{"id":4874,"date":"2026-07-18T11:04:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T11:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4874"},"modified":"2026-07-18T11:04:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T11:04:00","slug":"2-wake-school-board-members-not-running-for-reelection-heres-who-is-leaving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4874","title":{"rendered":"2 Wake school board members not running for reelection. Here\u2019s who is leaving."},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Wake County school board will lose its longest serving member and its most conservative member \u2014 paving the way for newcomers to take their seats.<\/p>\n

Read more Will Canadian wildfire smoke reach the Triangle? What meteorologists say.<\/a><\/p>\n

Board members Cheryl Caulfield and Chris Heagarty were not among the candidates who filed before the school board candidate filing period ended Friday. Board members Christina Gordon and board chair Tyler Swanson will try to hold on to their seats in this fall\u2019s election.<\/p>\n

The school board is officially nonpartisan. Caulfield, a Republican, and Heagarty, a Democrat, disagreed on some issues, such as funding for DEI grants and whether Wake should oppose the expansion of private school vouchers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Their terms will expire in December.<\/p>\n

Caulfield was elected in 2022<\/a> to represent District 1, which includes much of Wake Forest and eastern Wake and part of North Raleigh. She unsuccessfully ran<\/a> in the March Republican Primary for the state Senate District 18 seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter much thought and prayer, I have decided that at this time I need to focus on my family and health,\u201d Caulfield said in a Tuesday post on Facebook<\/a>. \u201cBecause of that, I will not be filing to run for re-election for Wake County Board of Education this coming election.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her post, Caulfield talked about how she\u2019s championed initiatives such as the Parents\u2019 Bill of Rights law, higher teacher pay, removing cellphones during class time, strengthening discipline policies and keeping vape shops away from schools.<\/p>\n

Caulfield publicly clashed with the board\u2019s Democratic majority<\/a> on issues such as her support for President Donald Trump\u2019s call to eliminate \u201cdiscriminatory gender ideology<\/a>\u201d in schools. She\u2019s often voted no on allowing schools to apply for grants,<\/a> such as for LGBTQ projects or to purchase diverse books<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cCheryl worked to protect children from inappropriate materials, to fund necessities such as HVAC systems over administrative bloat and to stop bullying in schools,\u201d the Wake County Republican Party said in a Facebook post on Tuesday<\/a>. \u201cShe\u2019s done too much to mention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more How Bill Belichick and his players are building a new culture for UNC football<\/a><\/p>\n

Caulfield has not yet announced if she\u2019s endorsing any of the candidates for the District 1 seat.<\/p>\n

Heagarty joined the board in 2018<\/a> after being appointed following the death of board member Kathy Hartenstine. Heagarty went on to win election in 2020 and 2022 for the District 7 seat, which includes northwest Raleigh, Morrisville and parts of Cary.<\/p>\n

Heagarty cited increased professional demands requiring frequent out-of-state travel, a desire to spend more time with his family and managing personal health concerns for not seeking another term. Heagarty is a practicing attorney and CEO of the Ray Corollary Initiative, which encourages people to pursue options such as arbitration or mediation to resolve disputes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank the voters, the WCPSS staff, and my fellow board members for their confidence in me and their support,\u201d Heagarty said in a statement to The News & Observer.<\/p>\n

Heagarty has served as the school board\u2019s vice chair and chair, lobbying for efforts such as increased school funding while dealing with federal education changes from the Trump administration. Heagarty has also been willing to publicly challenge school administrators<\/a> when he doesn\u2019t feel the board has gotten enough information.<\/p>\n

Heagarty has endorsed Maddie Segal to be his successor. Jacob Arthur and Amita Gupta are also running for the District 7 seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cChris Heagarty has spent the last eight years serving District 7 with a deep commitment to our public schools,\u201d Segal said in a July 5th Facebook post<\/a>. \u201cFor anyone who knows him, you know how thoughtful he is. As his constituent, Chris has always been generous with his time, patiently helping me understand how to channel my passion into tangible impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Sunflowers at Dix Park and the heat: The week\u2019s best photos from our photojournalists<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cheryl Caulfield and Chris Heagarty will not seek reelection to the Wake County school board, opening seats and prompting new candidates to join the fall race.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\n2 Wake school board members not running for reelection. 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