ASHEVILLE - Candidate filing closed Aug. 2 for four open seats on Buncombe County Board of Education, with Districts 1, 2, 4 and an at-large seat slated for the ballot this November.
The election comes shortly after the school board begrudgingly approved an electoral map that will cause some parents to vote for officials who will not represent most of their children’s districts.
Ten candidates are vying for the spots, according to a candidate list reported by Buncombe County Election Services. The seats are held by incumbents Ann Franklin, Amy Churchill and Glenda Weinert — all of who are running for reelection — and Peggy Buchanan.
Weinert was appointed in June to fillthe at-large seat left vacant by the resignation of Amanda Simpkins.
The school board has seven members who are elected to serve four-year terms. Elections are nonpartisan.
The state legislature required redistricting for the Buncombe school district during the 2023 session. Local Democratic politicians and current school board members called the unfunded mandate a partisan effort to fix a system they said was not broken, and one that will harm residents. The county Republican party chair said the new system will, in his view, better represent families in each district.
The new map divides the county into six districts with nearly equal populations. Voters will now choose one candidate to represent their district and another to represent the entire county, not including the Asheville City School domain in the county's center, the Citizen Times reported in March.
Churchill, current school board member running for the District 4 seat, had opposed the party plan to have the GOP-majority General Assembly impose gerrymandered school board electoral districts.
In July, Buncombe County Republican Chair Doug Brown was found guilty of assaulting Churchill at the Asheville party headquarters. Churchill said Brown last year pushed her forcefully and then laid his hands on her again after she told him not to.He remained in his position after the sentencing.
Several candidates were unable to be reached or did not respond by deadline.
Following are the candidates:
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At-large:
Charles Martin
Martin is an Asheville native and senior pastor at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in West Asheville.
Through a partnership with Partners Unlimited, the church hosts an out-of-school suspension program, which provides support for students from Buncombe and Asheville schools. After listening to concerns from students and parents, Martin said, "I think it's time for a change for the board of education."
He hopes to address the achievement gap between the city's Black and white students and the disproportionate disciplining of the system's Black students. The goal, he said, is to make the schools better for all children.
"I want the standard across the whole board, regardless of your color, your race, your background, your sexual orientation. It doesn't matter what those other titles are," he said. "The only thing that Buncombe County needs to be responsible for is making sure that we educate our kids ... Every student should have that right in the school system to get a quality education."
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Glenda Weinert (incumbent)
Weinert is a local business owner who has also served as an adjunct professor for UNC Asheville, A-B Tech and Lee University.
In 2020, she ran as the sole Republican seeking the District 1 seat on Buncombe County's Board of Commissioners, but was defeated by Democratic Commissioner Terri Wells. She also ran in 2018 for a District 2 seat and in 2012 for chairperson of the board, but lost in both bids.
Weinert previously owned Little Beaver Childcare Centers.She has served on several local nonprofit boards and as chair of the North Carolina Childcare Commission for six years.
Arria Williams
District 1
Ann Franklin (incumbent)
Franklin, the school board's current chair, first joined the board in 2008. She is a retired 36-year Buncombe County veteran teacher, according to the schools' website. Ann taught at Haw Creek and Flat Creek Elementary Schools and served as a teacher for homebound seriously ill children throughout the county.
She has worked for the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) serving educators in Asheville City and eight western counties and graduated from North Buncombe High School.
Greg Parks
Parks, a quality manager for a local manufacturing facility, said his top priorities are ensuring a safe and healthy learning environment, providing a fully funded and staffed school system, parental involvement in education, infrastructure and fiscal responsibility.
"I believe our children are our most precious assets. It is our job to give them a solid educational footing, while fostering the very best in all of them," he told the Citizen Times Aug. 5.
"I desire an education system that is safe, well-funded and fully staffed. I support intellectual growth and critical thinking. Children should learn how to think independently, not just what to think. I believe in practical, common-sense solutions."
District 2
Sara Disher Ratliff
Ratliff is an Asheville native who graduated from Buncombe County Schools' A.C. Reynolds High School and has four sons in the school system.
As a compliance manager, she said she is "entrusted with tracking and coordinating responses to consumer complaints and managing all areas of dispute resolution, including (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), (Better Business Bureau) and Attorney General Complaints."
"I am running for the school board to amplify the voices of parents within the board," she said.
"My focus will be on addressing local issues and ensuring that agenda items reflect the needs of each school. I am dedicated to fostering a partnership between parents and the education system, ensuring that parents are treated as essential collaborators in their child's education."
Nancy Shook Hargrove
Hargrove is a retired teacher of nearly 30 years, with two decades spent teaching at Charles D. Owen Middle School in Swannanoa. Her three children are all BCS graduates, and several of her grandchildren are in the school system, or recent graduates, she said.
"I became a candidate for school board because I seek to be a part of a team that makes Buncombe County Schools a growing, vibrant system, meeting the needs of our students and their families," Hargrove said. "Everyone in our immediate family has either taught or attended/graduated from this school district ... We have invested our life’s work as educators in this community."
Hargrove said she will prioritize teacher and staff salary increases, recruitment, legislative lobbying and "positive publicity."
Greg Cheatham
District 4
Jim Fulton
Fulton told the Citizen Times he is running "because I believe that our children deserve better educational outcomes and more robust support systems than they are currently receiving."
Now retired, Fulton worked as a project manager for 30 years and in various clerical positions at Bank of America and several acquired and predecessor banks. For the final years of his career, he worked as a technology project manager with FIS Management Services. He has lived in Arden for 12 years.
"I am committed to transparency, fiscal responsibility, and advocating for policies that support both our students and educators," Fulton said. "It's time for fresh perspectives and real progress, and I am dedicated to making that happen for Buncombe County."
Fulton runs First Tuesday Conservative, an Asheville-based "conservative activism" organization. He identified himself as the president in a September letter to the editor in the Mountain Xpress.
Amy Churchill (incumbent)
Churchill was elected to the board in 2012. She is a respiratory therapist at Mission Hospital.
In a July 22 news release announcing her filing, Churchill said she had changed her political affiliation to Independent. Of why she was running for reelection, she cited her passion to keep arts programs in Buncombe County schools, and fears over the expansion of the state's private school vouchers, particularly on elective offerings.
She said she was "equally passionate" about keeping students, faculty and staff healthy and safe using her experience as a respiratory therapist during COVID to help "steer the best course through that crisis," as well as backing initiatives to enhance mental health support in schools throughout the system.
This story will be updated.
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Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on X, formerly Twitter, at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with asubscriptionto the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Who filed for Buncombe County School Board? Meet the candidates
