School board challengers face off on WRAL’s ‘On the Record’
The two candidates still vying for a crucial seat on the Wake County Board of Education sat together Friday for the first time since last month’s election to discuss Tuesday’s runoff race, student assignment and the politics at play in what has traditionally been a quiet, nonpartisan race.
District 3 incumbent Kevin Hill and challenger Heather Losurdo were part of a taping for WRAL-TV’s “On the Record,” which airs Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
A lot is at stake regarding the outcome of Tuesday’s vote, including the balance of power for at least the next two years.
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Contested school board race heats up in final stretch
Democratic-backed candidates won four other seats that were up for grabs in the Oct. 11 election. Hill, also a Democrat, won the four-person race in his district, receiving 49.69 percent of the votes, but he was 51 votes shy of securing an outright victory. Losurdo received 39.88 percent of the votes.
Campaigning since the election has been intense, and the emotions of supporters of Hill and Losurdo have been loud, with those outside the campaigns throwing allegations at each candidate.
Most recently, Losurdo, a Republican, has come under fire by an outside liberal group claiming that she “padded” her résumé, embellishing her work experience in the banking industry.
“I do say it’s false, and I think there are those out there, including myself, who are offended by the accusation that ‘somebody like me could not have that type of job,’” Losurdo said. “Between my military background and my organizational and communication skills, I was hired to do a job that I was very good at, and I protected assets at the bank, and I stand by that and will continue to.”
Hill has been accused of wanting to undo the board’s work on a controversial assignment plan that replaces a longstanding busing policy for one that places students at schools closer to where they live.
He voted against the plan last month, he said, because it didn’t guarantee seating in high-performing schools for students wanting to switch from traditionally low-performing schools.
“I caution people not to confuse the vote against the plan (with) not being in favor of the plan,” Hill said when asked if he would move to overturn it.
“I’m on the record that I will not. In fact, I’m on the record stating that this is the plan that we will move forward with,” Hill said. “I know the team that has put it together. I trust their integrity. The superintendent has worked very hard on this plan.”
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