The Wake County school board has a new chairman, new vice chairman and a new member.
The school board appointed Tyler Swanson, who represents Cary, as chairman and Sam Hershey, who represents part of Raleigh, as vice chairman. They replace Chris Hegarty as chairman and Swanson as vice chairman, after they both served the maximum two years in the roles.
In both votes, six board members approved of the appointments, while two of them — Cheryl Caulfield and Wing Ng — abstained.
Caulfield and Ng abstained after objecting to the way the board’s newest member, Jennifer Job, was selected last week, on a first vote with no discussion. Heagarty said it’s common for no discussion to take place until after the first vote, when board members are trying to sway each other to vote for their choice until a majority agrees on one candidate.
In the case of Job, a majority of board members picked her in the first vote. Heagarty said he had asked if anyone wished to discuss before the first vote and no one took him up on it.
Afterward, the board swore in Jennifer Job to represent District 8, after selecting her for the position a week ago.
Job is a Wake County Democratic Party official and principal at BreakGlass Strategies political communications firm. She’s worked for other politicians and advocacy groups and was an English teacher in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School from 2002 until 2008.
When applying for the position, Job said she had three priorities:
- Create a school assignment-focused advisory group of parents and guardians in the fastest-growing parts of the county
- Use a program designed to serve more students who may be intellectually gifted but not identified as such
- Support identifying how schools should use artificial intelligence as a tool
She was one of 17 applicants and was selected from 14 who interviewed before the board Nov. 25.
District 8 represents Apex and parts of Holly Springs, and is one of the more politically mixed districts and one of the fastest-growing districts frequently affected by student reassignment, year-round calendars and overcrowding.
Longtime Board Member Lindsay Mahaffey resigned her position in August, leaving the position open for application, rather than election.
Job will serve until December 2028. The next election for the seat is in November 2028.
