Cumberland County school board member to lead NC Caucus of Black School Board Members.
A Cumberland County Schools board member will be the next chair of the NC Caucus of Black School Board Members.
Carrie Sutton, who has represented District 3 since 2008, announced her appointment during a regular school board meeting this month when other board members discussed the Caucus’ Oct. 5-7 annual retreat in Raleigh.
The mission and purpose of the Caucus
The Caucus was established in 2000 by Black school board members with the purpose of “strengthening board leadership and public policy skills in public education,” according to its website.
Its purpose includes providing a forum to discuss problems faced by Black school board members in the state and promote better relationships between school board members and their local boards and communities.
"In keeping with its mission and purpose, the Caucus provides a forum for discussion and exchange of issues, concerns, ideas and strategies designed to improve opportunities, close achievement gaps among sub-groups of students and access to a quality education,” the website states.
The Caucus also provides scholarship opportunities to students across the state, including in Cumberland County, and passed a resolution in May encouraging the North Carolina General Assembly to support teacher pay raises.
Local board members attend annual meeting
During an Oct. 10 Cumberland County Schools Board meeting, board member Alicia Chisolm said she attended the Caucus’ annual meeting and thought it was informative while she was able to hear from candidates seeking state political office.
“I went with an open mind and listened to everything,” Chisolm said.
Sutton, who is the Caucus’ vice chair, said the organization meets annually and told fellow board members she is the organization’s president-elect and will assume the president role in November for a two-year term.
“I encourage not only Black board members to attend conferences that affect Black children and how to educate Black children, but I encourage all Black board members to come as well as white board members, because you are elected to serve African American children as well as white children, and you’ve got to know how to educate our children,” Sutton said.
Sutton said education should be nonpartisan.
Board member Jacquelyn Brown said she, too, found the meeting informative and said the political candidates she spoke to are “for public schools.”
Board member Judy Musgrave agreed with Chisolm and Brown.
“I was so happy to see so many people there who have concern for our children, Black and brown children, and they knew what was happening with them … I was real glad to see that just about all of the speakers had the same message, and it was for us to make sure that we take care of our children who are less fortunate,” Musgrave said.
According to the Caucus' site, its members participate in educational programs through a network of nationwide and statewide educational and institutional stakeholders.
Among the programs is Historic Thousands on Jones Street, known as HKonJ, which is a multiracial, multiethnic coalition led by the NAACP that is “united around a progressive, long-term, public policy agenda that also seeks to advocate for a 14-point education platform.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cumberland Co. school board member to lead Caucus of Black School Board Members
