WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — North Carolina’s largest school district has a new superintendent. On Monday, Dr. Robert Taylor began his tour of all 197 schools in Wake County.

What You Need To Know

  • On Monday, Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor began his tour of all 197 schools in Wake County

  • During his first 100 days in office, Taylor says he’ll listen, learn and connect with the community he serves

  • Taylor replaces Catty Moore, who retired earlier this year

Taylor was sworn into office on Friday. During his first 100 days in office, Taylor says he’ll listen, learn and connect with the community he serves.

During a one-on-one interview, Spectrum News 1 asked the new superintendent about some of the challenges the district faces.

SPECTRUM NEWS 1: Superintendent Robert Taylor, thank you so much for joining us and having this opportunity for us to talk with you today.

SUPERINTENDENT DR. ROBERT TAYLOR: Pleasure's mine.

SN1: Let’s start with some of the challenges. It’s no secret, honestly, that districts across the entire state are facing teacher shortages, bus driver shortages. How are you kind of working to navigate those things as you step into this new position?

TAYLOR: So when we think about bus driver shortage, what I've shared is that there's a process that a person has to go through to be a bus driver, and it's not a fast and quick process. And so that means we've got 20 people that are ready to be bus drivers. You can only get six or seven through at a time. So we've got to have conversations with Transportation Department in North Carolina about is there something we can do to make that process better? When we talk about teacher shortages, we absolutely face that as districts collectively in this state. And so that means we've got to have a conversation with the General Assembly about how we make the compensation better. We've got to have conversations with colleges and universities about how we attract more students into the profession.

SN1: As technology evolves and shifts, I know artificial intelligence becoming a very big kind of topic as well. How are you guys either harnessing that and working with students who are interested in using that or working to kind of steer away from that?

TAYLOR: We have people in the district that are heavily involved in writing about going to symposiums and thinking and talking about it. And so we want to expand what we're doing because that is a growing sector of education and really in society. And it is our responsibility to make sure our students understand how to engage effectively and safely and how they build that technology because it is something that they are going to be using and developing as they grow.

SN1: How are you guys making sure that safety remains a top priority and addressing concerns about firearms and potential issues like that?

TAYLOR: When we talk about guns coming into schools, who was it that didn't secure that gun? That's a human behavior. Who was it is not checking children's book bags when they leave the home. That's human behavior. So school safety is something that involves everybody. And we want to make sure that everybody in this community is a part of the effort to keep our schools.

SN1: Do you have any reaction to the opportunity scholarships and voucher programs?

TAYLOR: We don't object to school choice. We want people to be mindful about how they make those choices, but do not understand that public schools are an institution that serves this entire country. And if we dismantle that the wrong way, it takes a tremendous amount of time, a very long time, to fix anything that we tear down.

The opportunity scholarship is a state-funded program to give partial tuition money to families who want to attend private schools, rather than public schools. The program was increased to be available to all North Carolinian K-12 students in this year's budget.

Taylor isn’t a stranger to the Tar Heel State. He previously served as the deputy state superintendent. Taylor replaces Catty Moore, who retired earlier this year.