With more than a dozen people running in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education race this fall, the candidates are beginning to share more about their platforms — with Renée Peet being one of the latest.
Peet, who is a marketing professional and Chapel Hill resident, said she felt spurred to jump into the race after seeing a Triangle Blog Blog post about an initial lack of candidates and risk of extremists entering the race.
“We all agreed that someone had to step up,” Peet wrote to Chapelboro. “I’ve long been a believer in public service, the foundations of civil society and democratic principles. I decided it was time to do more than canvas for candidates, donate and vote. So here I am.”
Beyond being concerned about the “growing extremism and intolerance directed at some of our most vulnerable children,” Peet said she also is troubled by the CHCCS district’s long-standing challenge of racial inequity. Those two elements make up key parts of her campaign platform, she said: improving student outcomes through “hand-in-hand” collaborations with the district’s educators and safeguarding student populations from “fear mongering and overreach at the state level.” Peet said other key components of her candidacy include a desire to connect with the state government to push for more support of public education and using a mix of data and empathy to inform her decisions if elected.
“I am a parent of two children in the CHCCS system, so am deeply concerned with the support for our local schools and their good governance,” she said. “In addition, I’ve long held the belief that public school is where civics, civic responsibility, and the foundations of our democratic system are taught.”
While 19 candidates initially filed to run in the school board race in July, several have since removed their names from the ballot or announced they are not actively campaigning. That leaves 14 candidates, including Peet, vying over four available seats on the CHCCS Board of Education.
Early voting for the fall local government elections begins on Thursday, October 19, while Election Day is Tuesday, November 7.
For a full list of races Chapelboro is covering this 2023 local election cycle, click here. Additional coverage on candidates can be found on the Local Elections page, as well as other updates in the races as the election cycle continues this fall.
Photo via Peet4CHCCS.
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