“Viewpoints” is a place on Chapelboro where local people are encouraged to share their unique perspectives on issues affecting our community. If you’d like to contribute a column on an issue you’re concerned about, interesting happenings around town, reflections on local life — or anything else — send a submission to viewpoints@wchl.com.
My 2 Cents
A perspective from Emily Moose
This election, the parents and people of Chatham County have a critical choice to make. Your vote for school board means the difference between years of distracting, manufactured outrage built for social media and having representatives who actually roll up their sleeves to solve problems and make things better. Del Turner has a lifetime of experience in Chatham County and over three decades of service to our community. In contrast to her opponent (Jessica Winger, who just recently arrived in Chatham and has a wealth of outside dollars pouring into remaking our schools to fit an out-of-touch, outside agenda that is being slickly concealed in the campaign), she understands our challenges and our opportunities. She is a proven advocate for parents, teachers, school staff and crucially for children. At every decision point Del has shown a commitment to achieving the full potential of ALL children, regardless of their background. This is who I want representing our children’s future.
Chatham County would be a ripe target for a well-funded, polished, outside candidate to come in and do her best to whip folks into a frenzy about CRT, or “critical race theory” (which is not even a part of the school curriculum). Winger talks of an alleged un-specified “disconnect” between schools and parents, apparently attempting to capitalize off of two years in a pandemic and a rapidly growing population of folks new to the area. The pandemic was hard on everyone, but I was so grateful for how our board handled the difficult decisions they faced under the leadership of Del Turner, Gary Leonard and Jane Allen Wilson. They undertook them with pragmatism, compassion and science, and I trust them to continue to deliver for our kids.
I’m sure many parents wish they were more involved—we do the best we can but we’re also working, raising children, balancing commitments to our families and communities. This is why our elected leadership matters. I know watching our school board become someone’s political dartboard won’t lighten my load. Having a school board I can trust to work together to make good decisions will.
Emily Moose
Chatham County, NC
“Viewpoints” on Chapelboro is a recurring series of community-submitted opinion columns. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work or reporting of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com.
