School Board Candidates Debate Closures, Spending, and Student Opportunities

School closures, district spending, and access to specialized academic programs drew calls for greater community involvement Tuesday as candidates for the Cumberland County Board of Education outlined how they would approach decisions affecting students and families.

Fourteen of the race’s 16 candidates participated in the Greater Fayetteville Chamber candidates forum at Fayetteville Technical Community College’s Tony Rand Student Center. Theodore Lee Miller and Karelle Ward did not attend.

The candidates are competing for three at-large seats in the election. The three candidates receiving the most votes will win four-year terms. Jacquelyn Brown, the board’s vice chair, is the only incumbent seeking reelection in the race.

Candidates appeared in four groups during the forum.

Chris Young: ‘Transparency Is Absolutely Vital’

School closures and changes to academic programs prompted several candidates to call for earlier and more meaningful community involvement.

Chris Young, the school district’s executive director of technology, said families and students should participate before decisions about closures, consolidation, and student reassignments are made.

“I have been in pre-K–12 education since 1998. I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years,” Young said. “I can also tell you that transparency is absolutely vital in any organization, whether that’s K–12 education or business.”

Young described schools as the hearts of their communities, saying residents should have a voice before the board decides their future.

“When you’re talking about a possible closure or consolidation, if you’re not bringing the men and women, especially the students that live in that community, to that conversation, then you’re failing that community,” he said.

He also distinguished seeking public input from collecting reactions after a decision.

“There’s a big difference between input and feedback,” Young said. “You get feedback after you make the decision. We have to do a better job of getting our community’s input before we make those decisions.”

Quincei Lovejoy, an accountant and district parent, similarly called for public forums and time to examine the information supporting proposed changes.

Asked how she would balance efficiency, educational outcomes, and community needs when changing specialized programs, Lovejoy said she would start with the families most affected, explain the proposal, and review the supporting data.

“Second, I want to see the data of the experts that are giving me these suggestions. I want to review it and ask my questions,” Lovejoy said.

“So we need to be talking to the community, reviewing the data, giving us time to digest it, asking the questions and then coming up with the plan of the action,” she said.

In a separate answer about repurposing closed schools, Lovejoy questioned selling school properties to the county for $1, saying she would want to understand how such a transaction benefits students. She also called for maintenance planning that prevents buildings from falling into disrepair. The school district recently embarked on a seven-year, $300 million program to address maintenance needs.

“Our children need the schools, our communities need the schools,” she said. “I am totally against school closure.”

Johnathaun Lee took a different position when his group was asked whether candidates supported the board’s decisions to close J.W. Coon and Manchester elementary schools. Lee answered yes; Carol Stubbs and Broxie Pone answered no.

Lee said decisions should consider state requirements, community and student needs, evidence, and the budget.

“So personally, I may feel one way about a school closure,” Lee said. “But then I have to ask, ‘Is it good for the community? Is it good for students?’”

Rebecca West, answering a question about securing long-term facilities funding, proposed examining unnecessary spending, conducting audits, and working with county commissioners to identify funding sources. She also suggested fundraising.

“First of all, we need to look at the problems that cause us to not have the funding. We need to look at waste. Do some auditing,” West said. “Find out where we can cut back on unnecessary spending.”

Demetrius Stocks, an operations manager who previously worked for the district as a data manager and bus driver, emphasized building safety when asked what he would do if commissioners declined a facilities funding request.

Stocks said consolidation could be necessary for unsafe facilities, but students would need a strategic transition plan and a safe replacement school.

Bryan Moore, a Fayetteville real estate agent, proposed seeking business support for school construction, including opportunities to place a business’s name on a building.

Moore also suggested making athletic directors full-time employees focused on athletics and community partnerships. He argued that raising more money for athletics could free resources for facilities and other programs.

“If we can find a way to fund athletics totally, we could put back into other programs, or fixing buildings, or different programs,” Moore said. “But you have to have someone on the board that can think outside the box.”

Robyn Chadwick: ‘All Schools Should Have Equity’

Questions about choice programs and language immersion produced calls for broader access, alongside discussion about enrollment, staffing, and costs.

Robyn Chadwick, an educator, counselor, and former Spring Lake commissioner, also emphasized equitable access. She recalled that her son’s elementary school did not offer Spanish immersion.

“One of the things that I believe is that all schools should have equity, not just one location, but all schools should have equity,” Chadwick said.

“So if all children don’t have equal access, then we need to go back and review that,” she said.

Pone, a retired educator who spent 30 years teaching history at Hope Mills Middle School, said specialized opportunities should reach children throughout the county.

If programs cannot be offered in every area, she proposed a centralized school with transportation available to students. Those opportunities, she said, should begin in elementary school and prepare students for college, technical education, military service, and employment.

“First of all, if it is not in every area, it’s not meeting every child’s needs,” Pone said. “So we need to make sure that all schools are choice schools.” 

Keith Byrd, a fifth-grade teacher at College Lakes Elementary School and Army veteran, supported expanding career-focused choice programs.  connected those opportunities to recruiting teachers, attracting businesses, and strengthening the district.

“We talk about retaining teachers, we talk about recruiting teachers, high quality people, bringing in businesses,” Byrd said. “That’s what we need. We need more opportunities.”

Franklin Crockett—a school resource officer, veteran, and district parent—said choice programs need qualified teachers and attention to whether students remain committed to participating. He also called for careful spending.

Brown, a retired teacher’s assistant first elected to the board in 2022, said participation and the benefit to students should guide decisions about language programs.

She pointed to the debate over moving Spanish immersion from E.E. Miller Elementary School and the board’s eventual decision to keep it there.

“As a board, we got together, and we talked about it. And of course we didn’t move that program from E.E. Miller,” Brown said. “But the thing is, everything is based on how many students are benefiting from a program.”

