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Seneca Rogers
A man who ran for a seat on the Alamance-Burlington School System Board of Education in 2022 and frequently attends the board’s meetings was appointed Monday night to fill a vacancy on the board.
The board voted 5-1 to appoint Seneca Rogers to the seat vacated in May when longtime member Patsy Simpson retired.
Rogers, an Alamance County native and lifelong resident, has worked more than 17 years at Labcorp, where he currently is a third-party reimbursement analyst. He has been a vocal advocate of public education, has organized back-to-school backpack giveaways, has served as a youth mentor and has volunteered at Cummings High School as a track coach. He is a graduate of N.C. A&T State University.
Rogers was among about a dozen people who expressed interest in the position.
Board member Dan Ingle said that Rogers is well known to the board and to teachers in the school district.
“I’ve heard him speak here, and I feel that he is in line with our board. He is supported by community leaders. He ... is a mentor to young men in the community and is respected by many of our teachers. He is an activist for our school children, just like us,” he said.
Ingle noted that the board received more than 250 emails in support of Rogers, with only several opposing him, some because he is Black.
“I’m voting to appoint Mr. Rogers, not because of the color of his skin but the size of his heart,” Ingle said.
Board member Donna Westbrooks agreed.
“Seneca Rogers is a caring person who has a passion for our children. He is young and out there with our children. I feel that his desire and drive is what’s best for our children. I am seconding because of his heart, and his love for our children,” she said.
Chuck Marsh noted his personal encounter with Rogers’ family when he was running for school board as a Republican soon after having triple-bypass heart surgery.
“I was working the polls one day, handing out the Republican cards, as I was a registered Republican at this point. A woman came up noticing that I was struggling and gave me a Gatorade and crackers, and I began to feel better. Later on, I learned that was Seneca Rogers’ mom,” he said. “She was working the poll for Seneca, and here I am over here with the Republican Party. She realized what was going on and helped me, and that’s why I’m throwing my support behind Seneca.”
Ryan Bowden, the only dissenting vote, said he was sticking with his previously stated position that the seat should be filled only in an election.
“This issue has become politically divisive, and we’ve heard from all sides. I feel that the seat doesn’t belong to us but rather the citizens. It is for that reason that I have to vote no on any candidate today,” he said.
Board chair Sandy Ellington-Graves suggested there had been contentious lobbying over the vacancy.
“I have to be a leader, and if it is the ‘kiss of death’ to vote for one candidate over another, as I’ve been told, then so be it. This seat isn’t about race, politics or power. It is about the 22,000 children and the citizens of this county, and the power of public schools,” she said. “We have to learn to work together. That’s what’s best for our children. I have not cast a vote on whether you’ll vote for me in 2024, and I will not do that today. So, if this is my ‘kiss of death,’ then so shall it be.”
Rogers will be sworn in at the ABSS school board meeting on Dec. 4.
