There's still some bad blood between Republican school board members Deborah Prickett and Chris Malone over this month's school budget vote.

As noted in today's Eastern Wake News article by Paul A. Specht, Prickett took exception with the praise that Malone has gotten in Knightdale for having broken with Republicans to pass a budget request asking county commissioners for $8.8 million more.

On Thursday, Prickett emailed the people who spoke up for Malone in last week's Eastern Wake News article to say that she felt like those in Knightdale “didn’t understand the full story” and wanted to explain her vote. Among the people she copied the note to was Paul Coble, chairman of the board of commissioners.

What responsibility does the Wake County school system have in providing transportation to preassigned rising sixth- and ninth-graders who don't have bus service this fall?

As noted in today's article, the school board voted to direct staff to, when possible, modify existing bus routes to accommodate students or to offer them a spot at a school on their proximity list that would give them transportation.

But that motion stops short of guaranteeing bus service to their feeder school. And that motion only extends to students who are receiving bus service this year and would lose it this fall, not transfer students who now don't get bus service.

The Wake County school board announced new principals tonight for two schools while moving another principal into an assistant principal's position.

Kelly Aman will become principal of West Millbrook Middle School in North Raleigh with a salary of $89,696. Aman has been an assistant principal at Millbrook High School since 2005.

Robin J. Wahl will now be principal of Northwoods Elementary School in Cary with a salary of $115,014. Wahl has been principal of Weatherstone Elementary School since 1998.

David Newkirk will leave his position as principal of Hunter Elementary School in Raleigh, where he's been at since 2009. Newkirk will now be an assistant principal at Knightdale High School.

(I'll try to post bio sheets in the morning.)

The Wake County school board approved new contracts tonight for school resource officers after staff said that they would seek to review this memorandum of understanding with law enforcement.

Russ Smith, Wake's senior director of security, said it was time to review the MOU because some of the police chiefs and Superintendent Tony Tata weren't here when it was previously adopted. Among the items Smith said would be reviewed are use of force and when SROs can file court petitions.

After his assurances, the deals with the Raleigh and Cary to provide officers for the 2012-13 school year were adopted.

During the discussion, board member Deborah Prickett said she was opposed to North Carolina being one of only two states that tried 16- and 17-year-olds as adults. Other board members agreed with her.

More to come later but the Wake County school board voted tonight to direct staff to try to provide transportation to the 470 preassigned students facing losing bus service.

The board passed 6-3 this motion: "WCPSS, shall provide transportation, when it can be provided with adjustments to existing routes, to all rising sixth- and ninth-graders currently receiving district transportation, who are pre-assigned without transportation for the 2012-13 school year OR offer that student a seat in one of the schools on his/her proximity choice list with transportation."

The board resisted language that would have required providing transportation, including potentially adding extra buses. The board also resisted amending the motion that would have  added 539 rising sixth- and ninth-graders who are at their current school as transfer students.

Susan Evans, Christine Kushner and Jim Martin were the dissenting votes.

Wake County school board chairman Kevin Hill gave a lecture to his colleagues tonight on showing proper behavior at meetings.

During board comments, Hill said he was pleased by how the public had responded to his recent call to show better behavior at the meetings. He said he can't say the same of his fellow board members, adding he's "been embarrassed" by the behavior some have exhibited at the last two board meetings.

Hill said he wouldn't tolerate "caustic and disparaging comments" that board members have made toward each other and to staff.

"We are professionals and I expect that we act as such," Hill said.

More to come later, but it looks like the Wake County school board won't guarantee that they'll provide bus service to this fall to all students going to their preassigned schools.

Staff said that there are 470 rising sixth- and ninth-graders left who are still scheduled to go to their pre-assigned feeder school without bus service. While 1/3 of students can be accommodated by modifying existing routes, staff said it cost $2 million to run additional routes to service the other students.

A majority of the school board agreed with the staff recommendation in which they'll individually contact the families that they will get them into a proximity school with transportation. They'll let the one-third who can be accommodated by an existing route know about it but won't offer the option of running a bus for the other two-thirds.

Is a small property tax increase a better alternative than going for a big bond referendum next year to pay for Wake County school construction needs?

As noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, county staff told the Wake County Board of Commissioners on Monday that a 2.7-cent property tax increase would raise $150 million a year for county schools construction. This could be used to delay a school bond issue for three years, paying for $450 million in new schools and renovations.

That $450 million would likely be smaller than what the school board would request in a 2013 bond referendum.

The Wake County school system is now taking transfer requests from families who want to attend a different school than the one they've been assigned to attend this fall.

Parents are finding out today where their children will go to this school this fall, either by looking online, receiving a letter in the mail or in their children's backpacks. Families who find out today have until June 1 to submit a request in writing to change their assignment.

Copies of the transfer form can be found in English or Spanish by clicking here on the district's transfer information page.

The Wake County school board will deal with a variety of items at today's meeting, including whether to provide transportation to all rising sixth- and ninth-graders going to their feeder schools this fall.

During the work session, staff will give an update on how many of the preassigned students still don't have transportation and what can be done to accommodate them. The vote on the issue, requested by board member Jim Martin, will come at the regular meeting.

In response to board member Debra Goldman's complaints that Martin was being given more consideration than her for today's meeting, the board will also deal with her concerns about board and district transparency.