Karen Carter: Wake County School Board Update

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Cary, NC — Karen Carter, the newly-elected District 9 representative on the Wake County Board of Education, was sworn into her new role alongside the other 8 board members on December 1.

As a way to connect with the people of district 9, which covers much of Cary, Carter has started up a blog to provide public updates about meetings, upcoming events and important issues. The following is her latest entry published on Sunday, December 6, 2020.

First Steps as a Board Member

School board member Karen Carter is sworn into her term as District 9 representative on Tuesday, December 1, 2020.

This past week was a whirlwind.

Besides the board meetings and swearing in ceremony, I received a crash course on the layout of part of CrossRoads and met some central office staff. I also began reviewing BAC 9 membership, verified applications received and processed and reached out to all District 9 principals to introduce myself. These tasks were part of the first step in beginning our work together for our students and families.

Opening Remarks & Approved Items From the Dec. 1 Meeting

In case you missed my opening remarks at the 12/1 board meeting, I dedicated my work as the District 9 Board of Education rep to my students and my kids. Leaving Davis Drive Middle School as a Special Education IA and telling my students “see you later” was difficult to do last week. However, they will be my motivation moving forward.

The following items were approved at the 12/1 board meeting:

  • 2021-2022 instructional calendars for traditional, modified and multi-track schools
  • Spending $835,000 to help cover athletic costs for schools — $25,000 for each high school, $60,000 for high school booking fees and $5,000 for each middle school.
  • A one-time $500 bonus for all active, benefits-earning employees.
  • A fund balance appropriation in the amount of $17,676,641. View the itemized details to this appropriation.
  • Waiver of policy 8101 to allow the amount of unassigned fund balance in excess of the 6% threshold to be maintained for use by the Board instead of returning it to the county.

Getting Engaged in District 9

District 9 board member, Karen Carter sits far right in her first school board meeting of her term.

This week is filling up quickly with several new board member orientation sessions. I’m eager to gain more knowledge and continue to engage with our community.

If you have any comments or questions, please email me at [email protected].

From the blog of Karen Carter, Wake County Board of Education Representative, District 9. 

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