On the heels of a tumultuous couple of years, change is coming to the Durham school board on March 3. Four district seats are on the ballot this spring, and only one incumbent is seeking reelection.
The March 3 election, a primary for many races, is the final election for the Durham school board races. That means the seven-member board is certain to include some new faces after the election.
The 9th Street Journal will be covering the school board races as they unfold. Here’s a preliminary look at who’s running.
Newcomers with district ties
Newcomers with close ties to the school district dominate the District 1 race. The incumbent, Emily Chavez, has served on the board since 2022 but is not pursuing a second term.
Dilcy Burton, assistant attorney general for the N.C. Department of Justice, is a graduate of Jordan High School and former substitute teacher for the district.
Natalie Bent Kitaif is a public health professional and DPS graduate whose daughters now attend the same public school she attended.
David Melikian, first vice chair of the Durham Democratic Party, is a graduate of Jordan High School and an Armenian-born immigrant who plans for his children to attend DPS.
The field’s lone incumbent
District 2 features the only school board incumbent campaigning for re-election this year.
Board chair Bettina Umstead, who has served on the board since 2016, is pursuing her third term and faces two challengers.
Nadeen Bir, co-founder of the advocacy organization Mothers for Ceasefire, is the parent of two DPS students and the spouse of a current district teacher.
Rachel Waltz is a social worker and program manager at Community Solutions, a nonprofit that seeks to end homelessness.
A trio of outspoken advocates
The three candidates competing for the District 3 seat are all outspoken community advocates and parents of DPS students. They are vying for a seat that incumbent Jessica Carda-Auten, a board member since 2023, is vacating.
Peter Crawford, co-founder of Durham-based start-up Acre, comes with military experience as an Army veteran and current instructor at West Point.
Gabby Rivero is the founder of Express & Release Therapeutic Dance, as well as a board member and committee chair at the Greater Durham Black Chamber of Commerce.
Lauren Sartain, professor of education policy at UNC-Chapel Hill, previously served as president of E.K. Powe Elementary School’s PTA.
Three former educators face off
For 15 years, incumbent Natalie Beyer has represented District 4 on the school board. That will change in March. In a Facebook post announcing her decision not to run for re-election, Beyer endorsed candidate Xavier Cason, who is running against Jerome Leathers and Kristy Moore for the seat.
Cason, a retired music teacher and member of several local task forces, served one term on the District B seat on the school board from 2016-2020.
Jerome Leathers, a graduate of Hillside High School, is a retired math teacher and school principal who has worked in Durham’s public schools for over two decades.
Kristy Moore is a program manager of national programs at The Hunt Institute with prior experience as a DPS teacher and president of the Durham Association of Educators.
Pictured Above: School board District 2 challengers Nadeen Bir (left) and Rachel Waltz (center) and incumbent Bettina Umstead (right) faced off at a recent candidate forum sponsored by the NAACP. Photo by Paige Stevens — The 9th Street Journal
Tanya Wan
