GCCPAC Candidate Forum

Candidates took the stage at last week’s Guilford County Community Political Action Committee forum to present their platforms and allow voters to pose questions. The event, held at Shiloh Baptist Church of Greensboro on August 29, featured candidates running for Guilford County positions on the Board of Commissioners District 4, Board of Education District 3, and N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction. It was moderated by Rev. Lei Ferguson-Washington.

The need to increase funding to public schools was a main issue discussed during the forum. Guilford County Board of Education candidates maintained that increased funding would positively impact student and employee retention.

Michael Logan, a Republican candidate for Guilford County Board of Education, District 3 said that professional development and training should be focused on the content that the teacher is teaching and how to use the available resources within the classroom. He added that cutting programs that don’t work, such as Learning Labs, could help free up much-needed funds.

Logan, the District 3 an incumbent, was nominated last year by members of the Guilford County Republican Party when the seat became vacant. He was denied four times by the school board. Not long after, the N.C. legislature passed a bill that pushed his selection to the board.

Bill Goebel, who is running unaffiliated for the District 3 school board seat, briefly occupied the position for five months, until Logan replaced him. Goebel was a Republican at the time.

“I agree that funding is critical to our retention. Not only of our teachers, but of our maintenance people, our cafeteria people and our bus drivers,” said Goebel.

David Coates, a Democratic candidate for the District 3 school board seat, said it is up to the district to inform families of the available magnet schools that offer robust programs for all kinds of students.

“One way you bring students into the schools or retain them is just to get the word out,” said Coates.

“Employees are really pretty simple – money. Employees are taking off because they can do better in private industry, or they can do better in a different state,” said Coates, who added, “I’m not going to buy the economic argument that we can’t do it. This is not a poor society. It’s not. We can do all sorts of things if we put our mind to it, our spirit to it, and follow through on what we have learned.”

Bettye T. Jenkins is the incumbent Democratic candidate running to retain the District 7 school board seat. Jenkins’ Republican opponent, Karen Coble Albright, was not present.

Jenkins noted that funding needs to be placed in areas such as Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs for high school students.

“We have a lot of students that don’t want to go to college, but they do want to work, and they want to help their families. If we add more apprenticeship programs into our schools, I think that would keep our kids in school. We can have apprenticeships that help kids graduate with associate degrees and they don’t have to go to junior college,” said Jenkins.

Community members also posed questions about free breakfast and lunch for all students and tutoring opportunities for students who need it.

N.C. House Rep. Amos Quick, served as a “stand-in” for Maurice “Mo” Green, candidate for N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction. Quick noted that a bill was introduced to the General Assembly this year would have provided free breakfast and lunch to all students across the state, however the Republican majority stopped it.

“It is not just funding; we have to pay teachers more. And we also have to pay the paraprofessionals that support teachers more. Mo Green absolutely supports that,” said Quick. “When Mo Green was the Superintendent of Guilford County Schools, our graduation rate went from 76 percent to 89 percent in four years. Moe has a proven record. He knows how to do this job.”

Green will face Republican challenger, Michele Morrow, for the N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction position. Morrow was not present at the forum. She is a home school mother, an avid President Donald Trump supporter, who attended the Jan. 6, 2021, rally outside the U.S. Capitol. Morrow also advocated for shooting democratic public officials. and she has zero public school experience. She was not present at the forum.

Increased funding for GCS ultimately comes from the county. Candidates for the Board of Commissioners agreed that such funding is necessary for school success. They agreed that an emphasis must be placed on supporting local small businesses and attracting new businesses to the area that offer a livable wage.

Tony Jacobelli, a Republican District 4 candidate for the Guilford County Board of Commissioners said in order to attract businesses to the area, the board should incentivize businesses with economic development and infrastructure.

“I’m not a big fan of giving giant tax breaks to businesses and companies that come to town. I know there are people here that are already qualified to work, which is a great part of the trades programs, which I’m in favor of,” said Jacobelli.

Board of Commissioners’ District 4 incumbent Mary Beth Murphy shared that the county’s commitment to investment in education and job training programs has already attracted large companies like Toyota and Boom Supersonic, that will provide jobs with livable wages.

“I’m excited to share that we have been doing that already at the Board of County Commissioners. Those partnerships are critical because it is a collaborative effort between our schools, our economic development folks, and our Board of Commissioners to make sure that the jobs that we bring to our community, pay good wages and offer solid and critical benefits to our community,” said Murphy, who also referenced the Guilford County Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) office that operates out of the Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship as an entity that helps formulate equitable partnerships with minority and women owned businesses.

“We know that historically in communities of color, there has been divestment. We know that in communities of color opportunities have not been equitable. The board has taken a stand against that history. We have set really strong goals to ensure that not only our MWBE firms are getting prime contracts and subcontracts, but that we have high participation numbers for our subcontractors when MWBE firms are not the primary contractor on the job,” said Murphy.

In North Carolina, in person, early voting begins Thursday, October 17. The General Election is Tuesday, November 5.