Williams, husband; Terri Williams Hurley, daughter; Alex Williams Patton, daughter. Three grandchildren.

Occupation (employer, where you work, what you do): Retired after 32 years teaching in the Cumberland County schools.

Website and campaign social media: swlms@earthlink.net

1. The “Parents’ Bill of Rights” legislation has incorporated changes regarding education on health, gender identity and sexuality into state law. This year’s state superintendent race features a candidate who has discussed implementing additional measures that some critics call extreme. What’s your assessment of the state of public education in North Carolina?

Educating children is the hardest job in America but miracles happen all the time in education, and public schools provide the avenue for that to happen. They accept and educate every child that enters the door. No child is refused access and we have to continue to fight to retain the funding and resources these children deserve. So how are we doing? We aren’t where we want to be but we are showing progress here in the CCS district. Seventeen of our low-performing schools have been removed from the list and 84% of our schools either met or exceeded growth, surpassing the state average of 72.5%.

In order to equip students, we must invest in the very people on the frontlines who lead, teach and guide them every day. This is why we need to develop a human capital strategy that creates a robust pipeline of highly qualified teachers, principals and school support personnel in every district. Great teachers energize and inspire. It’s that synergy that matters most between students and teachers.

2. If you solely controlled the purse strings of Cumberland County and for the county’s school district, what changes would you implement to both help preserve your fund balance and best serve teachers and students?

Recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers would be a priority. Teachers are the greatest factor related to a student’s success as they are hands-on each and every day. Since the board cannot adjust the state salary scale, I would increase the teacher supplement by releasing the frozen “step scale” based on years of service and give increases across the board for employees. As a young teacher in 1979, one of the draws to applying to Cumberland County Schools was the local supplement offered. It greatly exceeded any of the surrounding districts. I believe we can make it a recruiting factor again if we can make it be competitive with those districts around us.

As for the fund balance, it is used to balance our district’s budget and is typically used for nonrecurring budget items. We cannot depend on it for salaried positions.

3. This community has long discussed constructing a new campus for E.E. Smith High School. What’s your solution for E.E. Smith High School?

I would like to see E.E. Smith have a state-of-the-art facility that enables all the advantages of a comprehensive high school. If the Fort Liberty site isn’t the right fit, perhaps we could renovate the current building using an urban design on the property or surrounding properties where it is right now. If we don’t use the site at Fort Liberty for a new E.E. Smith, maybe we could use that to build a choice/specialty high school that would allow students to foster skill development and training opportunities for the upcoming workforce generation while gaining academic credit at the same time.

4. Declining enrollment and increasing absenteeism are both significant challenges for Cumberland County Schools. What’s your fix for both?

We have to continue to get our message out to the community that public schools, our schools, are continuing to meet the needs of every child. Public schools accept every student that enrolls and strives to meet their needs whether they are AIG or EC. Have we seen some setbacks? Absolutely, but our educators have stepped up to the challenge and are working harder than ever to deliver instruction that prepares our students to be college- and career-ready upon graduation. AP courses, dual enrollment program, early college offerings, CTE enrollment opportunities, award-winning arts programs and extracurricular activities are just a few of the opportunities that offer a choice for their educational plan.

I was raised in a household where the expectation was that I went to school each and every day. Setting the standard at home is imperative. As a district, we have to continue to create conditions in our schools where children want to learn and a school culture they want to be a part of. When children feel safe and welcome, they will want to come to school each and every day.

5. Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis Wright surprised officials this spring when he suddenly announced plans to pull school resource officers and traffic control officers from most public schools. What’s your take on his decision, and how would you approach a relationship with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office moving forward? And has the SRO issue been resolved to your satisfaction?

I would have preferred more notice about the decrease in resource officers. No one likes surprises and our staff had very little time to come up with an alternative plan but we all understand the staffing challenges that all organizations have had, especially since Covid-19. The sheriff’s office and the police chiefs of Fayetteville, Hope Mills and Spring Lake have worked collaboratively to provide the officers we need to ensure that our students and staff are safe and ultimately that is what we need to happen. I expect there to be even more conversation in the coming year as to how the SRO program will be sustained with all concerned voices involved.