I was introduced to Millicent Rogers by Durham Council of PTA’s and NC PTA president, Francelia Burwell. Francelia helped me navigate a toxic environment when I tried, with several other dedicated parents and at the first principal’s request, to establish a PTA at my daughter’s DPS middle school in 2014 and 2015. We had three principals by the time my daughter completed middle school, the third of whom clearly stated her opposition to the PTA we’d formed the previous two years and made clear her desire to dismantle it. As my daughter graduated to high school and my involvement at the school was effectively blackballed by that third principal, the PTA suddenly dissolved, along with all the paperwork we’d painstakingly obtained (bylaws, 501c3 tax status, receipts, minutes, etc.) and around $2000 in funds we’d raised the previous year. I made pointed inquiries of DPS and the NC PTA, but the situation was tightly sealed. As a member and then president of the Durham Council of PTA’s, Francelia continued to try to establish a PTA at my daughter’s middle school, even after my daughter and I left. I admired and was inspired by her tenacity and faith that what was good would prevail. But ultimately the principal’s clear desire not to have a PTA prevailed. Parents simply couldn’t put up with the resistance, stress, and time required to volunteer in a way they rightly felt, based on DPS’s long-time purported policy to "build community engagement for Durham Public Schools," should be actively facilitated, not inhibited and sabotaged. Sadly, my daughter’s DPS middle school still does not have a PTA (or anything similar).

Since I first became involved with DPS in 2006, DPS administrators and school board members have expressed their dismay and somewhat bewilderment over why parental involvement drops off after elementary school. But when, in 2015, I provided then superintendent Bert L’Homme with over 120 pages of documentation of the disrespectful and parent/community-inhibitory actions on the part of my daughter’s middle-school principal, all I got was a pat on the shoulder and an offer to become involved in middle-school curricula development.

I backed way off of my involvement at my kids’ schools after that, if for no other reason than to control what had become my high blood pressure and anxiety levels. So I was surprised when I received a text from Francelia introducing me to DPS alumnus and now DPS parent Millicent Rogers, who is running for Durham County School board. 

When I talked with Millicent, I told her all about my frustrating experiences with DPS and asked why she would want to submit herself to that kind of abuse and dysfunction, particularly when the only real power she would have as a school board member is the hiring of the DPS Superintendent, whose subsequent decisions the DPS school board majority has long made a habit of rubber stamping. After politely giving me her undivided ear, she proceeded to explain her own frustrating experiences with DPS but also her commitment to breaking down the long-time barriers and establishing real and effective community collaboration in *all* of our schools, not just those in privileged and/or successfully outspoken communities.

Millicent attended DPS schools, herself, so she knows our history and our continued need for and dedication to equity in the experiences our schools present, not just for our students, but for our teachers and staff. But she doesn’t merely recognize this need. She is already taking action to fulfill it. In addition to her roles at her child’s individual schools and her support of Community Schools, as the NCPTA Advocacy Committee Chair and the Education Team Lead and Co-president of the People’s Alliance, Millicent has successfully advocated for the timely release of $14.128 million in Durham County funding for building maintenance and salary increases for the most overlooked members of the DPS family: nutrition workers, bus drivers, and custodial staff. If you read about her issues, you will see that she is a school-board candidate with a true desire to cut through DPS’s administrative pork and red tape to provide the funds and services our schools need on the front lines *right now*.

By electing Millicent, you will not only be giving her a vote on the school board; you will be encouraging future candidates who share her passion and enthusiasm for what should be the altruistic, student- and teacher-focussed mission of our public schools.

PLEASE don’t forget to vote by/on May 17. If the last ten years have taught us anything, it’s that your vote matters.

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