Here are some of the highlights so far from the first group of interviews from Wake County school board applicants for the District 1 vacancy.

David Menaker acknowledged that he was talking himself out of the job by criticizing magnet schools. He said it's "absurd" that you have magnet schools at the elementary school level with all the options for children so young.

Menaker said the district does too much to perpetuate competition among schools, citing magnets as an example, instead of trying to make all schools fundamentally desirable.

Ben Clapsaddle contends that the experience he gained in the U.S. Army and his work since then as a consultant would serve him well on the Wake County school board.

In Clapsaddle's application for the District 1 vacancy, the 53-year-old retired colonel notes he served 27 years in the Army. Since retiring in 2008, he's held various civilian posts working with the Army, including most recently being a project manager and consultant at Fort Bragg.

"Using my experience gained in both public and private sector, my experience as a manager and leader of large complex organizations and a strategist, I will work with the Board's staff to set policies and strategies designed to guide the County for 5 to 10 years increments," Clapsaddle writes in the application. "Will help make adjustments for short term issues, but always look to the future as the District and County grows."

The eight applicants for the Wake County school board vacancy are giving their views on diversity, armed guards in schools, the choice plan, performance pay for teachers, the school construction bond issue and charter schools.

The answers are part of an article in this week's issue of the liberal Independent Weekly, which focused on their views on diversity and armed guards. The diversity responses run the gamut from support to opposition to its use in student assignment.

On one end are these people whose views on diversity seem to be the closest in line to the board majority.

My eventual goal is to do separate blog posts for the six applicants who filed Friday for the Wake County school board District 1 vacancy, similar to what I did when the first two applied.

But for now, I'm including links so people can view the applications that all eight applicants submitted. Some tout their K-12 education experience, or their business experience or their military experience.

The applicants also bring up an interesting list of references, including current state legislators, past and present mayors, past school board members and leaders of community groups.

Pencil in Feb. 5 for the date when the Wake County school board will fill the vacancy for the District 1 seat.

The school board will hold 30-minute interviews with all eight applicants that day. The vote will come toward the end of that day's regularly scheduled meeting.

It was a bit of a compromise.

We've got the names, but not yet the application packets, for the people who filed Friday for the open District 1 seat on the Wake County school board.

The applicants are:

* H. Wade Minter, a Democrat from North Raleigh, who unsuccessfully ran in 2002 and 2004 as a Libertarian candidates for state House.