DAE Statement on the School Board Elections

Image credit: Durham Association of Educators

Tonight begins a new era for public schools and a new era for politics in Durham. Tonight has shown us that it is possible for everyday working parents, unionized school staff, and community members to band together and beat entrenched status quo politics.

Tonight begins a new era for families who have felt let down or scared by our district's lackluster response to ICE. Tonight begins a new era for every student who was late to school or missed school completely due to the DPS transportation crisis. Tonight begins a new era for every school community that has lost countless veteran educators to turnover. And tonight begins a new era for the over 1,000 classified (hourly) DPS workers who are still not paid a living wage for their essential labor in our school system because it is not politically expedient for the current decision makers.

We are thrilled to announce that all four of our endorsed pro-union, pro-worker candidates - Natalie Bent Kitaif, Nadeen Bir, Gabby Rivero, and Xavier Cason - have won their races for Durham School Board.

These candidates earned our trust by pledging to hold DPS leadership accountable to improving staff working conditions and student learning conditions. They are explicitly committed to supporting workers' rights, fighting for better staff pay, taking action to protect immigrant families, and increasing budget transparency in DPS because they know that all Durham students deserve safe and fully staffed schools with high staff retention and low turnover.

Making this vision for Durham Public Schools a reality will only be possible because of the coalition that came together to earn us this victory: Durham for All, Carolina Federation, and thousands of union members, neighbors, parents, and community supporters who put in the hard work these last few months to make this moment of hope possible. Together, we filled over 500 canvass shifts, knocked almost 10,000 doors, organized our school buildings, poll greeted during early voting and today on Election Day, and committed 3,000 votes for our slate. This is people power and this is how we win - whether it's winning an election or building our union, we know that there are no shortcuts to organizing, and there is no replacement for the value of face-to-face conversations.

We decided to approach this School Board election cycle differently. Instead of waiting to see who self-selected to run for School Board, our members and community allies decided to be proactive. We identified candidates who have a track record of fighting for classified pay with us on the picket line, who fought back against ICE in their school communities, who have organized with DPS workers and parents to win improvements, and who have experience running transparent budgeting processes with financial constraints.

No more rubber stamping whoever the Durham political insiders choose and then having to face the fact that they are more accountable to other politicians than to their own community.

In January, we held a robust, democratic endorsement session where our members spent five hours meeting and deliberating over all twelve candidates who were running. DAE members overwhelmingly voted to endorse Natalie Bent Kitaif, Nadeen Bir, Gabby Rivero, and Xavier Cason, and then put in the work to get them elected.

We are up for the challenge to win the budget we deserve, and we are ready to begin the work to co-govern with all of the School Board candidates that Durham just elected. Let's celebrate tonight and let's get back to work tomorrow!

We must win a DPS budget by March 26th that prioritizes a living wage for classified DPS workers and that rewards all DPS workers for their unpaid extra duties. That budget will reduce DPS's high rates of staff burnout and turnover, which is currently impacting our most vulnerable students. Mark your calendar to join us for our rally & picket next Thursday 3/12, at 4:45pm before the School Board meeting! RSVP at bit.ly/March12BudgetAction.

We are clear that the work to improve our schools does not end tonight - tonight is just the beginning. Our members know that in order to win the DPS budget that we deserve, we will need to organize just as hard as we did to elect our endorsed candidates.

This statement was first published by Durham Association of Educators.