Republicans take New Hanover County School Board

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Lisa Estep, David Wortman, and Jeanette Nichols scored the three available seats on the New Hanover County School Board tonight. All three are Republicans.

For the leader, Lisa Estep, it’s important to continue to focus on special needs programs and the new CTE high school in the county.

“I’m very very excited about that. We just got the consultant on board and I feel like that’s going to move us kinda at lightening speed in the direction of being able to start next fall,” said Estep.

For Wortman it will be his first time serving on the board. He said he is trying to make the schools better for his young children and all the other kids in the county.

“And I feel for several years there has really been a lacking of the parent’s voice. We have several people that have been on the board for a long time and I look forward to working with them, but they have to understand that I have children in the school system. And I’m speaking with the parents and I’m speaking about their issues,” said Wortman.

The GOP trio held off Democrats Sandra Leigh, Emma Saunders and Kevin Spears.