Teaching is a lifestyle for Carol Karafotis, who can boast 37 years of teaching experience in Dartmouth, including tenures as principal of the Gidley and Quinn schools. Now, she’s seeking her second term on the School Committee in the April 4 election.

Three years ago, Karafotis felt that the Dartmouth school system was in trouble, with vacancies in several senior leadership positions and a feeling that parents’ voices were not being heard. She was pressed to run for School Committee by parents, and did just that.

[Related: Three compete for two School Committee openings]

Karafotis listed her ability to stand up and ask the questions parents want answers to as her top quality.

“I questioned what was going on in administration at that time, like a special education director not having her contract renewed [in 2014],” Karafotis said. “There was no reason for it and a lot of people were upset.”

Since then, Karafotis feels the committee and the district has improved with the hiring of Superintendent Bonny Gifford and Assistant Superintendent Michelle Roy, which she helped implement.

“They both know what they’re doing, and they both have a handle on things,” Karafotis said.

If elected, she hopes to tackle the tough state of school funding and the state of Dartmouth’s school buildings, noting “patching up” school buildings is not sustainable. She hopes to bring more enrichment programming to the schools, and listen to parents, students, and administrators along the way.