Pittsburgh Public School board member Kevin Carter won't seek re-election

After serving two terms, Pittsburgh Public Schools board member Kevin Carter announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election.

Carter, 33, was the youngest person ever elected to the school board when he took office in December 2015. He replaced longtime incumbent Mark Brently in PPS District 8, which includes the North Side, the Hill District, Downtown, Beltzhoover and parts of Knoxville. PPS board members are elected officials who do not earn a salary.

“It has been the honor of my life to serve the public in this capacity and bring my experience with Pittsburgh Public Schools full circle from classroom to the boardroom; however, I feel now is the time to pass the torch,” Carter said in a statement.

Carter was an outspoken advocate of keeping Pittsburgh Public Schools closed during the covid-19 pandemic. He defended that advocacy as necessary to protect school staff and students. His term concludes at the end of 2023.

He also lauded his efforts to help create multiple committees that led to a K-12 non-violent suspension ban, ethnic studies course requirements and monitoring efforts of PPS’ contracting and covid fund spending.

Carter’s tenure didn’t come without controversy. He could be bombastic at times, and in 2021, he accused Pittsburgh city council members of “grandstanding” when several criticized PPS’ pandemic response.

He told the Tribune-Review in January 2021 that PPS is “not beholden to city council. … The council is full of (expletive)” in response tocouncil’s criticism. PPS and city council are separate governing bodies.

Carter also alleged that his signature was forged in a 2018 letter for the Pittsburgh region’s bid for Amazon’s second headquarters.

He said he was proud of his time representing District 8 and added that he will continue his advocacy in the Pittsburgh area, even after he steps down from his position at PPS.

He is the CEO of local nonprofit Forge12, a group focused on advancing boys and men of color socially, educationally and economically.

“While this chapter of public service ends, I plan to spend my entire life dismantling systems of inequity and holding institutions accountable to the people they serve,” Carter said. “I am optimistic about the future and humbly await what is to come.”