Two education organizations in Beaufort County have partnered to host a forum, at which state and local political candidates will answer questions submitted by community residents.

The collaborative effort of Beaufort County Community College and Beaufort County Schools to hold the forum, which is the first of its kind in the county, will showcase the educational views of candidates and help voters make well-informed decisions at the polls, said Penny Sermons, one of the event coordinators and BCCC Learning Resources and Distance Learning director. The forum will be held at Washington High School Performing Arts Center on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m.

Sermons said candidates local and state will be in attendance, including all five Beaufort County Commissioners candidates and four of the six candidates for N.C. House and Senate—Sen. Bill Cook, Stan White, Rep. Paul Tine and Mattie Lawson, Sermons said. WITN Anchor Dave Jordan will be the moderator of the event, presenting submitted questions to each candidate.

According to Jeanne Martin, a member of the forum’s committee, the forum is not a debate, but more of a question and answer format. Questions have been submitted by the community as well as educators within the school system and a history class at Washington High School.

Sermon said the questions submitted by the public were reviewed and vetted by a nonpartisan committee, which organized the questions and will have them available the night of the forum.

According to Betty Gray, public relations coordinator, the opening question for candidates will ask “What is the biggest issue facing education in North Carolina today?” Among some of the issues facing Beaufort County education are funding for schools and BCCC, teacher tenure and funding for teacher assistants, Gray said.

“The community college is certainly concerned about the funding stream and making sure we have adequate equipment moving forward,” Gray said. “Funding is one of the main issues. For the public schools in particular, the future of vouchers will be another topic of discussion.”

Beaufort County Schools Superintendent Dr. Don Phipps said the forum will be a valuable tool in hearing candidate views on education.

“We are excited about this event because it gives educators and members of the community a chance to hear from candidates on topics specifically related to education,” Phipps said. “I am also excited because this event is non-partisan and in no way attempts to promote any agenda or position. I hope that the auditorium will be filled with voters interested in the candidates’ views on education-related topics.”

Sermons said Jordan will allow each candidate 90 seconds to answer each question. Following the question-and-answer session, the candidates will present closing statements.