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Updated – October 4, 2024

On October 1, police escorted TPUSA Faith Contributor Pastor John Amanchukwu out of a board meeting during public comment. (See post below). 

In his address, Amanchuku was outraged over the district’s treatment of Lorena Benson, a 15-year-old student who was forced to read a “pornographic” short story. Benson told school board members she didn’t want to read the story, “Tomorrow is Too Far,” because its hypersexual and incestuous content conflicted with her values. 

Pastor Amanchukwu accused the board of breaking the law (House Bill 49).

“I am not the criminal: they are!” Amanchukwu said of the school board members as he was forced out of the meeting and placed in handcuffs.

“He won’t remove these school board leaders!” the pastor said as a police officer grabbed him. “He’ll grab my arm… but he won’t remove a book! And there’s kids in this district!”

He continued to demand, “Justice for Lorena!”

Eventually, police removed the handcuffs from Amanchukwu once he was outside of the building.   

😱 Pastor @REVWUTRUTH was handcuffed at the Wake County school board meeting in Cary, North Carolina.

Standing for justice, he defended 15-year-old Lorena Benson, who was forced to read and discuss inappropriate content at school. He also challenged the Wake County school board… pic.twitter.com/qX5r1dKouV

— TPUSA Faith (@tpusafaith) October 2, 2024

The story Benson was forced to read, “Tomorrow is too Far” by Chimamanda Ngozi was published by Prospect Magazine in 2006. The story depicts two cousins discussing explicit sexual actions committed with each other. 

BREAKING NEWS: A 15 year old minor at Athens Drive High School in Wake County, NC, is forced to read a pornographic book in class, that talks about putting a banana 🍌 in a tomato 🍅! She is now leaving this school. LISTEN TO HER TRAUMATIZING STORY! This is why my new documentary… pic.twitter.com/YBfQIJeXrj

— John K. Amanchukwu Sr. (@REVWUTRUTH) September 18, 2024

Please send tips and information on Wake County School District to [email protected].

Turning Point USA would like to thank Dr. Bob for his contributions that allow Pastor Amanchukwu to pursue stories that shed light on corruption within the public education system.

Updated – September 20, 2024

On September 10, 2024, WRAL News reported violent threats against several North Carolina school districts including Wake County Public School System (WCPSS). The social media threats have since been deemed non-credible by local law enforcement.

WRAL said, “Forty North Carolina schools…received non-credible hoax threats on Tuesday. These incidents were part of a larger pattern of school threats reported statewide. The first online threat prompted a brief code yellow lockdown at Cary Elementary School.”

Cary Elementary is within WCPSS boundaries. School administrators released a statement expressing gratitude for their security team and law enforcement’s swift actions. A spokesperson told WRAL that the Georgia school shooting “trigger[ed] what is known as the ‘copycat effect” and explained how some young people view these types of stories will try to repeat the hoax in their district.

WCPSS did not publicly disclose when or how parents and community members were notified about the false threats. 

LGBTQ

In other news, WCPSS made headlines on July 17 after the district passed policy changes in favor of LGBTQ-identifying students. 

Despite the district’s ability to reject the Biden administration’s unlawful Title IX rules amid reports of contentious litigation, WCPSS Board President Chris Hegarty said they will comply because the federal government has a “big stake” in whether the district receives “millions and millions of dollars.”

A live report can be viewed below.

Board Member Cheryl Caulfield—who supports separate spaces for “trans” students— was one of two board members who voted against the measure, stating:

“Title IX was created to protect women’s rights. And I think that we are bringing way too many political, polarized, adult problems to our school system…This is opening up a door that is now going to create an unsafe environment for biological girls because they cannot say anything about somebody being in their bathroom…[or] being in the locker room.”

The News & Observer further explained the new school policies are intended to comply with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals which ruled earlier this year that biological males who identify as female should be allowed to compete in female sports. 

CORRUPTION

In unrelated news, the district raised the lunch cost for students, potentially creating food insecurities among low-income families. According to ABC 11:

“Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, WCPSS students can expect to pay more for school meals across the county. The district’s children’s nutrition director, Paula De Lucca, presented board members with reasons for why the district should increase the price; citing an increase in food costs and supplier fees for receiving the food.”

The source also said that De Lucca “acknowledged that if the price increase failed, then Child Nutrition Services would operate with a deficit for the next school year and food quality would increase.” De Lucca also cited preventing financial challenges as another reason to raise costs for students. 

Board Member Monika Johnson-Hostler said that her vote signified that providing students with free meals was the solution. She and two other representatives reportedly voted against the price increase.

Despite receiving nearly $60 million of the county’s $2.08 billion education budget, the district voted to raise meal costs by 25 cents. The upcharge took effect at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year. According to ABC 11, the WCPSS is still concerned that staff members and teachers won’t get the raises they were promised.

Please send tips and updates on the Wake County Public School System to [email protected]. 

Updated – December 4, 2023

On November 27, 2023, a 15-year-old student was stabbed to death by a 14-year-old classmate inside Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School. The fight, which was captured on camera, started in the hallway with one boy punching another boy. The boys ran into the gym where a large crowd followed and several others joined the fight.

