“Viewpoints” is a place on Chapelboro where local people are encouraged to share their unique perspectives on issues affecting our community. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work, reporting or approval of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com. If you’d like to contribute a column on an issue you’re concerned about, interesting happenings around town, reflections on local life — or anything else — send a submission to viewpoints@wchl.com.
How We Decide Matters
A perspective from Bianca Allison
Trust in our schools depends not only on the decisions we make, but on the process we use to make them.
This op-ed has been signed by 84 CHCCS families and supporters at the time of publication. Find a list of signatories here.
Like many families, I attended the July 16th Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board meeting expecting to hear where Glenwood Elementary’s integrated STEAM² program might go. Instead, I left thinking about something much bigger. I wasn’t only thinking about STEAM² or redistricting. I found myself wondering what kind of school district CHCCS wants to become.
One thought has stayed with me ever since: communities can accept difficult decisions when they understand the future those decisions are meant to create.
Throughout this process, we’ve heard a lot about constraints and very little about vision. We’ve heard about declining enrollment, underused buildings, transportation, and state requirements. Those are real challenges, but they are not a strategy, and they are not a vision.
The question before CHCCS is not simply where a program should go. It is what kind of district we want to build—and whether today’s decisions move us toward that future.
Public school districts do more than manage buildings and budgets. They educate children and strengthen communities. District leaders must tackle today’s challenges, but they also need to explain where CHCCS is headed and how today’s decisions help us get there.
What mix of neighborhood schools and specialized programs best serves all children? How do we improve enrollment? How do we make sure every child, no matter where they live or what resources they have at home, has the chance to thrive?
Additionally, district leadership should recognize limitations in the options that have been presented, and be willing to consider alternatives that might align with district values. After the Board meeting, many families reviewed the enrollment projections and displacement analyses presented by NC State. Based on the publicly available information, the two options appear to use different numbers. Option 1, which would move the integrated STEAM² program together, uses the program’s maximum theoretical capacity of 492 students. Option 2, splitting the program, uses the actual enrollment for the STEAM² program, 375 students. When you go grocery shopping, if one bag of apples is priced by the bag and another by the pound, you can’t really tell which is the better deal until they’re measured the same way. The same idea applies here. If we apply the numbers consistently, could the STEAM2 program stay intact and integrate neighborhood students (the answer is yes, since the difference between the numbers is 117, which easily holds all walk zone kids and more)? Are there other possibilities? Maybe those ideas won’t work, but before reshaping multiple school communities, district leaders should be able to show they considered these options.
To build trust, communities expect transparency. The numbers should make sense. If projected enrollment is the right measure, it should be used for every scenario. If maximum capacity is the right measure, that should also be applied consistently. And if using the same assumptions reveals other workable options—including preserving both the integrated STEAM² program and a school’s walk zone—those options should be shared before any final decision is made.
If CHCCS believes innovative programs are essential to a long-term vision, that priority should be reflected in the analysis. If neighborhood schools and walkability are also core district values, those priorities should be reflected as well. If both matter—and many families believe they do—then leadership should be asking how to preserve both, not asking which one we’re willing to lose.
Today this conversation is about Glenwood Elementary’s STEAM² program. Tomorrow it will be another school or another program. District-wide boundary adjustments are coming, and every family in CHCCS will eventually ask the same question: Can I trust this process when it reaches my neighborhood?
The district leadership must realize that trust isn’t built because everyone agrees with the final decision. It’s built because families understand how the decision was made, believe options were fairly considered, and see a process grounded in transparency rather than expediency.
Families can accept difficult outcomes when they understand the future those decisions are meant to create. CHCCS leadership has asked our community to consider significant sacrifices. Therefore, as parents, teachers, and supporters across CHCCS, we respectfully ask that district leadership show us the vision that makes those sacrifices worthwhile. We ask that you click here to sign and publicly endorse this op-ed.
“Viewpoints” on Chapelboro is a recurring series of community-submitted opinion columns. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work or reporting of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com.
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