Wake County is the largest county in North Carolina. With this new policy, the district will have to take steps to ensure the availability of diverse instructional equipment, recruitment of a diverse workforce, and rooting out of practices that cause inequity.
Sanderson High School in Raleigh has a student equity team. One of the student members, Aaron Ng, addressed the issue when spoke to the school’s board to say:
“As a senior, I’m on my way out. But when I imagine a future with this policy as the framework, I can only dream of the grand feats the next generations will achieve. And not just one demographic or another, no, everyone.”
Detractors of the proposed policy pointed out that the county already spends over $1m every year to fund the Office of Equity Affairs.
Before making a decision on the policy, the board members heard testimonies from parents, teachers, students, and principals on why new equity policies are needed. Printing services could be used to create questionnaires when collecting information.
Theresa Jones from the Wake County PTA Council stated that she feels an equity policy would make it easier for the PTA to raise funds.