James Barrett's blog

2011 CHCCS School Board candidates

I wanted to create a thread for folks to share their thoughts on the school board candidates and what you'd like to see in the election, especially since the filing day thread has devolved into old attacks and counter-attacks.  And especially since we school board candidates always get the shortest stick in any media coverage (note the CH News editorial today which only had TC candidates).

The CH News did print one story similar to the one on Town Council races today.  Unfortunately (or not, for me), they only gave any details on the challengers.  

So the candidates for 4 four-year seats are (in order of filing)...

Open Government work in CH

Sorry, Ruby. I know you wanted to write about this topic in the upcoming year, but looks like the town and UNC are a little ahead.  :)

UNC School of Information and Library Science to partner with Town of Chapel Hill
Posted Date: 6/27/2011
 
The Town of Chapel Hill is poised to benefit from a grant received by UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Information and Library Science to increase the digital curation workforce, focusing on the public information and the integration of public policy with information technology. 

PTA Thrift Shop in Carrboro development

In all the other high profile developments going on, I don't think there's been any mention here or in other media of another bold proposal -- the redevelopment of the PTA Thrift Shop in Carrboro.

Seems to me this is an interesting proposal.   They are using multiple revenue streams to avoid a huge capital campaign (although whether folks will feel tapped out by this going on same time as IFC remains to be seen).  And they are increasing the public good they serve beyond just the re-use of goods to maximize the use of the land they own -- options for retail, office and restaurant/entertainment spacein addition to their store. 

 

Welcome Dr. Forcella

I've been asked a couple of times what I think of the appointment last week so here goes.

In surely the most significant action the board takes (fortunately for us, a not-too-frequent action), the board chose Dr. Thomas Forcella of Guilford, CT as the next superintendent.   He certainly hit all the right points in his introduction and initial interviews over the first day --  encourages community involvement, seeks strong growth by every child, has demonstrated high achievement with a diverse student body.  I am optimistic that we have found a proven leader to bring creative solutions to our schools.  I even heard him utter the word "progressive" in a radio interview.  Either he is extraodinarly savvy about saying all the right things or he is truly a good fit for the culture in our district and believes in the same goals we share.   Probably a combination of those two, but that's not a bad thing either.

CH 2010 Census info

Town press release 3/23:

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