By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer •
One incumbent and one new candidate filed last week to seek election to the Hoke County Board of Education. School board incumbent Rosa McAllister-McRae filed to seek another term on the board. McAllister-McRae is the director of student support services for Sandhills Community College at the Hoke Center in Raeford. She has served on the Board of Education for multiple terms, and was among the board members who worked on the process of building Sandy Grove Middle School. She was also (See SCHOOL BOARD, page 5) one of the board members who were part as the School Board of the Year in North Carolina. Candidate Keisha Gill filed to run for one of the two seats on the school board that are up for election this year. Gill is a Hoke County native who graduated from Hoke County High School with the Class of 1988. She attended North Carolina A&T University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. She went on to earn a master’s degree in management, and will graduate in October with another master’s degree in human resources management. After living elsewhere, Gill moved back to Hoke County in 2015. She has worked in the mental health field for the last 16 years, and currently works for the Hoke County Department of Social Services. “I decided that I wanted to run for school board to see some changes,” she said. The candidate said she would like to bring her expertise and skills to the board to help make those changes happen. Gill said she would like to see a new high school built, and would work to improve lower-performing schools and support programs for exceptional children. “I just want to be able to see our county keep moving forward and making better decisions for our children,” Gill said. McAllister-McRae and Gill are the third and fourth candidates to file to seek election to the Hoke Board of Education. Dr. Deltarina Carr, a local businesswoman and pastor, and John Wright, son of Hoke County Commissioner Bobby Wright, have also filed to run for the school board. The filing period to run for election to the Board of Education opened July 6 and will close August 3. Candidates are able to go into the Board of Elections office to file their paperwork. However, they aren’t allowed to bring a large group of people with them due to COVID-19 restrictions, elections officials said. One extra person and the candidate are allowed to be in the office during the actual paperwork filing. People who wish to take extra precautions while filing to seek office can call ahead and schedule an appointment to take care of their filing with as little contact as possible. Many local and state races will be contested in the General Election this November, including State Senate District 21 and State House of Representatives District 48. The two winners of the Democratic primary election for Hoke County Commissioner, incumbent James Leach and candidate Lonnie Baldwin, will go on to face Republican candidates David Frump and Christopher Holland, and unaffiliated candidate Jecia Anderson in the November election. For more information on local and state elections and information on registering to vote, visit https://www.hokecounty.net/235/Elections or https://www.ncsbe.gov. Call the Hoke County Board of Elections with questions on registering to vote or other election-related matters at (910) 875-9062.
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