A Fully-Funded Public Education System
Education is the backbone of everything that happens in Durham County. Our residents’ quality of life depends on an excellent public education system for community members to succeed and thrive. That is why we must continue to invest more in Durham Public Schools, ensuring all public school workers- from certified classroom teachers and instructional support to our classified staff, are paid liveable wages so they can afford to make Durham County their home. The cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Durham is approximately $1400.00 per month, which means a worker must bring home an income of $4200.00 a month. Most public school workers make $1,000.00 less than that. We must attract and retain excellent educators and other public school employees and it starts by paying them competitive wages.
My aim once elected to the Durham County Commission will be to support funding that provides the necessary instructional materials for educators to instruct, and for students to learn in a 21st-century environment. We must invest in newer school buildings and remodels of older school properties, updating them in favor of a teaching and learning model that is done more collaboratively. If elected to the commission, I will work to invest more in technology for our schools, ensuring all students and classrooms have current devices and technology because efficient technology is essential for 21st-century learning.
As a Durham County Commissioner, I will continue to advocate for universal pre-k as an initiative that prepares our youngest Durham residents for Kindergarten and beyond, propelling them into their future roles as our community members.
Affordable Housing & Home Ownership
For Durham County residents to live and thrive in our community, particularly for our most marginalized communities, we must work together to come up with strategies and initiatives to build affordable housing in Durham County. There is a significant shortage of housing affordable to very low-income households, primarily renters, who earn less than 50% of the area median income (AMI). Half of Durham County residents rent their homes and the majority of renters are people of color.
If elected to the Durham County Commission, I will work with fellow commissioners to develop incentives and home programs to help residents purchase homes and most importantly, keep their homes.
Durham offers an abundance of opportunities and I will work with other commissioners to ensure we continue with the tax assistance program that the county offers, as well as the rent assistance program offered through the Department of Social Services. It will be a priority to work with the City of Durham leadership as well as other community partners to continue the down payment assistance program that is currently offered.
Community Wellness
To make sure that all Durham County residents’ quality of life is good, I will prioritize Community Wellness initiatives as a Durham County Commissioner. This means making sure the Department of Social Services and Public Health are adequately funded, fully staffed, and accessible to all Durham County residents.
As a county commissioner, I will focus on mentoring and after-school programs because I have seen the positives in these initiatives in my professional work as a Teacher/Librarian in Durham Public Schools for the past few decades.
Funding at the County level for programs like My Brother’s Keeper needs to continue to be prioritized. I will also strongly advocate for a countywide HEART Program, modeled after the City of Durham, and the Bull City Community Schools initiative currently housed at the Durham Public Schools Foundation and currently implemented at three Durham Public Schools.
An Economy For All of Us
As a Durham County Commissioner, I visualize an economy that benefits all residents, not just a few. We all must share in the prosperity of Durham which means making sure all Durham County Government employees and Durham Public School employees make livable wages to live comfortably in Durham County. Prosperity also means encouraging businesses wanting to locate in Durham County, to pay their workers a livable wage.
We must continue to invest in programs at Durham Tech, which is an affordable way for residents to obtain secondary education and increase their competencies. The Durham County Commission provides funding for scholarships to DPS graduates who attend Durham Tech within one year of graduating from high school. This includes focusing on apprenticeship programs and offering scholarships to increase competitiveness in the job market and create more opportunities for residents to start businesses.
As a Durham County Commissioner, I will work with community partners, such as the Durham Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Durham Black Chamber of Commerce, to come up with innovative ideas to create an Economy for All. It will take all of us working together to make Durham County a place where we all can share in its prosperity.