High school students to moderate Forsyth County Commissioner candidate forum

Students at R. J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem are hosting and moderating a Forsyth County Commissioners candidate forum on Tuesday. 

The forum will be a chance for high schoolers and the rest of the Forsyth County community to ask questions and learn more about the candidates.

Reynolds Junior Katy Cox worked with a few other students to organize the event as part of a project for her AP Government and Politics class. She wants this to be an opportunity for the candidates to listen to the concerns of young people, and for her peers to learn about how decisions are made at the local level. 

“We just thought that it would be kind of a big deal for the students to be able to see and communicate and talk to these people that are making big impacts on our schools," Cox said. 

One of the major responsibilities for the county commission is adopting a budget, which includes funding for things like law enforcement, health services and education.

Cox says she's particularly interested in how commissioners make decisions about funding for different schools and projects. As an athlete, one of the issues that comes to mind for her is the lack of a stadium at Reynolds.  

"I'm in class with people who, you know, maybe their parents can't come to a game, or maybe that influences their ability to participate in a sport, because they can't always be getting transportation to all these different places," Cox said. "And so I think that is something that comes to my mind of like, where is the gap?"

R. J. Reynolds students hosted a forum for school board candidates two years ago, under the guidance of Civic Literacy and AP Government and Politics teacher Cristofer Wiley. 

"It matters that you treat students as though their perspective is important," Wiley said. "Even as they're finding their way through the political realm and figuring out what they think, what they believe. I think it's important that they are encouraged in that."

The forum will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 1 in the Reynolds Auditorium. Community members are encouraged to come with questions for the candidates. 

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.