Rani Dasi - On upcoming school renovations (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): Which schools are slated for a redo?

Rani Dasi (RD): Well, that’s a good question, because I will say the plans could change but we are thinking about Frank Porter Graham, Carrboro Elementary School, and Estes Hills and those are three of our older schools with the highest needs.

KW: Not to put you on the spot for a political pitch but if there were voters who were like, I don’t know, $300 million is a lot of money. I don’t know if I want to vote for this bond. What would you say to the on-the-fence voter who is trying to decide if they want to support this?

RD: I would ask them to go in and visit a school and not just be theoretical but really understand the impact of what “no” would mean to children in this district and not just children but I think sometimes we forget that the teachers are impacted and administration and the principals when you are in a building that is less safe, when you are in a building that might have something that could impact your health, when you are in a building that doesn’t provide the best learning and I would also say that investing in education is an investment in our community. We know that property values rise when schools are improved and, so even, we’ve had the question like, “I don’t have kids in school. Why would I vote [for it]?” It’s again to me, school is a community investment. We invest in the fire department. My house is not on fire today and similarly I think investing in education gives so many returns, you know. We build capacity for future economic development. We do what’s morally right for our community. We better understand civics and how to engage with each other in a community space. We have better health outcomes, so costs are reduced in other places. So, I would say, like, taking the broader view of why you might invest that much money. And then alternatively like, “If you don’t then what?”

KW: And in thinking about, you know you mentioned some of the political challenges…