Southwestern Community College students hosted a public forum for the candidates running for the Board of Education Seat 5 on Oct. 1.
The candidates racing for the empty seat are Amanda Woods and Sandy Jennings, who were both invited to the forum. Jennings was not present at the forum.
SCC students in professor Timothy Moser’s Introduction to Sociology class studied local issues to ask questions about public school concerns.
Amanda Woods, a Cashiers resident and parent of children who attended Blue Ridge Early College, said her experience with Jackson County schools influenced her decision to run for the Board of Education.
Woods has been involved with Blue Ridge Early College’s PTO for over four years. She said she wants to be a voice for students, parents and teachers if elected.
“I hope to accomplish speaking out for the teachers,” Woods said. “They are building our future, and that’s important to me.”
During the forum, Woods discussed taking care of teachers, setting students up for success, sports, student safety and mental health resources.
When asked about North Carolina’s teacher salaries and what the school board could do to support teachers, Woods said she was concerned about what teachers are paid and the cost of living.
“I’m very ashamed of that honestly because the teachers are what is guaranteeing our future,” Woods said. “You’re teaching our children, that’s our future.”
Woods said the district should consider hiring incentives. She also said the cost of housing in Cashiers can make it difficult for teachers to afford to live near their schools.
“There’s definitely some improvements that need to happen on that level,” Woods said. “A lot of people definitely cannot afford to live in Cashiers. It’s a huge problem there.”
“There needs to be hiring incentives, and if they’re having to travel, there should be compensation for gas,” Woods said. “That is a big concern of mine, and I hope to be able to be a voice for that.”
Woods also said schools should provide more opportunities for students interested in careers outside of a traditional four-year college path. When asked about declining graduation rates, she suggested bringing back courses such as home economics, agriculture and shop classes.
“I feel like there is a gap in there for people that just want to do a trade rather than maybe a career college,” Woods said. “I feel like that would really improve on graduation percentages there, so I would highly recommend that we bring that back into schools.”
On athletics, Woods mentioned the difficulty smaller schools go through with forming teams, while also saying that smaller schools have a strong sense of community with less students.
“I kind of have mixed feelings about that because I feel like sports are very, very important,” Woods said. “They learn how to win, they learn how to lose, they learn about teamwork. So, it saddens me to know that we can’t play a sport because we don’t have the numbers.”
Woods also said student safety should remain a priority. She supported the district’s use of school resource officers and said additional officers could be considered based on the number of students at each school.
When asked about mental health resources, Woods said the district should work with organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Health and existing school resources to help students.
“I mean that’s what our job is,” said Woods. “We are to put procedures in place to be able to assist with these kinds of things. A lot of times, they’re afraid to tell someone, so we need to have people there that are available for that kind of thing.”
Woods is running against Sandy Jennings for the Board of Education’s Seat 5 in the Nov. 3 general election.
What does Board of Education mean on the ballot?
The Board of Education is the elected official that oversees Jackson County Public Schools.
The board has five members who serve four-year terms. Board members must live in the district they serve but are elected countywide.
On the ballot, voters are choosing a candidate to serve on the Board of Education. Board members work together to make decisions affecting the county’s public schools, including policies, school operations and other matters involving the school system. North Carolina law gives local boards of education a range of powers and duties related to operating and overseeing their school systems.
The Board of Education also works with the superintendent, who is appointed by the board and serves as the board’s secretary. The superintendent handles the daily administration of the school system, while the elected board provides oversight and makes decisions as a governing body.
For Jackson County voters, the Board of Education race is a local election that determines who will represent the community in decisions affecting Jackson County Public Schools. Candidates appear on the ballot without party affiliation because the Jackson County Board of Education election is nonpartisan.
Who is running for Board of Education?
Three Jackson County Board of Education seats are on the November ballot. The races are all nonpartisan.
Abigail Blakley Clayton is the only candidate running for District 2. Kim Moore is the only candidate for Board of Education running for District 4.
Amanda Woods and Sandy Jennings will be facing each other in the Board of Education race for District 5.
Voters will choose a representative for the district in which they live. The elected members will join the five-member Jackson County Board of Education.
