Good morning, readers.
On March 5, Orange County will elect school board members to fill three seats. Last week, the seven candidates running pitched themselves to voters at a candidate forum. Here’s a quick recap and rundown of the race so far:
There are two slates of candidates, each supported by a PAC. And while their views are more nuanced than “conservative” or “progressive,” that’s the shorthand we’ll go with.
The more conservative Friends of Orange County Schools (organized by former Orange County Schools board members Stephen and Susan Halkiotis) is backing incumbent Bonnie Hauser, Michael Johnson, and Cindy Shriner. Hauser is a registered Democrat, while Johnson and Shriner are unaffiliated.
The more progressive Communities Supporting Orange County Schools is backing incumbents Carrie Doyle and Jennifer Moore and newcomer Wendy Padilla. All three are registered Democrats.
The seventh candidate, Kevin Alston Jr., also a Democrat, didn’t receive either group’s endorsement but found more common ground with the progressives.
All candidates generally agreed that teachers should be paid more and the district should do more to support multilingual families.
But the clearest divide was in response to North Carolina’s “Parent’s Bill of Rights.” Last month, neighboring Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) board voted not to comply with the law, arguing that it puts LGBTQ+ students at risk.
Orange County, on the other hand, made minor policy changes in order to technically comply with the law without discriminating against LGBTQ+ students. At the forum, the incumbents all stood by that decision.
Johnson and Shriner both said that they want to support all students but that the law is the law and they would have no choice but to uphold it.
Padilla said the bill is “too restrictive” and Alston said it “jeopardizes the safety” of some children, though neither said whether they would push to follow CHCCS’s lead.
Alston got a round of applause.
More forums, endorsements, and reporting to come before early voting starts on February 15.
Have a good Tuesday.
—Chase
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Today’s weather
Sunny and windy with a high of 53 degrees.
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