Forsyth County Democratic Party Chair Jenny Marshall hosted two forums for the party’s Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board candidates Monday night via Zoom.
Love at the Kernersville Honeybee Festival
A new romantic comedy by playwright Scott Icenhower, running Feb. 6-22 at Stained Glass Playhouse in Winston-Salem.
Strategies for moving forward from the recent financial crisis took center stage as candidates introduced themselves and their visions for the district’s future.
There was a general consensus around the need for greater fiscal oversight as well as giving teachers, staff, and parents a say in decisions rather than concentrating that authority in a central office without direct understanding of what it means for those in the schools.
Candidates agreed that the hardest decision coming in the next two years will be restructuring and/or closing some of its 81 schools due to declining enrollment from lower birth rates and migration to private schools.
Check back later in the week for coverage of the Republican candidate forum and keep reading for a breakdown of the election process and information about the Democratic contenders.
The election process
More than three dozen candidates filed to compete for nine board seats: 24 Democrats and 13 Republicans. Six incumbents are running for re-election: Alex Bohannon, Trevonia Brown-Gaither, Richard Watts, Steve Woods, Susan Miller, and Robert Barr.
Current Chair Deanna Kaplan and board members Sabrina Cooke and Leah Crowley are not running for another term.
The candidates are divided into three groups. District 1 covers most of Winston-Salem and elects two members. Since Kernersville residents do not vote on these candidates, they are not included in the overview below. District 2 covers the rest of Forsyth County and elects four members. The remaining three members are considered “at-large” and are elected by the entire county.
State lawmakers voted to stagger school board terms, meaning the District 1 candidate who receives the most votes and the top two District 2 and at-large candidates will serve four-year terms. All others will serve two-year terms.
State lawmakers voted to stagger school board terms, meaning the District 1 candidate who receives the most votes and the top two District 2 and at-large candidates will serve four-year terms. All others will serve two-year terms.
Fourteen of the 18 Democratic at-large and District 2 candidates participated in the recent forums. Watch them here and here.
The primary election will be held March 3, with early voting running from February 12-28. The general election is November 3. Find your voting location and a sample ballot by completing this online form.
Candidate Introductions
District 2 candidates
Lee Childress
- Spent 18 years as an educator of special education, 14 years as a coach and athletic director, and 10 years as an executive board member of the Forsyth County Association of Educators.
- “Six months ago, this was not my plan. I wanted to advocate and be that person; but then, a lot has happened in six months. We have lost so many of our staff, so many role models for our kids, and I just couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore.”
- Amid grievances from other candidates about central office staff, Childress added: “I don’t think people understand what’s all involved at central office. Yes, there is the district leadership, but I’m technically a central office employee. I am an [exceptional children] hospital/homebound teacher. … All we ever hear is central office is bad, and yes, there is a lot that needs to change … but we need to make sure we understand what roles are actually at central office.”
Susan Conway
- Served four terms as PTA president since her oldest child entered WS/FCS in 2014. Current PTA president at Mount Tabor High School.
- “I’m what some might call a professional volunteer.”
- Has been a reading tutor, director of her neighborhood homeowner’s association, and member of finance and planning committees.
- “Maybe we bring some of those [central office] folks who sit behind a computer all day. … Perhaps they come out and work one or two days a week to fill those voids in the schools that are desperately needed.”
Adam Corey
- Was a teacher and football/wrestling coach before becoming a pharmacist.
- Father of four.
- Emphasized business involvement as a key aspect of the rebuilding process.
- “I’m a lifelong North Carolinian and a proud product of public schools. Public education helped make me who I am from kindergarten at Old Town Elementary School to West Forsyth through earning a PharmD at the UNCE Eschelman School of Pharmacy.”
Curtis Fentress
- Raised in Winston-Salem. Attended elementary, middle, and high school in WS/FCS.
- Has three children currently attending school in the district.
- “I’m running together as a slate with Lee Childress, Susan Conway, and Steve Folmar in District 2. We’re proud to be running as a team to represent us and win back some of these seats for the Democrats.”
- Received a master’s degree in business administration from UNC-Chapel Hill. Currently works as a marketing manager at Ecolab.
- Worked as a political organizer for the 2008 New Hampshire presidential primary.
- When asked how he would know if financial reports don’t look right, he said: “This is my profession; this is why I’m running. I think I bring a unique background to be able to dive in on this topic specifically. … I’ve had this as part of my professional training. … I’m going to know if something looks off and we’re not going to let it state by.”
Marie Jackson
- Seventeen years of experience in corporate settings, primarily as a project manager for large and small businesses.
- Has two daughters in WS/FCS school.
- Emphasized the importance of metrics and data.
