{"id":11620,"date":"2024-02-27T21:48:54","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T21:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=11620"},"modified":"2024-02-27T21:48:54","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T21:48:54","slug":"meet-the-candidate-michelle-burton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/27\/meet-the-candidate-michelle-burton\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the candidate: Michelle Burton"},"content":{"rendered":"
Editors\u2019 Note: Eleven candidates \u2014 all Democrats \u2014 are vying for five seats on the Durham County Board of Commissioners in the March 5 election. No Republicans or Libertarians have entered the contest, so the March 5 results will determine who sits on the commission. The 9th Street Journal is profiling each candidate in the race.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
As a school librarian and former teacher\u2019s union president, Michelle Burton has spent much of her life surrounded by teachers and school staff, listening to and standing up for their concerns. Now she wants to bring her advocacy work to the next level by winning a seat on the county commission.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people asked me why not run for school board\u2026I wanted to be in a position where I could really impact policy and funding at a bigger scale,\u201d Burton said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
School funding will likely be a big issue for the county commissioners this coming year. A Durham Public Schools payroll crisis has recently led to protests, teacher and staff \u201csickouts\u201d and commotion at school board meetings. In its Feb. 22 meeting, the board approved an 11% raise for classified workers over last year\u2019s pay. The new pay rates \u2014\u00a0which are less than workers received in October through February \u2014\u00a0are in place until the end of the school year. A plan for next year\u2019s pay is yet to be figured out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n