Over 200 dedicated public education activists, parents, teachers, and elected officials gathered today to strategize over how to effectively engage legislators, county commissioners and school boards on critical education issues in the coming year. Among the most critical include: increasing per pupil funding provided by the state, greater educational and financial accountability for charter schools, and opposition to the so-called “achievement School District” and further privatization of public education. Advocates also insisted that racial and socio-economic diversity be prioritized, as well as an end to disparities in discipline, access to resources, the targeting of low-wealth or underperforming schools, and the privatization and marketization of public education. These are our children, not our customers.

Here’s the News & Observer op-ed by my colleague Elizabeth Haddix and me on charter schools, their lack of racial and economic diversity, and how the state could begin to address this issue.

NC Charter Schools Failing to Deliver on Diversity Promise

I’m happy to announce that today I filed for re-election to the Orange County Board of Commissioners. When I ran in 2012, my primary goal was to make sure that our collective commitment to civil rights, social justice, equity, and inclusion become the primary consideration in all county decision-making. I’m proud to say we’ve done that–together we’ve changed the policymaking conversation in the county. Now it’s time to take next step and change how we develop and implement new policies that broaden the depth and scope of our commitment. That’s already begun– in housing, child poverty, education, and with reparations in Rogers Road– but there remains, as Lincoln said, much “unfinished work.”

Charles Hamilton Houston, the great civil rights lawyer and professor, told his students that lawyers had to be social engineers, or else they were parasites. The same can be said of politicians. I have long been committed to bringing meaningful change to our community, and I hope you will allow me continue to do so.

I’ve done more, I’ll do more.

Amigos: come out on December 3rd and celebrate the formal Commishinization! My dear friend & civil rights champion Rep. Angela Bryant will administer the oath!
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The Orange County Board of Commissioners cordially invites you to attend an in-house reception to recognize our three in-coming Commissioners: Mark Dorosin, Renee Price, and Penny Rich on Monday, December 3rd
from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Central Orange Senior Center,
103 Meadowlands Drive (Adjacent to the Triangle Sportsplex), in Hillsborough, N.C.

With your support, Mark handily won the District 1 primary! He came in first place with over 10,000 votes. Stay tuned for more updates about the general election in November.

See the unofficial results the NC Board of Elections web site.