- “I’m familiar with monthly, quarterly, and half-year reviews and how different corporations address the risks as they come up because there’s always going to be a risk. There’s always going to be problems. It’s how do you govern those, communicate those, pivot and address those, and that’s what I’m hoping to bring to the school board.”
Stephanie Milat
- Born in New Jersey, raised in California, and moved to North Carolina more than two years ago. Dual citizen of the US and Croatia.
- “As a transplant, learning a school system that’s very different from what I was used to has been eye opening. It’s reinforced for me the importance of leadership that asks clear questions and doesn’t assume every family already knows how the system works.”
- Parent of an exceptional child in the WS/FCS district.
- Spent 12 years as an educator in South Korea and started a school in Croatia where she was responsible for staffing, payroll, compliance, budgeting, enrollment, curriculum, and family communication.
- Born in New Jersey, raised in California, dual citizen between the U.S. and Croatia. She moved to North Carolina two-and-a-half years ago
- “I’ve learned that one-size-fits-all policies don’t create fairness, they create gaps. When decisions are made especially around budgets and staffing, the question I always come back to is: Who does this benefit and who does this leave out?”
Emma Norton
- Corporate background at Hanesbrands Inc.
- “I’m a plugged-in millennial. I’ve got the algorithm, the social media, and I could see our district is struggling and I just thought about Mr. Rogers saying, ‘Look for the helpers.’ And I wanted to be a helper.”
- Emphasized following the lead of teachers’ unions regarding improvements and strategies.
- “I definitely am also coming in being a voice against the culture wars that are starting to come up in school boards with banning books when obviously the problem is not the books; it’s the fact that some of the kids can’t even read in general.”
At-Large Candidates
Valerie Brockenbrough
- Born in France, moved to the US in 1994, and has lived in Winston-Salem since 2003. Became a naturalized citizen in 2006.
- Raised three children who attended WS/FCS schools.
- Owns a baby-products company.
- Previous PTA president of The Downtown School.
- “My background from France, we have a lot of union and organized labor and it works. … People like it.”
Donald Dunn
- Cited experience managing budgets of up to $40 million.
- Master’s degree in nonprofit management.
- Past president of the North Carolina PTA.
- Previously served as treasurer for the Forsyth County Democratic Party.
- “It’s about putting the right resources in the right place with the right people and managing those resources.”
Frank James
- Raised in Winston-Salem, graduated from RJ Reynolds High School, and taught middle school math in the district for most of the past decade. Currently teaches in Davidson County.
- Master’s degree in business administration from Wake Forest University.
- Spent 20 years working in finance.
- Cited the importance of revising the district’s code of conduct.
- “I”ve experienced the system as a student, as a parent, and as a teacher.”
Ronda Mays
- Originally from New York. WS/FCS employee for nearly 24 years, including as a school social worker, lead graduation coach, ad director of family engagement.
- “I know that this is a quality district and we just need to get back to that point.”
- Her children graduated fro WS/FCS schools.
- “We need to make sure that people feel safe — not just physically safe, but emotionally safe, psychologically safe, as well as environmentally safe.”
Elisabeth Motsinger
- Born in New York. Earned a bachelor’s degree from Winston-Salem State University and a master’s in bioethics from Wake Forest University.
- Served on the WS/FCS board from 2006 to 2022, stepping down to care for her husband.
- “When I left the school board I left it in what I’d hoped would be very, very capable hands. And I think that the last couple of years have been very hard on our district. That doesn’t mean that all the school board members were bad school board members.”
- Asserted part of the trouble with past leadership is that they came from outside of the community and were not fully integrated.
- “There are so many things we can see about what went wrong: the constant churn of both superintendents [and] CFOs, but school board members as well. And it’s one of the reasons why I’m running again. It’s because I love this district with all my heart and I think I have experience that would be very helpful for the new group coming in to be as effective as possible.”
Richard Watts
- Thirty-two years experience in education, including as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal.
- “We’re in a better place than we were last year.”
- Pastor in North Wilkesboro for 38 years.
- On seeking another term: “I campaigned four years ago on wanting to bring joy into the school system; and, unfortunately, that joy was taken away fro us when we found out about our financial crisis, so I want to pivot and make it better.”
Linda Winikoff
- Taught at the University of Pittsburgh and Appalachian State University as well as WS/FCS elementary schools Whitaker, Sherwood Forest, and Old Town
- Executive director of Old Town Community Freedom School — a summer literacy and enrichment program
- Emphasizes the issue of the achievement gap among economic and racial categories
- “I believe there are solutions out there that every school can become a thriving school. We have to have the will to look for them and implement them.”
Send news tips, letters to the editor, or hot takes to editor@scopenewsonline.com!
Copyright 2026 Informed Media Group LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without express written consent.
scopenewsonline.com 