Graduate student runs for school board to prove residency

Brian Bower is running for a seat in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board—but he doesn’t want to win.

Bower, a Ph.D. student at the University, is trying to use his candidacy as evidence of his North Carolina residency to qualify for lower, in-state tuition.

“I am running for school board as a stunt because the University is making getting residency a little bit of a pain in the neck,” he said.

The Office of Scholarships and Student Aid estimates in-state tuition and fees at the graduate level to be $8,646. Graduate out-of-state tuition costs $24,332.

Students who enter the University must submit documents proving that they have been a North Carolina resident for at least a year to qualify for the lower tuition — but students coming from elsewhere are often denied residence and requirements are ambiguous, Bower said.

Bower was raised in Medina, Ohio and received his undergraduate degree from Ohio University before he moved to Chapel Hill in 2009.

He is now pursuing a Ph.D. in genetics and molecular biology.

Bower said he first applied for residency status after a year at UNC, but that application and a second attempt were rejected.

After that, he said, he became disenchanted — and decided to run for school board.

Only residents can run for office, and Bower said if Chapel Hill and Carrboro consider him a resident, the state and University should, too.

Bower said he realizes running for the school board is an unreasonable step to prove his point.

“But at least it draws some attention to the irritation of this issue,” he said.

He added that he doesn’t believe he can win and considers other candidates better qualified.

Those other candidates are not happy with his decision to run.

“I would hope that he proves his point and that he removes his name in time for it not to be in the printed ballot,” said Mia Day Burroughs, school board incumbent.

But she said Bower’s run will not change the election’s outcome.

Incumbent Mike Kelley said Bower has a right to run even if his reasons are inappropriate.

“The results will be whatever the voters want,” he said. “If they decide to vote for someone who is not that interested in the school district, that’s their choice.”

Beyond filing documents like voter registration and tax information, an applicant must prove that he or she intends to live in North Carolina permanently for an indefinite period of time to qualify for residency.

Students cannot obtain residency solely to attend college.

Bower said it is common for students to be denied resident status after only one year in the state — but he said he was not given a definite reason for why his application was turned down.

“Ultimately the decision about whether a student meets the residency requirements is kind of arbitrary and capricious,” he said.

Bower said he intends to stay in the state until he finishes his Ph.D. But while he might stay in the state for post-doctoral studies, his future plans remain uncertain.

Michael Bertucci, chief of staff for UNC’s Graduate and Professional Student Federation, said he supports Bower’s move.

He said out-of-state graduate students are often denied in-state tuition because the school can only grant residency to a certain percentage of students each year.

“If his true motivation was to bring up the issue and to make it easier for other students to get residency, I think that is outstanding,” he said.

Contact the City Editor
at city@dailytarheel.com.