At one point in the video, one student appears to jab at two teens with a sharp object before running away. Raleigh Police Chief Estrella Patterson said two juvenile victims were wounded in the fight—a 15-year-old who died and a 16-year-old who was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.

Cherelle McLaughlin, the mother of the alleged stabber, says her son acted in self-defense. She told WRAL News:

“I informed the school earlier that something may happen. I informed them that morning. I told them something may happen, boys may threaten to jump him. They didn’t get to him fast enough.”

McLaughlin said she doesn’t think her son took a knife to school but must have gotten it from someone else in the building. She also thinks the video makes it clear that her son was defending himself and was scared.

“The whole situation is terrible. I feel bad for the other family but in return, I feel bad for my son because he was fighting for his life. It wasn’t a fair fight. I just don’t think it should have happened like that.” 

McLaughlin’s son was arrested and is charged with murder on a juvenile petition. District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said that since the teen is accused of murder, it is her intention to transfer the case to Superior Court and have the 14-year-old tried as an adult.

One parent shared safety concerns with WRAL News, saying they were planning to remove their daughter from the school after recent events.

“Even from the video alone, it seemed like it took a long time for the administrator, teacher, adult to get there. I don’t feel safe sending my kid to school. No parents should have to send their kid to school and wonder if they are going to come back alive.” 

Superintendent Robert Taylor said the district would review all safety protocols and present any recommendations to the Wake County School Board. He also clarified in a November 27 press conference that Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School does not use metal detectors.

“We rely on other students to relay information to us, and we look at reasonable suspicion. At certain events, like sporting events, we may have more high-level ways of looking at students who may bring things into that arena, but this is what we do now. We search if we have probable cause.” 

During the 2021-2022 school year, five students were reported for assault using a weapon at school in the Wake County Public School System. The district also reported 442 students for bringing weapons to school and eight students for bringing a firearm to campus.

Updated – November 21, 2023

In November 2023, the school board for the Wake County Public School System participated in a two-hour workshop on implicit biases held by self-described Critical Race Scholar Ronda Taylor Bullock. Bullock—Co-Founder and Executive Director of We Are (Working to Extend Anti-Racist Education)—told board members:

“When you haven’t been the target of discrimination, it’s hard to see, to feel, to empathize, to recognize that something’s got to change. If we want to have a healthier learning environment, a healthier system, something has to change.”

Bullock began the training session by making a “Land Acknowledgment,” saying they can’t do any work without “acknowledging that we are living on stolen land.” She then did a “Black Body Acknowledgment [to] hold space for those we have lost due to forced enslavement, police brutality, trauma, disproportionate access to resources, health disparities, COVID-19 and many of the systemically racist structures that exist in America.”

Bullock asked the board members to list parts of their identity that could be considered privileges. She also asked them to consider what it could be like for students of color in a district where the majority of teachers are white.

“One of the things white supremacy does is it hardens our hearts and prevents us from empathizing with people from whom we are different. … White people’s discomfort is not more significant than a black child being harmed, than a brown child being harmed, than a child in the LGBTQ community being harmed, than an immigrant child, than a child who speaks multiple languages where English might not be one of them.” 

However, both Board President Lindsay Mahaffey and Bullock deny that the training was about Critical Race Theory. Bullock stated, “This was not a training on Critical Race Theory. This was a training on implicit biases. They’re very different.”

The training session—which cost $3,038—comes after the Wake County School Board passed an equity policy in November 2022. Mahaffey said:

“We have an equity policy, and it is important as a board that we understand how that will work. It models behavior for other folks that we’re doing the work and not just sitting there and expecting other people to put the equity policy into action.” 

The policy defines equity as “the elimination of predictability and disproportionality of outcomes based on student characteristics.” It says the district will strive to, among other things: 

• “Identify and address systemic deficiencies that create gaps in academic achievement by using disaggregated data to inform district decision-making and strategic planning to identify barriers to equitable opportunities and equitable outcomes for all students” 
• “Identify and provide high quality instructional materials and methods that represent the rich diversity of our nation, respect the legitimacy of different cultures, and empower students to value diverse perspectives” 
• “Recruit and retain racially and linguistically diverse and culturally competent administrative, instructional, and support personnel[.]”

Published – October 4, 2021

The School System is facing scrutiny over its policy regarding internet privacy towards students. Current policy states that students have no expectation of privacy when connected to the school internet. School administrators may seize electronic devices from students that are deemed not being used for educational purposes.

During the same meeting where board members voted to uphold the policy, members further discussed an “equity” policy for the district. The text for the policy describes equity as, “raising the achievement of all students while narrowing the gaps between the lowest and highest performing students and eliminating the racial or cultural predictability and disproportionality of which student groups occupy the highest and lowest achievement categories.”

Wake County schools voted to require players, coaches, and staff to wear masks at outdoor sporting events. Masks are required during all indoor sporting events. All visitors and fans are strongly encouraged to wear masks outdoors.

Parents are additionally removing their children from the school system due the board’s masking policy. One parent told Spectrum News that children in masks are “depressing” and cited the masking policy as the reason for withdrawing her child from the school district.

Wake County Public Schools are located in North Carolina. The district consists of 191 schools that enroll a total of 161,907 students.