Yevonne Brannon, chairwoman of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, is mobilizing people to participate in the magnet school survey and to urge the Wake County school board to scrap the new student assignment plan.

In a Sunday blog post, Allison Backhouse posts a copy of a Saturday email that she obtained in which Brannon writes that they "NEED a lot of push as the next school board meeting (JUNE 5) to MAKE A NEW PLAN for 2013." Brannon suggests writing "a lot of" letters to the editor "asking for a directive that stops using the CHOICE proximity model and starts using a RESIDENCEY based assignment plan."

Brannon lists the names of other Great Schools leaders, Patty Williams, Amy Womble and Lynn Edmonds, whom she says can help edit the letters and try to get them published.

UPDATE

Backhouse had obtained the email after it was forwarded Sunday to the Coalition of  Concerned Citizens for African American Children. Here is the email that CCCAAC President Calla Wright sent today, Monday, saying they'll stop forwarding messages:

From: Calla Wright <ccaac_aacca@yahoo.com>
Subject: [CoalitionofConcernedCitizensforAfricanAmericanChildren] Sharing Email Stopped because of the confidential message
Date: May 21, 2012 5:23:34 PM EDT
To: coalitionofconcernedcitizensforafricanamericanchildren@yahoogroups.com
Cc: parentsfordiversity@yahoogroups.com, ybrannon@gmail.com

We have decided to limit the number of emails forwarded to this group because of the confidentail messages that are shared with others who support segregated/neighborhood schools.  It is necessary for us to reduce the number of emails sent and we have decided to only share public information.
Please share this message that all confidential emails will stop.

Here's the dolphin email exchange between Wake County school board member Susan Evans and the leadership of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition that was referenced in a recent Triangle Politics column.

For the backstory, Allison Backhouse forwarded to board members and staff a March 7 email that was sent to Evans, fellow school board member Christine Kushner and several GSIW leaders. One sentence included how an 8-year-old wrote that "a dolphin breaths through an a--hole on the top of its head."

Evans replied back via her personal email account that "I think TT may be a dolphin :)," referring to Superintendent Tony Tata.

Wake County school board member Susan Evans has turned to a leader of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition to be one of her District 8 Board Advisory Council chairs.

Evans nominated Patty Williams, the communications director for Great Schools, on Monday to be one of the two BAC co-chairs. Williams was appointed in December to the BAC, which acts as sounding boards for board members.

The appointment comes after the controversy last week about the involvement of Evans and fellow board member Christine Kushner with Great Schools.

Allison Backhouse now has her own blog and her focus today is on AdvancED's  accreditation investigation of the Wake County school system.

Backhouse criticizes the "ridiculous complaint" by the Rev. William Barber of the state NAACP that led to the review. Noting the recent positive AdvancED report, she writes that the organization's concerns were addressed "due to the hard work of the previous Board and Supt. Tata."

"But, what has really changed – besides the political majority on the School Board?" Backhouse writes. "Are our high schools and their students better in some way? Even the Wake Education Partnership came to the conclusion that accreditation is just a public perception issue. We think it’s important only because we’ve been told it is."

The new Democratic majority on the Wake County school board may adopt a tougher line on handling public records requests.

Members of the former Republican board majority were subject to many public records requests for their personal and school district emails from their critics. Now the Democratic members are finding themselves subject to the same kinds of requests.

People who make requests now get the first 100 pages of copies free. They pay 10 centers for each additional page. But now they may also have to pay for the cost of staff time to handle the requests.

The revamping of the Wake County school board District 8 board advisory council continued tonight with the appointment of three new at-large members.

New District 8 school board member Susan Evans nominated Patty Williams, communications director for the Great Schools in Wake Coalition. Williams is the parent of a student at Athens Drive High.

Evans also nominated Hardin Engelhardt, a magnet parent and former teacher. Like Williams, Engelhardt spoke out at board meetings against the change in the diversity policy.

Speaking of Wake County school board advisory councils, don't be surprised if you see some turnover, especially in District 8.

Hank Dickson submitted his resignation letter last week as District 8 BAC co-chair and representative for Holly Springs High. In the letter to new school board member Susan Evans, Dickson alludes to Evans' involvement with protesters who disrupted school board meetings.

"My appreciation of proper conduct and decorum during open meetings makes my continued service on your BAC very difficult," Dickson, a former Holly Springs Town Councilman, writes in the letter. "I regret that I must submit my resignation for both positions."

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST

Wake County school board chairman Ron Margiotta announced today the formation of his campaign committee in his bid to win re-election in District 8.

In today's press release, Margiotta said the initial committee members are former Holly Springs Town Councilman Hank Dickson, Fuquay-Varina community activists Jan and Art Wilson, Green Level businessman and activist Dan McMain and Apex Town Councilman Gene Schulze. He said more people are still being added.

The press release describes the committee members as coming "from all political leanings yet share a concern with the direction of the Wake County school system and the need for continued reform."

Not that it was a surprise, but Wake County school board chairman Ron Margiotta officially announced today that he's running for re-election in District 8 this fall.

Margiotta has said for months that he'll run but today's press release eliminates any doubt. In the press release, Margiotta is described as a board member who "has demonstrated a dedication to families and students and wishes to continue reforming the system to best serve the citizens of Wake County."

“Our school system has experienced great progress in the past two years but we must keep the momentum,” states Margiotta in the press release. “I am proud to have contributed to our many accomplishments yet I know my work is far from over.”

A couple of familiar names are involved in the campaign. State Rep. Paul Stam, the House Majority Leader, is Margiotta's honorary campaign chairman. Allison Backhouse is Margiotta's media contact.

Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata has determined that school board vice chairwoman Debra Goldman did not violate board policy when she got a paperwork-free transfer for her daughter.

As noted in today's article, Tata also said the investigation into Goldman's case and 14 other students who received administrative transfers shows that some changes are needed. In particular, Tata says Wake should have required Goldman to file paperwork and not just make a verbal request.

Going forward, Tata said he will require that all similar requests for administrative transfers, which bypass the normal transfer process, come with complete documentation. Tata said the onus is on the school system and not the parent, even when it’s a school board member, to make sure that paperwork is filed.