After the most recent school board meeting of Lenoir County Public Schools, many members of the community took to social media to share their reactions to the LCPS reopening plan. Two mothers have filed to become write-in candidates for at-large board seats in response to the July 27th decision.

“Three people expressed an interest in gathering signatures to qualify as a write-in,” said Steve Hines, Director of the Lenoir County Board of Elections. “Both Michelle Cash and Nancy Gilmore did turn in the petitions by the deadline. They are the only two to qualify.”

The at-large seats that are up for re-election are currently held by incumbents Merwyn Smith and Bruce Hill.

LCPS is the 39th-largest school district in North Carolina, encompassing 17 schools. The board-approved reopening plan differed from the recommended guidelines created based on parental and staff surveys, leading to a wide range of responses.

“Like many parents in Lenoir County, my husband and I were both flabbergasted by the decision made by a certain few members of the Board of Education on July 27th,” said Michelle Cash, a local parent who chose to run based on the outcome of the meeting.

Cash currently resides in Deep Run, North Carolina, and for the last 10 years has worked for Coastal Plains Insurance Services as a crop insurance agent. She and her husband, Jason, are members of the Lenoir County Shrine Club. Cash believes the repercussions of the school board’s decision would not only impact parents and children but also employees of the school system.

“I believe that I could be part of the positive change that is so desperately needed. As parents, we are the strongest advocate that our children have. Now is the time for me to advocate for not only my own children but for all of the children in Lenoir County,” said Cash.

Nancy Gilmore also filed for the seat of Lenoir County Board of Education At-Large as a write-in candidate.

“As an experienced and passionate educator, I have always had the desire to serve my local school system in this capacity. Based on the recent decision to not return to in-person instruction, even with multiple proposed Plan B options, I wished that we, as a community, had an educator's perspective on the Board of Education,” said Gilmore.

A native of Raleigh, Gilmore attended Wake County Public Schools where she graduated from Southeast Raleigh High School in 2002. She received her B.S. in Special Education from East Carolina University in 2006 and completed her Master’s in Educational Leadership from Queens University of Charlotte in 2016. Gilmore currently holds a North Carolina Teaching License with certification in eight areas of special and regular education, as well as a principal’s license.

Write-in candidacy is not common in most elections, but there is precedent.

“Although the law allows this procedure, we typically don’t see this every election. We have seen it before in Lenoir County,” said Hines.

The procedure is for voters to write the candidate’s name in on the ballot. The votes will be tallied and reported by the board before canvassing the results, which is typically completed a week after the election.