Rani Dasi, candidate for Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education

Voters who live in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district will fill four open seats on the Board of Education in November.

Incumbent board members Rani Dasi, Deon Temne and Ashton Powell are running against 11 challengers in the Nov. 7 general election.

The challengers are Meredith Ballew, Vickie Feaster Fornville, Barbara Fedders, Jane Gabin, Solomon Gibson III, Mariela Hernandez, Honoria Middough, Renee Peet, Michelle Rissling, Taylor Tally, and Allison Willis.

It may be one of the largest group of candidates to ever run in a Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board election. Five other candidates who filed in July, when the conservative Moms for Liberty group was said to be fielding potential candidates, withdrew before the November ballots were printed.

Board member Jillian La Serna is not running for re-election.

Early voting in the nonpartisan Nov. 7 election started Oct. 19 and runs through Nov. 4..

To find polling places and full details on early voting, visit co.orange.nc.us/1720/Elections or contact the Board of Elections at 919-245-2350 or vote@orangecountync.gov.

Name: Rani Dasi

Age: 52

Occupation: Corporate finance and strategy

Education: Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, Northwestern University; Master of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting, University of Chicago

Political or civic experience: Elected to Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education in 2015. Re-elected in 2019. She has also served in a number of organizations that support education, including the board of The Walking Classroom (a national award-winning nonprofit), the N.C. Beginning Teacher of the Year Steering Committee, and the executive board of the N.C. Caucus of Black School Board Members.

Campaign website: dasiforschoolboard.com

Why are you running for school board and what makes you the right candidate? Current board members: Please also explain the delay in announcing your re-election campaign this year.

I have long been an active contributor to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS), as a classroom volunteer, Reading Partners program participant, elected member of School Improvement Teams (SIT) and parent chair of the Smith Middle School SIT.

I am also deeply concerned about the future of education in North Carolina. The climate of the state continuing to under-invest in resources to support education will require continued vigilance and advocacy to be able to make the necessary investments to sustain public education.

With the potential to have so many new board members, I look forward to bringing experience for continuity to support the district’s work toward the strategic plan.

What are the three top challenges facing the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools? Choose one and explain how you would address it.

▪ Gaps in access to physical and mental health resources

▪ Inadequate school facilities

▪ Teacher recruitment and retention

A quality teacher has the biggest impact on student success. I will continue to advocate for increased funding to support teacher recruitment and retention, focus on teacher and staff feedback to sustain an environment where teachers and school staff feel supported and valued. I will also consider policies and practices to allocate resources which connect with classroom instruction.

What do you think about the state’s 2021 Science of Reading law and Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling training, and how both initiatives are being implemented in the district? What would you do to improve student reading and literacy outcomes?

The law was intended to improve reading outcomes for students in North Carolina. It placed mandates on teacher training, individual reading plans, and literacy intervention plans. The intention of the law was not achieved, as the state failed to invest in implementation. Teachers know best what works in the classroom, and decisions made to roll this law out were made by politicians without input from teachers. The work also needs support in resources such as intervention support, teacher assistants, instructional materials, and adequate instructional spaces.

In CHCCS, we are reviewing curriculum and working on providing extended instruction supports to improve student reading and literacy outcomes.

What do you think about the district’s work to close the achievement gap? What would you do if elected?

Focus on supports for teachers — continue to advocate for increasing compensation, including salary and benefits.

Continue to prioritize focus and defined action plans towards the goal of improving growth for all students

Continued focus on maintaining a climate that welcomes and engages families and students of color, including the implementation of culturally inclusive rigorous curriculum and instruction to meet the wide range of student abilities

▪ Invest in social/emotional resources

▪ Focus on reducing discipline disproportionality

Embed a robust system of accountability — use data to understand where growth is happening, and leverage what we learn to continue growth districtwide

How can the school district bring people with different viewpoints together to find common ground and workable solutions?

Most people care about children. If we can focus on what’s best for students and put aside adult issues, we can find points of connection. The school district can provide context on barriers that prevent student learning and convene forums to create intentional partnerships with community members and groups to work toward solutions.

This story was originally published October 31, 2023 at 2:42 PM.

Tammy Grubb

The News & Observer

919-829-8926

Tammy Grubb has written about Orange County’s politics, people and government since 2010. She is a UNC-Chapel Hill alumna and has lived and worked in the Triangle for over 30 years.