Full name: George Griffin
Party affiliation: Democrat
Campaign website: https://griffinforschools.com/
1) In 300 words or less, please give our readers your elevator pitch: Why are you running? Why should voters entrust you with this position? What prior experience will make you an effective member of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools board of education?
I am running for re-election to a second four-year term. I have served as Vice Chair for one year, and two terms as the board Chair. I have a track record of promoting school safety, curriculum revisions to benefit all students, and providing mental health supports.I have been professionally involved in education (teacher, principal, professor) for 50+ years.
2) What would your priorities be as a member of the CHCCS board? Please identify three of the most pressing issues the district currently faces and how you believe the the board should address them.
1) Develop new ways to think about public schools in an era of declining enrollments, and dwindling financial support. 2) Develop a 5-year budget planning process primarily constructed around effective programming. 3)Review all aspects of the use of educational technology for instruction (EdTech), with a special focus on Artificial Intelligence (in the broadest sense of the definition.)
3) What’s the best or most important thing the CHCCS board has done in the past year? Additionally, name a decision you believe the board should have handled differently. Please explain your answers.
The best thing we have done is hire our new superintendent, Dr. Rodney Trice. Several things could have been handled differently. One was the bond plan development process. We brought too many options forward and they could have been vetted more prior to public discussion. It unnecessarily, but rightfully, alarmed segments of the community as the board discussions were sometimes assumed to be “decisions.”
4) President Trump is working to ramp up deportations and curtail visas. At the same time, the state legislature has passed laws requiring agencies to cooperate with ICE. How can CHCCS support families who may be at risk? And what can the school board do to make sure CHCCS schools are safe for kids in light of these policies?
We meet regularly with community support groups. We have provided training to school personnel on matters such as “what to do if and when a governmental agent arrives at school”. We have been very clear with everyone that we expect the law to be followed, but at the same time we want proper constitutional and legal procedures to be followed. Bottom line, we want our students and families to feel as safe as possible in these extraordinarily dark times.
5) The school board has, over several years, spent down its fund balance, introduced a reduction in force, and declined to renew some teacher contracts. With an expected decrease in enrollment—and uncertainty in federal funding—how would you address the district’s financial issues?
We will continue to face declining enrollments. The net result is having to do “more with less.”
6) Should the board move to close an elementary school due to falling enrollment? What other ideas do you have to help CHCCS maintain excellence while receiving less money?
Yes. We need to close one (or maybe two) elementary schools. The main questions are which one(s), how, and when.” Simply put, our annual budgets need to realistically reflect our annual enrollments.
7) The Orange County Board of Commissioners did not meet the CHCCS board’s continuation budget request, even after an increase in the CHCCS special district tax. How can the board best work with the county commission to ensure that CHCCS gets enough money in the future?
The Board of County Commissioners is very supportive of our school district. I firmly believe they will support our funding needs if they are convinced our budget matches our enrollment figures. We’re not quite there yet.
8) It takes about two minutes to get a free AI chatbot to write a book report, respond to an essay question, or generate a slide deck for a presentation. Regardless of classroom or district policies, students are using AI to complete assignments. How can the CHCCS board best support teachers who are trying to make sure that students are still learning the basics and thinking critically?
This topic is at the top of our list for a complete review. We plan to review all aspects of educational technology use, with a special eye on Artificial Intelligence (AI). There is no question that student’s need to develop their critical thinking skills (that’s the essence of what we are about) and AI cannot be a substitute for that.
9)If there are other issues you want to discuss, please do so here.
Traditional public education is at a crossroads. Doing the same things in the future as in the past, is not working. For whatever reasons, the legislatively supported “school choice” models have made the playing field very uneven. It started with charter schools (different set of rules) and has now spread to private schools (voucher program).
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