Here's a taste of what you can expect from Richard Kahlenberg at Saturday's Great Schools in Wake Coalition forum.

In a March 1 post on the left-leaning Century Foundation blog, Kahlenberg bemoans the changes being proposed by the new Wake County school board majority to end the socioeconomic diversity policy. Like local critics of the new board, Kahlenberg says Wake "is a victim of its own success" from growth and how a small percentage of voters were able to change the board's direction.

"The political debate in Wake County isn’t over yet," writes Kahlenberg, who has extensively researched socioeconomic diversity. "Supporters of the diversity policy — teachers, civil rights advocates, business leaders, and white parents who like magnet schools — are fighting back. An important forum is slated for mid-March to discuss the diversity policy."

If Wake County Schools Superintendent Del Burns is ousted early tonight, it won't be because his supporters stayed silent.

As noted in today's article, there's been an active lobbying effort over the past few days by people who want the school board to allow Burns to stay on through his June 30 resignation date. Del's Army, a Facebook group organized by the son of former school board candidate Carlene Lucas, has become a central point for Burns' backers.

"Other parents like myself need to stand up and speak out," Lucas said. "We hope they listen to us and not the elite few."

Should Wake adopt a controlled choice model as a way to promote diversity without going to neighborhood schools?

That's the approach pitched in an op-ed piece today by Richard Kahlenberg, who says controlled choice would "honor school integration, minimize mandatory student reassignment and maximize parental choice." Kahlenberg, a senior researcher at The Century Foundation, is a big booster of Wake's current diversity policy who is trying to make the best of the recent school board election results.

Under controlled choice, the entire school district would essentially become a series of magnet schools. Parents would select from schools within a zone with the district making the selections to promote diversity.

School board candidate John Tedesco is saying thank you to voters who gave him more than 49 percent of the vote in last week's election.

In this ad appearing in weekly newspapers in Fuquay-Varina and Garner, Tedesco says "I remain humbled by this vote of confidence and public trust." He also has nice things to say about his opponents, thanking Horace Tart for his service to the community and commending Cathy Truitt and Carlene Lucas.

District 2 school board candidate Carlene Lucas is talking about her controlled-choice policy and who she'd support if she wasn't running.

In an interview in this week's Garner Citizen, Lucas explains that her idea of controlled choice involves creating geographic zones. Parents would pick which schools they'd want to attend in that zone with a limited number of seats set aside for low-income students.

Lucas is also asked which candidate she'd vote for if she wasn't in the race. She says it's "probably Cathy [Truitt]."

In the heated and fragmented race for the District 2 school board seat, what will matter more to voters?

As noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, incumbent Horace Tart is arguing that things have improved over the past four years while also saying he can't guarantee that constituents will always get what they want.

The other three active candidates are taking a decidedly different viewpoint.

Can Wake school board candidates overcome a shoestring budget to still win?

History is not on the side of Debbie Vair in District 1 and Chris Augustine and Carlene Lucas in District 2. All three have filed reports indicating they plan to raise and spend less than $3,000.

Vair and Lucas, who are both still actively campaigning, are running against opponents who are not under similar funding constraints.

Carlene Lucas is officially resuming her campaign for the District 2 school board seat in Wake County.

In a press release today, Lucas calls her earlier decision to stop actively campaigning "a mistake." She says she has since received support and contributions that will allow her to continue as a candidate.

Lucas is still generally considered a long-shot among the five candidates on the District 2 ballot. She has less money than the other candidates and doesn't have the backing of any major groups.

It looks like it's now just a three-person race for the District 2 school board seat.

Carlene Lucas has told the Wake Education Partnership that she is no longer actively campaigning in District 2. Like Chris Augustine, who also stopped actively campaigning, she'll still be on the ballot.

Lucas was admittedly a long-shot candidate to win in District 2, which covers Garner, Fuquay-Varina and Willow Spring. She planned to spend less than $3,000 and didn't have the backing of any of the major groups.

Lucas will also not be attending tonight's candidate forum. This should give more time to the remaining active candidates: incumbent Horace Tart, John Tedesco and Cathy Truit.

Here's hoping attendance is better at tonight's school board candidate forum compared to the one that took place Saturday.

As noted in Sunday's article by Stanley Chambers, only about 30 people attended Saturday's forum sponsored by the Coalition of Concerned Citizens for African American Children. That event drew six candidates from all four board races.

Tonight's forum, sponsored by the Wake Education Partnership and local chambers of commerce, will focus on District 2. All four candidates who are still campaigning have said they'll attend: Carlene Lucas, Horace Tart, John Tedesco and Cathy Truitt.