Note: Rev-elution has removed comments regarding Matt Sears, incumbent representing District 3, after reviewing records which fail to verify assumptions made in the previous version. Sears never publicly called for the termination of former Durham County Manager Wendell Davis and made no public comments supporting David Hawk, former principal at Durham School of the Arts.
no elected public official faces more scrutiny than public-school board members. It’s where the public ideologies of parents emerge in a volatile display of emotions. It’s where race, class privilege and petty demands of parents converge to pit the rich against the lack of resources of others.
Rev-elution applied a different type of
matrix in determining who to endorse for the five seats on the board of
education. We considered each candidates’ campaign pitch. We also counted the
level and nature of involvement with Black and Brown parents and students. Not
just Black, and not just Brown.
Impact of the Better Board, Better Schools
slate of candidates
The surfacing of Better Board, Better
Schools, a group of concerned parents and grandparents, in promoting a slate of
candidates is significant. It’s not clear if the group is motivated by
political party ties. What is clear is a budding population of parents unsatisfied
with student academic performance in Durham Public Schools.
“Resources are being allocated to various
initiatives while our students are being left behind academically,” the group states
on their website. “Our children deserve better.”
Chris Burns, the group’s
candidate representing District 2, touts homeschooling, The Hill Center and
Cresset Christian Academy, a private faith-based school, as options used for
his children.
Rev-elution extends no endorsements for
members of the Better Board, Better Schools slate; however, acknowledges the
burden felt by parents who feel DPS fails in satisfying the educational needs
of their children.
“Our slate will bring a laser-like focus on
increasing reading literacy, mathematical achievement, and critical thinking
skills,” their websites states. “We want to unleash the creativity of teaching
professionals, allowing them to impact in ways that are effective and
impactful.”
Curtis Hrischuk (District 1), Gayathri
Rajaraman (District 3), Joetta MacMiller (Consolidated District B)
and Valarie Jarvis (District 4) are a slate of candidates representing
parents likely to consider alternative methods to educate their children.
School board members are encouraged to listen.
District 1
Rev-elution endorses Emily Chavez based
on her more than 15 years of experience as a professional development
facilitator, education administrator and organizational change agent.
A former English teacher, her work as
project director of the DREAM Project at the University of North Carolina,
director of equity and justice, associate director at the Center for
Multicultural Affairs both at Duke and outreach program coordinator of the
UNC-Duke Consortium of Latin American & Caribbean Studies, offers the
perfect fit in a school system with an expanding Brown population.
Jasper Fleming presents a platform
centering teacher pay, parent engagement and Covid-19 safety protocol.
Rev-elution viewed his platform, and lack of experience within Black and Brown
spaces, both limited and nonconsequential in addressing critical issues.
District 2
District 2 presents a decision between two
viable candidates. Bertina Umstead serves as the current chair of the
Durham Board of Education. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, she studied Middle Grade Education with a concentration in
Language Arts & Social Studies before taking a job with Student U, a
college access program in Durham.
Umstead, and members of the current board, advocates
for additional school counselors, increased access to mental health support and
programming that supports Black and Brown boys.
Rev-elution endorses Donald Hughes based
on a set of unusual and welcoming variables. Hughes is nurtured within a
culture of advocacy and activism. He began service as a speaker at city council
and school board meetings before entering high school. Hughes knows Durham. He’s
a graduate of Hillside High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in economics
from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master’s degree in
public administration from North Carolina Central University.
Hughes is a rarity in Durham politics, a
Durham born and raised Black man potentially being elected for local office. He’s
a strong advocate of Durham pride. He has witnessed, firsthand, the rise and
fall of what Durham represented prior to gentrification. He remembers the
madness related to school merger, disputes to fund magnet schools and conflicts
at Hillside High School leading to the dismissal of a vastly popular principal.
Hughes is part of the history of Durham’s
public education system. He’s connected to the population most impacted by economic,
education and health disparities. Hughes can do more than talk about what
troubles Durham, he’s engaged. He does more than talk about policy in a platform
statement. He’s about that life.
District 3
This is complicated. Matt Sears, the
incumbent in District 3, hasn’t done enough to warrant an endorsement from
Rev-elution.
Gayathri Rajaraman, the only opposition in District 3, is an unknown. Her connection as a member of the Better Board, Better School slate offers a clue. The problem is with the clue. It feels like a hostile Republican Party takeover of a welcoming and progressive school system.
Rev-elution endorses no one for District 3.
District 4
Natalie Beyer played tag team
with Matt Sears in a campaign against Wendell Davis. She challenged the credibility
of positions affirming the strength of Durham’s AAA rating. The call for accountability
was matched by her call for Davis’ job. Fueled by the support of People’s
Alliance, Beyers and Sears won the battle. Will Durham voters remember rhetoric
condemning Davis for being conservative – yes, some called him a Republican –
while addressing his compensation – too much for a Black man. Stop me. It's too
soon.
Rev-elution endorses Myca Jeter based
on her more than 20 years of working with children and families as a social
worker. A graduate of North Carolina Central University, Jeter taught Spanish
at Neal Middle School and Hillside High School before becoming a mental health
professional.
An authentic and much needed breath of
fresh air.
Consolidate District B
Few in Durham manifest the anti-Wendell
Davis agenda more than Millicent Rogers.
“With an annual salary of more than
$200,00, the contract provides the manager with numerous perks, including seven
weeks of vacation a year, term life insurance, and a hefty monthly vehicle
allowance,” a statement released by People’s Alliance Board of Directors on March
18, 2021, states. Rogers served as co-president of the group.
The ache of feeling Black men don’t deserve
to be paid still resonates. The sidenote involves the contract for the newly
appointed county manager. It’s more than Davis’ contract prior when he was
booted out of his position. Rogers and members of People’s Alliance avoided
conversations related to her compensation package.
Rogers’ involvement as a key organizer in efforts
to not approve the renewal of Davis’ contract is critical among residents desiring
more than a blank check to fund public education. Rogers, and members of the People’s
Alliance Board of Directors, set a political philosophy questioning the
credibility of conservative fiscal management. What pressures will Rogers, Beyer
and Sears place on Kimberly Sowell, the newly appointed Durham County Manager.
Rev-elution endorses Frederick Xavier
Ravin III. Ravin was appointed by school board members on Aug 27, 2020, to
fill the vacancy after the resignation of Xavier Carson. A graduate of Southern
Durham High School, he earned a degree in marketing from North Carolina A&T
State University, a degree in finance from North Carolina Central University
and a master’s degree in strategic information management and MBA from North
Carolina Central University.
He's smart, likeable and a meticulous critical
thinker. He offers vision and an unwillingness to be bound by the selfish whims
of any given political action committee.
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