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RALEIGH – Current Wake County Board of Education member Dr. Anne McLaurin is not running for re-election. Now, the race for her District 5 seat is heating up. Jim Martin and Cynthia Matson both hope to step onto the nine member board and represent South Central Raleigh.

Martin, an NC State University chemistry professor for the past 18 years, feels his background in education makes him a smart choice to create policies and make decisions surrounding education in Wake County.

"All of that experience together will help me make wise decisions with respect to curriculum, with respect to budgetary decisions and how they'll actually impact the classroom," said Martin.

Matson, a college director for ITT Technical Institute, has been working to reform education in Wake County over the past decade. She said she's passionate about the future of the school system.

"I don't believe that anyone knows better for a child than the parent.,” expressed Matson. “And I really think they know what best suits their child's needs. So for them to have a choice in that process is something I've advocated for the last ten years."

The new Student Assignment Plan has been critical issue facing Wake County. Matson favors neighborhood schools.

"I have been a huge advocate for neighborhood schools but I want stability in assignment for all families,” explained Matson. “And I also want this plan to take into account that we have to have choices in each neighborhood that are equatable from district to district."

Martin has his on views on the assignment plan.

"Every school must be a high quality school, that must come first. Beyond that, we need to make sure we have good stability of assignments,” Martin explained. “It's not good for a student, parent or teacher if students are shifted from school to school on a year by year basis."

As the largest school district in the state continues to grow, both candidates have plans to foster student growth.

"Academic success is what everything boils down to and we really need to look at what we're doing on a county wide level to raise the bar on academic achievement," said Matson.

"We need to move away from all the standardized curriculum to make sure that we actually are teaching creativity, critical thinking, get good understanding of history and language and I really want to make sure that we get some good hands on learning back in the classroom," Martin expressed.
Both candidates have two children in Wake County Public Schools.

Voters can weigh in on Oct. 11.