Durham school leaders and school board candidates are calling for increased student safety and accountability in response to recent felony charges for district administrators.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our students…,” board chair Bettina Umstead and board member Millicent Rogers said in a statement issued Thursday on behalf of the school board. “We are committed to understanding what occurred and holding individuals accountable where appropriate.”
Statements by board members and others come on the heels of child abuse allegations at a Durham elementary school and subsequent felony charges alleging that district administrators interfered with police investigations.
In November 2024, Durham police received reports of an Eno Valley Elementary instructional assistant tying a six-year-old child with autism to a chair. A criminal investigation was opened, and two instructional assistants subsequently resigned from their positions.
On January 20, a grand jury indicted three district administrators on charges of felony obstruction of justice and perjury.
The administrators involved are Tanya Giovanni, the district’s deputy superintendent, Ayesha Hunter, senior executive director of employee relations, and Tounya Wright, the former principal of Eno Valley Elementary, according to news reports. The district suspended the three with pay in December, pending further review.
Prosecutors allege that district administrators obstructed the police investigation into the incident. The district is cooperating with the Durham County District Attorney’s Office, and an internal investigation conducted by the law firm Tharrington Smith is underway.
“Protecting students is our highest responsibility, and it guides every decision we make…,” superintendent Anthony Lewis wrote in a statement released Wednesday. “While we already have robust policies in place, we are taking steps to reinforce expectations and provide additional guidance and training to our staff.”
Lauren Sartain, a candidate running for the District 3 seat in the upcoming school board elections, condemned the incident and the district’s failure to protect its students in a statement released Thursday.
“For years, the Durham Advocates for Exceptional Children (DAEC) have asked for the public release of data on suspensions and the use of restraints for EC [Exceptional Children] students…,” she wrote. “After years of this advocacy, there is still no transparency.”
If elected, she added, she would “require the district to share regular updates on student outcomes and experiences, including exclusionary practices.”
Tanya Wan