When that group was asked whether candidates supported relocating or modifying choice programs to address underenrollment, Moore and Crockett answered yes. Brown and Young answered no.

Bradley Williams, a Godwin native and Reid Ross Classical School graduate, emphasized preparing students for life after graduation. His campaign has focused on career pathways and financial literacy.

Asked about changess in choice programs, Williams called for instruction in artificial intelligence and practical financial skills, including filing taxes and understanding investments.

“We really had to make sure that we’re preparing our students for a successful life, not just the education about what’s going on today, but education that’s going to help them succeed 10 years from now,” Williams said.

In a separate response about military-connected students, he proposed partnerships with Fort Bragg and opportunities that encourage families and graduates to remain in Cumberland County.

“We have to work with our military families and our communities, making sure that jobs are created right here in Cumberland County,” he said. “And I believe that we have the people, the students, educators to make that possible.”

Tom Hatch: ‘Visible, Vocal, and Vigilant’

Teacher recruitment and retention brought discussion of compensation, school leadership, and working conditions.

Tom Hatch, a retired district teacher and administrator who led three schools, said retaining teachers requires principals who build trust, remain accessible, and support their staff.

“The principal must have a staff that trusts that they have their back, that they’re going to support them, that they’re going to give them what they need, that they are going to have an open door policy,” Hatch said.

He said principals should be “visible, vocal, and vigilant,” spending time in hallways and classrooms, listening to parents’ concerns, and modeling those expectations for assistant principals.

“At the end of the day, folks, that’s what instructional leaders and building leaders need to be about doing what’s best for students,” Hatch said. “All students in their building and as a board member, all students in our district.”

Hatch also called for including principals, parents, students, and community members in decisions about district changes.

Lee, who said he previously taught computer science at Dillard University, described leaving higher education because corporate employment better met his financial needs. He emphasized pay and said he favored recruiting educators who trained specifically to teach.

“The reason why I left academia was because Corporate America met my needs with a dollar,” Lee said. “I loved teaching, but I still have a family to take care of, and I still have bills to pay.”

Stubbs, a retired district custodian and bus driver who has served as president and vice president of the Cumberland County Association of Educators, suggested recruiting bilingual educators through local universities and offering wages that encourage them to stay.

Young said local salary supplements matter, but educators also need administrators who respond to concerns and value employee input.

“What we need to do within the district is to ensure that when you work for us, you are valued, you are heard, and you are listened to,” Young said.

“And again, we have to make decisions with not only the community’s input, but also our employees’ input, because that’s why we’re there,” he said. “We also have to listen to the students.”

Williams, Chadwick, and Stocks all answered yes when their group was asked whether they would advocate for an increase in local salary supplements to remain competitive with neighboring districts.

Keith Byrd: ‘Use Our Money Wisely’

Several candidates called for closer scrutiny of district spending.

Asked how he would prioritize student interventions after the expiration of federal pandemic relief funding, Byrd criticized setting aside money for principal supplements while schools advertise bus driver vacancies.

“But yet, every time I go by school, I’m seeing the signs, ‘we need bus drivers,’” Byrd said.

“But we need to utilize our money appropriately, and stop wasting money,” he said. “But we need to use our money wisely.”

Stocks called for a spending audit and argued that budget discussions should examine higher-paid positions rather than focusing cuts on teachers and other staff.

“I believe that we need a full audit done on how we’re spending our money,” Stocks said. “And we need to understand where our money is truly going.”

“But we never talk about the cuts that we make at the board or at the top,” he said.

Pone, asked which services she would protect during future funding reductions, emphasized finding additional support through grants, businesses, colleges, and community partnerships.

“We don’t have to just stay in Cumberland County and get money,” Pone said. “We can look outside to get money.”

Crockett said he would need department-level data before identifying potential budget cuts. He proposed consulting fellow board members, department leaders, and schools, and explaining changes to employees before they happen.

“But on top of that, I would go ahead and go into the schools, and I would go ahead and talk to them, to let them know what’s really going on,” Crockett said.

“I don’t want them to be blindsided,” he said. “I want everybody to be on the same sheet of music with that.”

Jacquelyn Brown: ‘It’s All About Implementation’

Student attendance, mental health, bullying, and technology also figured into the discussion.

West called for a community forum to address attendance and school concerns. She argued that discipline problems and dissatisfaction with public schools contribute to families choosing other educational options.

Moore questioned relying heavily on standardized tests and proposed introducing trade pathways in middle school so students can explore careers and build on their strengths.

“It can’t always be about a test for a child, it is to find out what they’re good at and what they’re strong at a young age,” Moore said.

Chadwick called for more counselors, social workers, and nurses. She described the difficulty of addressing absenteeism when social workers serve multiple schools and said the district needs enough staff to investigate why students are missing class.

“There are a lot of things that are going on with families. And we have no idea because nobody’s checking on the student,” Chadwick said.

“So we need to make sure we’re hiring the right people for the right positions, for the right places,” she said. “And if we don’t do that, we’re failing our children.”

Stubbs emphasized addressing bullying and encouraging students and families to report concerns.

Hatch said off-campus cyberbullying can require school intervention when it substantially disrupts the learning environment. He described involving parents and law enforcement when appropriate.

Brown, answering a question about regulating recording-capable eyewear, emphasized enforcing established rules.

“It’s all about implementation—the policy says no, and you have to adhere to what it says,” Brown said.

In the second group’s yes-or-no question, West, Byrd, and Hatch supported the restrictions Patton described on smart glasses and recording eyewear. Lovejoy opposed them.

District policy, approved by Superintendent Eric Bracy on October 5, requires smart glasses to be turned off while employees are working. Student recording restrictions are addressed through the district’s existing wireless-device policy.