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Polls in Durham County are open Tuesday from 6:30 am until 7:30 pm. If you haven't voted yet, today is your day to vote for the PA PAC's endorsed candidates: Marion T Johnson for City Council Ward 1 and Mark Anthony Middleton for City Council Ward 2, and AJ Williams for City Council Ward 3.

Find your polling location here

Already voted? Sign up to volunteer at the polls here

Updates from the Board

The PA membership meeting will be held on December 7th, 2021 at 6:30pm via Zoom. A registration link will be sent out soon. We look forward to:

• Finalizing our harassment policy by vote of the membership
• Electing new board members - by vote of the membership
• Hearing from the Action Teams about their work

It’s that time of year again! Re-up your PA membership for 2022! All memberships renewed after Nov. 1 are effective immediately and applied to fees for the next calendar year.

We need you with us to achieve the major goals that we have as a collective for the coming years. Will you join us or renew your membership today to start the People’s Alliance off strong in the new year?

In solidarity,

People’s Alliance

Action Team Updates

Education Action Alert — Updates to the Elementary School Magnet Policy

Durham Public Schools is growing and updating its magnet policy for elementary schools. The Board of Education will vote on this new policy in December 2021. The new policy will impact student assignment beginning the 2023-24 school year. Equity of access to magnet programming, knowledge of the lottery system, retention of seats during times of virtual learning, and automatic sibling assignment are some relevant issues. 

Please communicate your thoughts and suggestions on elementary magnet schools with the BOE and join one of several upcoming sessions to discuss the Growing Together Initiative and the current district magnet policy. These sessions will provide an update on the feedback gathered from previous sessions and share drafts of the policy and potential scenarios for magnet program placement. All sessions are virtual. Don’t have access to view? Participate at an in-person viewing location. Translation services are available virtually and in-person. You only need to attend one meeting, and you may choose any time and location.

●  November 3 | 6:00 p.m. | Viewing Site: Club Boulevard Elementary
●  November 9 | 6:00 p.m. | Viewing Site: Oak Grove Elementary
●  November 10 | 6:00 p.m. | Viewing Site: Southwest Elementary 

To register for any of our Growing Together community conversations, CLICK HERE.

Housing Action Alert – Email the City Council!

Ask the Mayor & City Council to fund Legal Aid to pay rent to prevent Eviction and homelessness now! Some sample text is available below. Email the council at [email protected]. 

Dear Mayor and City Council,

We need the City to fund Legal Aid to pay rent for people now, before they are Evicted. 634 Durham residents got Court papers to be Evicted after the Moratorium ended 8/26/21.

Families are being Evicted, because they cannot apply for Emergency Rental Assistance. The County stopped taking applications on 10/4, and the City has not started taking applications. 

The City has Emergency Rental Assistance funds. Quickly, use these rent funds for Legal Aid to prevent Evictions and homelessness.

Thank you for taking action now.

Please let us know if you get any responses from the Mayor or City Council members.

Lorisa Seibel, 919-801-6863

Marie Hill Faison, 919-452-2302

Upcoming Action Team Meetings

Economic Justice Action Team

During our November meeting, we will meet in our working groups on corporate incentives, green jobs, the affordable housing bond's workforce development initiatives, and Durham's pilot Guaranteed Basic Income program.

The Economic Justice team will meet on November 3rd at 7:00 PM via Zoom. Click here to attend.

Housing and Transit Action Team

Date: Thursday November 18 | Time: 6:00 - 7:30pm | Location: Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9198016863

Education Action Team

At our November meeting we’ll hear updates on the magnet program discussion and spend time in working groups addressing the following priorities: School Safety (including Covid-19 and SROs), Work/Life Balance for DPS staff, and Principal Development.

Date: Thursday, November 18 | Time: 8:00 - 9:30pm | Location: Zoom 

Register here to attend (required). Registrants will receive the Zoom details the week of the meeting.

Donate

The People's Alliance needs your support. 

People's Alliance
http://www.durhampa.org/