Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools

This is the statement I delivered to the Orange County Board of Commissioners during last night's meeting. The comments are posted here as well as the PTA Council blog.

Good evening. My name is Jeff Hall. I am the President of the Chapel Hill / Carrboro City Schools PTA Council.

Up until a few hours ago, I fully expected to read to you the official statement of the PTA Council, asking you to fully fund the budget request of both CHCCS and Orange County Schools. It is a great statement, with supporting facts and based on talking points that were developed in collaboration with parents, teachers and students across the district. But, you already know that. I emailed it to you a month ago.

But as I thought more about who I was talking to, I decided to change it up.

On June 20th a hearing was held at a Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education meeting about the need to address racial inequities in how students are disciplined. As we gear up for another school year, I hope that efforts continue to be made to eliminate these inequities. Some activities have already begun. More and more of our neighbors are attending Undoing/Anti-Racism/Dismantling Racism workshops, and the CHCCS this summer held one of these workshops specifically for students and another that many staff attended. (Workshops will be held in the fall and are open to the public. For more information: Undoing Racism/Racial Equity Workshops in Chapel Hill; Dismantling Racism Workshops in Durham.)

A number of folks spoke at that June 20th hearing, including public defender James Williams, who shared these remarks:

As Travis notes in his post on the upcoming election for Chapel Hill Town Council, the filing period to run for the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools Board of Education also begins on July 5th.

Three incumbents are up for re-election: James Barrett, Michelle Brownstein, and Greg McElveen

James Barrett was elected to a two-year seat in 2011. He intends to run for re-election.

Michelle Brownstein was first elected to the CHCCS Board in 2009. She is currently Board Chair. She also intends to run for re-election.

Greg McElveen was appointed to fill Pam Hemminger's seat when Pam was elected to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners in 2008. He was elected to the seat in 2009. Greg will not be seeking re-election.

This leaves one seat open. There are no known challengers at this point.