Considering the issues facing Wake County's Board of Education, it's hard to imagine a more important election than this one.

With such issues as funding, school safety, voucher programs, bans on cell phones - and possibly books - likely to cross board members' desks, the board's makeup will have far-reaching consequences.

Five of the board's nine seats are up for election. Unofficially. A sixth seat could be subject to change: board vice-chair Monika Johnson-Hostler is running for a state House seat. If she wins, the nonpartisan board would appoint her successor.

District 3

Voters face a stark choice in the District 3 school board race between incumbent Wing Ng and his challenger Jordyne Blaise.

Ng, 56, a Raleigh physician, was elected to the board in 2022. The Wake County Board of Education voted 7-2 in July to accept new rules for Title IX prohibiting sex-based discrimination. One of the votes against implementing the new rules was cast by Ng.

Ng also favors the universal vouchers that would give tax dollars to private schools and ultimately will divert funds from the state's already struggling public schools. That's a disqualifying position for a school board member.

Blaise, 38, founder of a consulting firm that develops diversity, equity and inclusion strategies, formerly worked as a Deputy Title IX coordinator and compliance officer for N.C. State University.

Blaise does not support a cell phone ban in Wake schools - that would increase the burden on teachers, plus some educators use phones as an education resource and instruction tool, she said.

In District 4, incumbent Toshiba Rice faces challenger Michael Tyrone Williams. (Robert Morales Vergara and Sean Callan are also on the ballot, although Vergara dropped out in August and Callan has left nary a footprint as a candidate.)

Williams, 52, said his 30 years as an educator "have given me an indigenous understanding of the needs and challenges which exist within our schools and the resources needed to meet those needs." He is currently an educator for county children who are in the custody of the Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Asked if he favors banning cell phones, Williams said "Unequivocally yes! I've seen colleagues spend half their class time redirecting students to get off their phones."

Rice, 50, a well-being trainer and consultant, has a child and grandchildren currently in the school system, "which strengthens my commitment to advocating for all students and ensuring quality education." Despite local increases, she said, schools are still underfunded. She is calling for state legislators to "release adequate funding to ensure our public schools thrive."

In District 5, incumbent Lynn Edmonds faces challenger Ted Hills.

Edmonds, 53, outreach director for Public Schools First NC, whose two children went to Wake public schools, has attended hundreds of school board meetings and served on multiple PTAs. She said public schools are not adequately funded.

"I think we need to raise teacher pay, with state dollars, to at least the national average," she said. "Fortunately, our commissioners and community have been very gracious in providing local funding to fill those gaps" left by the state's reluctance to adequately fund schools.

On campus safety, Edmonds said she supports a 2019 safety audit that called for a universal visitor management system. She also supports increasing the number of counselors, social workers, psychologists and nurses in schools.

Hills, 67, an information technology consultant, has said he's running to oppose the school board's adoption of the Biden administration's new rules that extend Title IX to include gender identity. He also supports the state's school voucher program known as Opportunity Scholarships.

In District 6, incumbent Sam Hershey faces challenger Josh Points.

Hershey, 47, a business owner, has been active in Wake County schools for the past 19 years as a parent, coach and PTA treasurer, among other positions. He said Wake's public schools are adequately funded thanks to the willingness of county commissioners to approve most of the school board's budget requests.

"We are fortunate to have supportive county commissioners to help with the needs that the NC General Assembly should be covering, but this should not be how our schools are funded. Teachers across the board need significant pay boosts," he said.

On school safety, Hershey defers to the district's experts on secure facilities. But he added that "Safety also includes safe learning environments free from being bullied and how we respond as a school district to violations of our code of conduct."

Hershey said he values racial and socioeconomic diversity in Wake schools.

He said he doesn't think elementary and middle school pupils should have phones during school, while high school students could have access to theirs between classes and during lunch.

Points, 46, a commercial real estate adviser, supports removing cell phones from schools. He said a cell phone ban would increase safety and "allow our students to be focused on learning and interacting with one another." He also wants a more clearly defined code of student conduct that will "create clear consequences for poor behavior that are consistently enforced."

In District 8, incumbent Lindsay Mahaffey is being challenged by Elizabeth McDuffie.

Mahaffey, 42, is a former substitute teacher who has children in elementary, middle and high schools within the Wake system. She said schools need better funding, even though "Wake is grateful to have a community that supports schools. Teachers and all staff need a pay bump."

To improve safety, she said, Wake County has implemented a tip line and a safe schools app. She said, "We have also increased the number of counselors and social workers in the district to address mental health and behavioral health issues. Our strategic plan explicitly calls out prioritizing student well-being as one of its goals."

Regarding cell phones, she said she supports fewer distractions in the classroom, but "in a way that does not cause more burdens on classroom teachers."

McDuffie, 44, a real estate agent and former teacher in Wake schools, said in a voter's guide questionnaire that "it is critical for the success of our schools that there is at least one board member who has worked under the policies set forth by our school board. I will be able to bring perspective and experience to the table, not to mention be best able to represent the parents, teachers and students of our county."

She said "Funding should be prioritized by what directly impacts instruction. I believe the best way o approach funding is to start with a zero-based budget. This method ensures that each item to be funded is justified."

The Wake Soil and Water Conservation District helps landowners manage soil, water, plants and wildlife. Despite growth and development, there are still 77,000 acres of farmland in Wake County.

There are three candidates for district supervisor. Mark Boone, former president of the Gardeners of Wake County, Reese Wamsley, a gardener committed to protecting the county's wildlife and native species, and Brian Lewis. who previously served as a supervisor for the Broward (Florida) Soil and Water Conservation District.