Applicants Interview for CHCCS Board Seat

At Monday night’s board meeting, thirteen candidates responded to a barrage of interview questions to fill a vacant seat on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education.

The vacancy came because school board member Mia Burrows resigned after her recent election to the Orange County Board of Commissioners. The board will select the new member on Dec. 4.

Many applicants repeatedly mentioned achievement gaps between groups of students – for example between black and white students – as one of the district’s most pressing issues.

“There is a great achievement gap within this district that needs to be addressed,” said applicant Jennifer Clark. “And I think one of the key components . . . is trying to get those families – not just those students but those families – more engaged in our system”

Applicant Theresa Watson said she was born in Chapel Hill and four of her six kids went through schools in the district.

“I have the perspective of having minority kids in a Chapel Hill school,” said Watson. “Even though they had the different challenges in the Chapel Hill school, they’ve been to Hampton, Cornell, MIT, Georgia Tech, UMass. I know the challenges within the community, how to overcome them, and how to be able to work with people in our community, regardless of race, regardless of their economic status.”

Applicant Katherine Worley, a Wake County public school teacher, said teachers are in a unique position.

“Teaching is one of the only professions where you don’t have a voice in policy,” said Worley. “If you’re a dentist, you’re in the ADA or if you’re a lawyer, it’s the bar association that sets the standard for your profession. But teachers don’t have that. They have lawmakers that tell us what to do and school boards that tell us what to do and administrators that tell us what to do.”

After the interview phase, and after some arguing, the six board members unanimously voted in favor of a new process to fill the vacant seat.

The process used to be that a board member nominates a candidate, and after the nomination gets seconded, board members vote. The candidate wins if he or she gets a majority vote.

Here’s the new process:

First, each member will write down up to three picks. Next, the board will select the top three candidates (or four in the case of a tie) from the all names written. Then board members will vote.

If an applicant gets at least four votes, he or she wins. Board members will have multiple rounds of discussion and voting if necessary.

Applicant Mary Ann Wolf withdrew, and applicant George Dye did not come to Monday night’s meeting.

The board will make a decision on Dec. 4 at the Lincoln Center in Chapel Hill. The public meeting starts at 7 pm.

Here are the candidates:

Anne DiBella
Desiree Cho
Gary Winzelberg
Ignacio Tzoumas
Jennifer Clark
Jennifer Marsh
Joanna Cleveland
Katherine Worley
Kulwadee Yung
Mary Litsilas
Rani Dais
Theresa Watson
David Saussy