Candidate for the Wilson County Board of Education

F.T. Franksfor Wilson

Teacher. Coach. Principal. Students First.

District 7 · F.T. Franks Jr., Ed.D. · Nonpartisan · Election Tuesday, November 3, 2026

F.T. Franks walks a school hallway alongside a group of students, mid-stride and smiling.

Over 35 years in Wilson County schools. Now asking to serve on the board.

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I proudly served over 35 years in the Wilson County school system as a teacher, coach, and administrator. In those 35 years I taught and coached thousands of students, and even though I was the teacher I also learned so much. I learned to recognize students’ needs beyond academics, to become a mentor that exceeded the classroom, to adapt to meet the needs of the students. Now I hope to do the same in setting direction and meeting the needs for our Wilson County School Board.

Wilson County Schools

1985 – 2021

  1. 1985

    Winstead Elementary School

    Teacher, seventh grade. His first classroom, the year he started with the district.

  2. Toisnot Middle School

    Teacher, and coach of football, basketball and soccer. The beginning of fifteen years at the middle school level.

    A younger F.T. Franks seated with three colleagues at a Toisnot PTA table at a community event.
    A Toisnot PTA event.

  3. 1997–98

    Beddingfield High School

    Assistant principal. His first administrative post.

  4. 4 years

    Darden Middle School

    Principal.

  5. 6 years

    Beddingfield High School

    Principal. On the 2017–2018 North Carolina End-of-Course tests, Beddingfield earned a “B” performance grade — the first in the school’s history, and still its highest.

    Roughly fifty Beddingfield High School staff members gathered in a hallway around a banner reading Congratulations B, Beddingfield High School Performance Grade, 2017-2018 NC End-of-Course Tests.
    The whole Beddingfield staff with the banner, 2018.

  6. Forest Hills Middle School

    Principal, and the last school he led before retiring from the district.

  7. 2021

    Retired from Wilson County Schools

    In July 2021 the district marked thirty-five years of service, from Winstead Elementary to Forest Hills Middle.

North East Carolina Prep School

2021 – present

  1. 2021 –
    present

    PreK–12 Principal

    North East Carolina Prep School, a public charter school in Tarboro.

Alongside the classroom

  1. 2025

    Doctor of Education

    Spalding University.

    F.T. Franks in black doctoral regalia and tam receives his diploma folder on a commencement stage at Spalding University.
    Doctoral commencement, Spalding University, 2025.

  2. City of Wilson Committee on Patriotism

    A member for more than thirteen years.

    JROTC cadets hold a large American flag at an outdoor ceremony while F.T. Franks speaks from a podium beside a group of veterans.
    A City of Wilson patriotic ceremony.

  3. Friday nights on the air

    Longtime broadcaster of Wilson County school football.

    F.T. Franks in a broadcast headset and a Beddingfield B cap in a press box, with a football field and players warming up in the evening light behind him.
    The press box before kickoff.

Why now

We are at a crossroads in our Wilson County School Board, with four member seats up for election and a fifth running for another office. This could lead to five new members serving on the seven-member board beginning in 2027. With a new superintendent in place, now more than ever our school system needs leadership — leadership that will guide school policy into the next decade.

The stakes are high. The students of our schools today will have careers that likely do not exist at this present time. We need to give our teachers the tools that will prepare our students for such a future.

F.T. Franks sits on a small red chair in a decorated preschool classroom, holding up a picture book for a group of children seated on the rug.

It has been an honor to be part of the Wilson County School System for over three decades, and now I want to give back to our schools and my community with new leadership, a new voice, and a continued commitment to putting Students First.

The election is Tuesday,
November 3, 2026.

Wilson County Board of Education, District 7. The race is nonpartisan, so there is no party column to look under — find your name on the roll and see where you vote.

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Check your registration and view your sample ballot Both tools are run by the N.C. State Board of Elections.