NEW HANOVER COUNTY — A director of remote teams development, Republican Natosha Tew is campaigning for one of three seats in the 2024 race for the New Hanover County Board of Education.
READ MORE: What to expect when voting in NC during the 2024 election season
Tew has worked in the public sector, formerly as a City of Wilmington firefighter, EMT, HAZMAT technician and emergency management coordinator. She also founded the local chapter of Moms for Liberty.
If elected to the school board, she wants to “end woke indoctrination,” strive for academic excellence and protect parents’ right.
“I am running for the board of education to restore our academics to excellence by eliminating the racially divisive, ideologically driven curriculum & mandatory staff training that are in our schools and instead reestablish merit-based grading practices and pay raises/promotions, and even mandating Constitutional Literacy as a graduation requirement,” Tew said. “I also want to protect Parent’s Rights against all forms of tyrannical governmental overreach by increasing transparency and accountability of the school administration, eliminating the ever-growing list of required vaccines, while also protecting female sports and scholarship opportunities.”
Tew faces off against Republicans Nikki Bascome and David Perry, as well as Democratic candidates Tim Merrick, Judy Justice and Jerry Jones.
| What Natosha Tew is… • Listening to: Mike Rowe’s Podcast, “The Way I Heard It” • Watching: “Line in the Sand” by James O’Keefe • Reading: “The Parasitic Mind,” by Gad Saad • Name something about yourself that readers would be surprised to learn: I was the drum major in my high school marching band. | |
Absentee ballots are already being mailed and early voting opens mid-October. Locations include:
- Carolina Beach Town Hall, 1121 N. Lake Blvd.
- CFCC Downtown Campus, Health Sciences Building, 415 N. Second St.
- Future NHC Board of Elections, 226 Government Drive
- Northeast Regional Library, David Poynter Room, 1241 Military Cutoff Road
- NHC Senior Resource Center, Multipurpose Room, 2222 S. College Road
Voters will be able to cast ballots at any of the above places and even register to vote beforehand on Oct. 17-18, Oct. 21-25, Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m., and Oct. 19-20 and Oct. 26-27, noon – 5 p.m., and Nov. 2, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Election Day is Nov. 5, with polls opening at 6:30 a.m. and closing at 7:30 p.m. All voters will have to go to their precinct to cast a ballot, as shown on their voter registry.
An ID must be presented to cast a ballot in the election. Acceptable forms of ID include NC drivers license or state ID, U.S. passport, college or student university ID, some state employee IDs and out-of-state drivers license or ID, as long as voter registration was done within 90 days of the election. IDs not in good standing can be expired by one year or less.
Port City Daily has compiled candidate questionnaires so voters can read up on contenders’ stances before heading to the polls this election season. All answers have been edited only for clarity; the candidates’ opinions and statements are not a reflection of Port City Daily.
The paywall is dropped on profiles to help voters make informed decisions ahead of the election.
Port City Daily: Name an issue you struggle to find a solution for that affects your district and how have/would you go about determining a path forward? If you have a personal anecdote to share that has helped guide you in deciding how to move forward, please, share.
Natosha Tew: An issue I believe might be a challenge to get initial support from the parents on would be the prohibition of cellphones in the classrooms. Despite the numerous studies supporting the fact that our students perform better without the distraction of cellphones, many parents, including myself, have found relief in the fact that I have immediate access to my daughter in the event of an emergency. Phones in the classrooms have also allowed parents and the community to see exactly what occurs in the classrooms today.
The underlying concern is the safety of our students, and the need for uninterrupted instruction time. I believe we can achieve both safety and uninterrupted instruction time by having cameras installed in all classrooms that are monitored by our on-campus SRO personnel and a policy that requires all cellphones to be silenced and placed in a secure, predetermined location for the duration of the class. At the end of the class, the students can retrieve their phone.
Studies have proven that our lowest performing children benefit the most from the uninterrupted educational instruction time when a classroom mobile phone ban was in place. In fact, experts claim that “banning mobile phones could be a low-cost way for schools to reduce educational inequality” (Beland, L. P., & Murphy, R. (2016), pg. 18. Ill communication: Technology, distraction & student performance. Labour Economics, 41, 61-76).
PCD: The district’s recent climate survey and town hall feedback shows many teachers are requesting a separation of politics from the classroom. Can you talk about three issues you’re campaigning on and what evidence you’ve gathered to indicate this need for change?
NT: Protect Parental Rights: The continued assault by the Biden/Harris Administration on Title IX, whose Title IX revisions would allow biological males in the girls’ locker rooms, bathrooms and on their sports teams, eradicating 50 years of female sport accomplishments. The Biden/Harris revisions would result in sexual harassment charges for students and staff who misgender someone. This is a direct violation of my child’s First Amendment right.
End Woke Education Indoctrination: The most recent example would be the blatant insubordination by a teacher during open house of the newly adopted policy that limits classroom displays to the US/state flags, school flags or items directly related to the approved curriculum. School is not the place for social justice clubs, nor is it the place for restorative justice practices.
