Rani Dasi – the county commissioner-elect in District 1 who is poised to fill Jamezetta Bedford’s vacant seat and upcoming four-year term – recently shared details on the timeline of her transition in elected roles. She will resign from the CHCCS Board of Education after its August 20 meeting and then is set to take her oath of office at the Orange County Board of Commissioners meeting on August 25.
Before all of that happens, Dasi dropped by 97.9 The Hill for an exclusive interview about her appointment, her legacy during three terms on the school board, and more.
Dasi was one of the six people who applied for the vacant District 1 seat in July – but did not run for the position in March’s Democratic primary, in part because of her respect and appreciation for the late, incumbent Bedford. She said she had previously considered following the popular pipeline of serving on the CHCCS Board of Education to running for the Board of County Commissioners. The confluence of Bedford’s death and the challenging financial of situation the school district – impacted by the three levels of government – drove Dasi to apply to make the jump this summer.
“When I joined the school board, I never looked beyond that [role],” she said. “Because it was very much about education and my passion for helping improve outcomes for all the students in our community. I think, recently, what’s become clearer is that local governments have more of a burden, more of a role to play given the changes in funding and priority in federal and state governments.
“And so,” Dasi added, “it feels like a time [where] we’ve got a great board of county commissioners in place. [I’m glad] to be able to partner with them, bring my skills in finance and strategic planning to help think about how we serve the communities in Orange County.”
Right now, Dasi is still balancing serving in both roles: preparing, in part, for a final school board meeting on August 20 while beginning to get caught up on the county board’s ongoing business as it looks to round out the year with a busy fall. The three-term school board member said it’s been an adjustment to unravel from the issues she was focused on with CHCCS – but she also relishes in the opportunity to scale that work up to all community members.
“Now, [I’m grateful] to be able to expand that more broadly,” said Dasi, “to consider how all of our communities across Orange County…how we lead to help support their needs. So, I’m really excited about the work. I will really, really miss my school board service – and I’m excited that there is a fantastic board in place now, and one of the strongest administrations in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools under [Superintendent] Dr. Rodney Trice.
“I know they’re in good hands, and that makes me feel comfortable about being able to make this transition,” she concluded.
The 2026-27 Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools Board of Education. Once Rani Dasi (center right, standing) resigns, the board will determine its process for filling her vacant seat. Dasi’s school board term is set to run through December 2027. (Photo via CHCCS.)
When Dasi submits her resignation from the Board of Education, it will end her service amid 11 years of significant change for the school district. During her tenure, Dasi helped CHCCS navigate a pair of superintendent hires, a response to and return from the COVID-19 pandemic, and declining enrollment trends – which contributed to a series of job cuts and the recent decision to close Glenwood Elementary School.
While those were challenging decisions — some of which she voted for and against — Dasi said she is also proud of several others she made to better support CHCCS’ educators and improve the school board’s methods for conducting business.
“Prioritizing [a] salary increase for teachers over time has continued to be something we’ve been able to do,” Dasi cited. “I’m excited about that progress. It’s not enough, clearly, but we are one of the highest paying districts and, so, I’m proud of that.
“Also, thinking about structure on the board: one of the things that I played a role in was to create the committee structure that the board [uses] now,” she continued. “How we, kind of, manage our topics for our agendas, and how we make further progress outside of board meetings.”
Dasi is poised to join the county commissioners, both this month and across the next four years, at a fraught time for government institutions. Now in addition to helping determine funding allocations for CHCCS, she’ll be considering Orange County Schools – and the implementation of school bond money to help build several new school facilities. There are tax rates, economic policies, zoning regulations and local grants to weigh, all while the state and federal governments are shifting more onus for social services to the local governments.
But, as she told local Democratic Party leaders during their selection process, Dasi said she is confident in her abilities. Challenges are ahead, but she hopes the experience she brings will help navigate Orange County forward through those changes.
“We do a lot for the community, and we have responsibility for a lot of things,” Dasi said of the county government. “And it’s going to be hard, with the limited resources – and I’m thinking specifically about funding and budget – to do all the things that we would like to do. Where do you, in the near term, allocate those resources to be the most beneficial to meet the very practical needs? I think about housing, healthcare, and community-building [efforts]…and then, in parallel, how do we bring economic development to reduce the tax burden on residential community members.”
Featured photo via Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
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