Should the seven Enloe High School students arrested for throwing water balloons, and possibly even nastier stuff, have the charges dropped?

As noted in today's article, the students who spoke at Thursday's news conference and their supporters say the Enloe school administration, Wake County school system and Raleigh Police overreacted to the May 16 incident.

The speakers also said that the balloons were only filled with water and that the students engaged in behavior that was childish but not criminal.

Members of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition and other supporters of the Democratic school board majority turned their attention Monday on the Republican majority on the Wake County Board of Commissioners.

During the public comment section, several speakers criticized the commissioners for asking for state legislation to take over ownership of schools, to be able to give money to help build charter schools and to change the way school board members are elected. It also came with a warning.

"I hope that the Wake County Commissioners don't want to radicalize lots of middle-class parents," said Robert Siegel. "But if you do start messing with our schools, we're going to respond the same way we responded to the extremist school board of 2009. I don't think you want Wake County to become a national disgrace again."

Local conservative activist Joey Stansbury recently created a Facebook page to criticize the Great Schools in Wake Coalition's impact on the Wake County school system.

On the "Great Students in Wake" page, Stansbury and other GSIW critics have various posts taking the liberal group to task on things such as the firing of Superintendent Tony Tata. The page also includes posts criticizing members of the school board's Democratic majority.

One of the most recent posts is a link to a Friday blog post on Stansbury's Wake Community Network, where he criticizes Amy Lee's appointment to a school board advisory council. The post includes photos from a school board meeting that show Lee and GSIW chairwoman Yevonne Brannon talking behind speakers at the podium.

"Those who have not attended Wake County Board of Education meetings perhaps don't witness what amounts to a constant level of disruption and rude and belligerent chatter from the Great Schools (not students) in Wake leadership," Stansbury writes in the post.

Amy Lee, one of the most outspoken members of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, was appointed to a Wake County school board advisory council on Tuesday.

Lee, a North Raleigh magnet school parent, was appointed to school board vice chairman Keith Sutton's District 4 BAC. She's listed as the representative from Hunter Elementary School and also is a parent at Ligon Middle School.

Lee has provided some of the most memorable GSIW comments at school board meetings and other venues over the past few years. Here are some of them:

The Great Schools in Wake Coalition is mobilizing to get the new Wake County student assignment plan to include the diversity-related assignments.

In an email message dated Sept. 12, GSIW chairwoman Yevonne Brannon tells people that her discussions with school board members was "not encouraging." Brannon writes about a "board member who wants what we want but is too weak to push for it and too afraid to step up to the plate, because he is worried about community push back."

Brannon writes that "another board member who doesn’t seem to 'agree' about how to fix diversity-how to have balanced schools.....he seems to believe kids can choose out. After some discussion he agreed to 'think it over.'"

Members of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition accused Wake County Schools Superintendent Tony Tata of scapegoating Don Haydon for the bus problems and said he's the one who should be relieved of his duties.

During the public comment session at Tuesday's school board meeting in which speakers were repeatedly warned not to discuss specific personnel, several GSIW members lamented the senior staff who've left Wake since Tata became superintendent.

Lynn Edmonds complained about Wake's longtime staff being replaced by people with no experience working in school systems. who come from the "free market or the corporate world," or being graduates from the Broad Superintendents Academy.

Twenty-five people, consisting mostly of critics of the choice plan, have signed up to speak at tonight's Wake County school board meeting.

Speakers include familiar names like Sally Wooten, Neil Riemann, Lynn Stellings, Ellen Nightingale, Lee Hogewood, Rhonda Curtright, Amy Lee, Peter Rumsey, Amy Womble and Lettice Rhodes. Jennifer Mansfield could be on the few speakers who object to the board adopting the student assignment directive.

Also on the list is Russell Capps, president of the Wake County Taxpayers Association. He's listed as presenting an appreciation statement to Superintendent Tony Tata.

UPDATE

The turnout is actually fairly mixed with the majority criticizing the choice plan but a large number, such as Rhonda Curtright, who say it shouldn't be discarded for a base plan now.

Has the Wake County school system been transparent as Superintendent Tony Tata has repeatedly told the public?

As noted in today's article, critics of the plan accused Tata and school administrators of being deceptive in how they've pitched the plan to the public. Two areas they raised in particular are their charges that Wake didn't list the true seat availability in round one and that they haven't been open about the assignment algorithm.

"Liar, liar pants on fire,” said Amy Lee, a member of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, during the public comment section of the school board meeting. “Mr. Tata, are your pants on fire? From the public’s perspective, your pants are on raging fire."

Thursday night's community mass meeting at Martin Street Baptist Church dealt with the new Wake County student assignment plan, getting mediation for the school board protesters and assailing the conditions at Walnut Creek Elementary School.

As noted in today's article, most the focus of the meeting led by the state NAACP and the Great Schools in Wake Coalition was on complaints about the assignment plan. The crowd of around 50 people, mainly supporters of the old diversity policy, were urged to contact school leaders to change the plan.

"If you let the plane fly in the air and you don’t make those course corrections that you feel need to be made in order to make it a more successful plan for all students so we have a fair and diverse and well-funded education for all students, then shame on us if we don’t advocate for the changes to make it happen," said Patty Williams of Great Schools in Wake.

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST

A total of 26 people have pre-registered to speak at Broughton High School at today's Wake County school board public hearing on the student assignment plan.

A number of the usual people who've criticized the school board majority over the past two years are on the list, including Neil Riemann, Rhonda Curtright,  Patty Williams, Greg Flynn, Heather Koons, Tom Rhodes and Amy Lee. One person also on the list is Seth Keel.

I haven't received word yet on whether Keel, who is still banned at showing up at school board meetings following his arrest, will be allowed to speak today. It will be interesting seeing whether Keel, the Rev. William Barber and all the other people who've been barred from attending board meetings will be allowed back if the Democrats regain the board majority.

Over the past two years, some speakers have railed against the board majority for leaving the ban in place. Their trespassing cases still haven't been adjudicated yet.

UPDATE

Keel is not being allowed to speak at the meeting over the objections of him and his supporters.