School board race entices only four to run

Less than a year ago, a vacancy on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education drew a pool of 10 applicants.

But this fall’s open election for three seats only managed to entice four candidates to throw their names to the race.

Incumbents Lisa Stuckey and Pam Hemminger, who was selected to fill Valerie Foushee’s vacant seat last December, and newcomers Jean Hamilton and Jeff Danner are set to square off in this year’s race.

Hemminger (www.pamhemminger.com) speculated that perhaps the lack of candidates indicates people are satisfied with the activity of the current board.

“I really was surprised not to see more of them here,” she said.

But she conceded that the time commitment might make it difficult for some to participate.

Yu Lou, an applicant for the vacancy in December, said time was indeed a factor in her decision not to put her name on the ballot.

Lou was part of an unsuccessful effort earlier this summer to find a candidate to represent the concerns of the Chinese-American population in Chapel Hill.

Danner, like Hemminger, said the smaller race could be a result of the board’s already having dispatched of some of the more controversial recent issues such as redistricting.

Danner said that he spoke out against merging the district with Orange County Schools in 2003 and that he participated in budget hearings last school year.

This term, if elected, Danner and the other potential board members likely will be tackling issues from minority achievement in the district to teachers’ working conditions.

All of the candidates agreed that improving the classroom environment is essential to the continued well-being of the district.

Hemminger noted that it’s important to schedule more planning time for teachers, and Stuckey, who now serves as the board’s chairwoman, said improving parent-teacher communication is one means to create healthier classrooms.

Stuckey worked on a board committee last school year designed to address communication.

“I think for children to be successful at school then they need to feel that the classroom is a place that is challenging and enjoyable,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton also stressed the need to keep teacher assistants in the elementary school classrooms.

A proposal that eventually failed last budget season would have cut some of those positions.

And the candidates had plenty of thoughts on how to ensure that the area’s children succeed.

“Always the highest priority is student achievement,” Stuckey said.

And closing the minority student achievement gap — a No. 1 priority for the school board — is likely to be a prominent issue again this year.

Stuckey said she looks forward to seeing the school board continue to make progress on its goal, citing new strategies that the district has in place, such as technology that allows the district to assess individual student performance.

Hamilton — a founding member of the Estes Hill African-American parent support network — said raising the achievement level is one of her top priorities.

To truly address achievement, she suggests making sure the teachers have the support they need and getting parents involved.

If elected, Hamilton said she hopes her presence will provide the school board with a fresh voice.

“I think there’s constantly a challenge to be able to take everyone’s viewpoint into consideration, and I would like to see more partnership between the board and parents.”

Danner agreed that more two-way communication is necessary and said that the biggest threat to the district’s academic excellence was complacency.

To give students the best possible education, people need to stay involved in the schools, he said.

“We’re responsible for taking care of them.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.