Candidates set for school board seats

Filing for Wilson County Board of Education seats officially closed last week. School board seats in District 2, District 4 and District 6 are the seats up for grabs in November’s general election.

Here’s a look at who is officially running.

DISTRICT 2

The District 2 seat will have a new face. Current school board member Velma Barnes announced last week she would not file for reelection, citing health concerns. Barnes has held the seat for 11 years.

David Batts, unaffiliated, and Andressia Ramirez, a Democrat, are in the running. Batts is a car dealership manager who has three children who are Wilson County Schools students and a fourth child starting kindergarten in the fall. Ramirez is a litigation paralegal with the N.C. Justice Center’s Immigrants and Refugee Rights Project.

DISTRICT 4

Incumbent Vice Chairman Henry Mercer, unaffiliated, will go up against Republican newcomer John Kyle for the District 4 seat. Mercer, a retired Wilson County Schools educator, has held the seat since 2004.

“I want to do it for the reason I’ve been doing it,” Mercer said. “I want the best for the children in a holistic way. We not only try to give them the best education we can, but their other needs.”

He said equipping teachers is also vital, and it’s something he’s committed to.

“We need to protect their time with students,” he said. “They need as much uninterrupted time with students as you can provide for them.”

Kyle is the owner of Kyle Auto Group. His wife is a teacher, and he has three school-aged children who are Wilson County Schools students.

DISTRICT 6

Republican incumbent Blake Boykin will face newcomer Sophia Stevens, who is a Democrat. Boykin was first elected in 2020. Boykin has two children in the district and a third child who will start kindergarten in August. Boykin said he’s looking forward to being involved with the district’s continued momentum with a second term in office.

“We’ve made so much progress in the past four years,” Boykin said. “We’ve gone from 71st in the state to 41st. We’ve jumped 30 districts in the past four years. If that’s not huge strides, I don’t know what is.”

Boykin is owner of B&B Home Builders.

He said with all the current and anticipated capital projects, including new schools slated to be built, he believes his background comes in handy.

Stevens is a retired Wilson County School teacher. She began teaching at Hunt High School in 2002.

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