In the race for New Hanover County’s Board of Education, the Republicans maintained their control. Lisa Estep and Jeannette Nichols won re-election, and David Wortman will come on as a new school board member.
In this election cycle, Democrats and Republican candidates for the Board of Education were split on a key issue: neighborhood schools. Democrats Sandra Leigh, Emma Saunders, and Kevin Spears supported a return to the busing model. The Republicans ran to uphold current neighborhood schools. David Wortman says the citizens of New Hanover County voted primarily on this issue:
"New Hanover County really has decided over and over that they’re in favor of neighborhood schools. Now that being said, when you talk neighborhood schools, you certainly want to also address the schools in those lower-income areas that really aren’t succeeding. So we need to figure out ways really to kind of address those schools."
Wortman’s top priority in his first term is opening up the dialogue between parents and the Board of Education.