A former longtime upstate New York school board member on Wednesday became the first person to apply for the upcoming vacancy on the Wake County school board.

Wendy Ford of Wake Forest says her 19 years on the school board of the Churchville-Chili Central School District will provide valuable experience in Wake. She’s hoping to fill the District 1 seat that covers Wake Forest, Rolesville and much of Eastern Wake. Chris Malone will vacate the post Dec. 31 to take the seat in the state House he won in November.

“I am a firm believer in the power of establishing meaningful relationships within the community and on the Board in order to accomplish great things together,” Ford says in her application. “As a Board member, I would be visible in Eastern Wake’s schools, town halls and community institutions.”

What steps can and should the Wake County school system take to help under-enrolled schools?

As noted in today's article by Chelsea Kellner, parents and staff at Hilburn Drive and York elementary schools and Carroll Middle School are pleading for the school system to provide equal resources that they hope will help their under-filled schools. Among the ideas being proposed by all three schools is to get magnet status.

"This is really an opportunity for leadership where there hasn't been any," Hilburn Principal Greg Ford said. "The time is right now to fix this."