Make Academics Great Again!: Our school district’s scorecard indicates that 60% of NHCS 3rd-8th graders are not proficient in Math I and 43% of 3rd-8th graders are not proficient in reading! We must get back to basics, get the toxic culture wars and politics out of the classrooms and focus on reading, writing and arithmetic. We should teach our students a full, honest look at American history, including the evils of slavery, racism and segregation, but within the context of America’s highest ideals and our steady progress toward achieving them.
PCD: What are your priorities when it comes to the school board’s oversight of the budget and how would you improve upon the budget-making process?
NT: Upon my swearing in, I would immediately make a motion to request a forensic audit of our school budget. I want to see every dime we spend or ACCEPT FROM NON-PROFITS via materials, funds, books, curriculum, digital online access and subscription fees. I believe an audit should be conducted at least every two years.
I want to see our school district return to merit-based grading, hiring and promotional practices. No more getting credit for just showing up to class or getting hired or promoted because of one’s physical attributes, in order to check all the DEI boxes. No more senseless spending on useless equity training.
We, as the stewards of the funding provided to us by the public, should be transparent and accountable in all matters and actions related to the budget.
PCD: NHCS’ attrition rate has increased in recent years; the most recent data shows an increase by 3 percentage points to 12%, which is higher than the state average. What do you think has caused attrition to rise and what is your plan for retaining staff within NHCS?
NT: A. Poor leadership.
B. Ineffective or non-existent communication between administration, central office and school board.
C. Increasing unrealistic expectations placed on teachers in an increasingly unsafe work environment, without appropriate compensation or protection.
PCD: The district held a town hall meeting with employees in August where staff were asked to give their honest feedback on superintendent qualities, student behavior and district climate. WHQR recently reported an employee was referred to HR for their comments made at the town hall and this employee sees the referral as proof of district retaliation — something addressed in the climate survey this year as to why people don’t speak out. Do you think the board and NHCS is doing enough to support employees’ honest feedback? What would you do to mend this relationship?
NT: Transparency is the first step to regaining trust. We, as board members, must be consistent in our responses and communicate openly, even when the topic may be difficult or uncomfortable. We must also be open and receptive to the feedback of others, and always be respectful of others.
I will show up with a committed attitude and be an active participant. I will strive to maintain a disciplined attitude that will demonstrate my preparation and persistence.
I will respectfully maintain my independence of thought and the courage to challenge ideas that I do not fully understand and agree with.
I believe that current board members and NHCS are making good progress in their efforts to be supportive of employees’ honest feedback though I do not know the details of the employee reported to HR and circumstances surrounding the incident and therefore cannot speak to that. I believe our employees’ should be safe from retaliation for giving honest feedback.
PCD: As the district searches for a superintendent, what will you evaluate candidates on to ensure the best hire for the district? Many are concerned about politics also playing into this hire; how will you maintain a bi-partisan approach in finding the best candidate?
NT: NHCS needs a strong, relatable leader with excellent communication abilities, who also requires accountability and transparency at all levels. We need a visionary leader that can set the direction for educational excellence that aligns with our community values and state or national standards.
Our next superintendent should possess a high level of administrative proficiency in budget management/resource allocation, daily operations and personnel matters. The ideal superintendent would be an experienced strategic planner, with a passion for relationship-building between administration, the board, teachers, staff and the community. I think all those qualities are very non-partisan and something all members would be able to agree upon.
PCD: NHCS has a list of much-needed capital projects, especially for the aging New Hanover High School. Capital funding from county commissioners is tight, which has implications on student safety, overcrowding and academic success. As a board member, how would you prioritize capital funding among types of projects and among schools with limited funds? Do you support a bond to pay for some of these bigger capital needs?
NT: I would prioritize the cleanliness and safety of our current facilities. Exposure to toxic mold has been a huge issue in other counties and is the type of thing that our school boards should be vigilant about. Our students must have a physically healthy environment. If that includes making more space in some schools, it seems to me that letting the current students suffer while we wait for “projections” to pan out is irresponsible. I support having a robust discussion among the board members to consider all options available to us to finance the bigger capital needs.
PCD: Educators have reported more behavioral issues since the Covid-19 pandemic and cellphone use as concerning issues cited by middle and high school teachers. Can you outline steps you would take to address student discipline needs in the district and any ideas or plans you think are worth exploring to reduce student discipline complaints.
NT: I believe being consistent, clear and fair in our expectations of our students and staff is fundamentally important to foster and develop respect for the rules. We must also be consistent and fair in the enforcement of the rules, or it is unlikely that students or staff will abide by them.
To reduce student discipline complaints, our school district must set clear expectations, have consistent consequences, practice positive reinforcement, ensure we have engaging lesson plans, and encourage our teachers and staff to use their conflict resolution skills. Ultimately, we want our students to not just learn the curriculum and how to think critically, but how to behave responsibly and respectfully in society, while developing self-discipline.
Read more about where Natosha Tew stands on issues from Port City Daily’s primary Q&A here.
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