James Barrett, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools board member, is not running for reelection and is instead pursuing the office of state superintendent in the upcoming November 2020 general elections.
“Our state needs a really strong superintendent who is going to restore some of the respect within the department of public instruction, who is going to actually advocate for our schools within the General Assembly, make sure they’ve got the resources they need,” Barrett said.
Much of Barrett’s time on the board was spent working with local superintendents, county commissioners and the General Assembly advocating for local schools and funding for schools. He believes his experience with teamwork and advocacy for public education has more than prepared him for taking on this new role.
Jeff Nash, executive director of community relations for CHCCS, attested to Barrett’s positive influence on the CHCCS district.
“Mr. Barrett has had a real positive impact not only on our students, but also on our community," Nash said. "You can certainly peruse our website and find test scores, increases in the things that are measurable, but then some of the things that are harder to measure might be things like relationship-building, could be morale, the inspiration of students and teachers, community engagement. Those are things that James has had an impact on.”
June Atkinson, former state superintendent of schools from 2005 to 2016, described a few of the many roles of the state superintendent, including directing the Department of Public Instruction to develop state board initiatives, working with the General Assembly to make laws relating to public education and improving local school districts.
However, she said the role goes beyond that.
“Not a part of law or policy is the major responsibility to listen to the voice of teachers, students, principals, educators and parents, and by listening to the voice of different groups of people (the superintendent) can be in a better position of making a recommendation about what is good policy for children,” Atkinson said.
According to Barrett’s campaign website, his four main campaign platforms are testing, resources, equity and safety.