Wake County school board member Debra Goldman is defending Superintendent Tony Tata and accusing board members Susan Evans and Christine Kushner of having violated their oaths.

In an interview Tuesday on the Bill LuMaye Show on WPTF, Goldman tell the conservative talk show host that Tata was "completely correct here" in emailing Evans and Kushner because "they've refused to disaffiliate from special-interest groups," namely the the Great Schools in Wake Coalition.

Goldman points to Evans and Kushner accepting the award last month for GSIW and attending the recent GSIW student assignment forum to dispute their statements that they're not involved with the group. She said it's "highly inappropriate to be out there championing a fringe group like this."

Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata isn't backing down from the concerns he's raised about the ties between the Great Schools in Wake Coalition and school board members Susan Evans and Christine Kushner.

Tata issued a statement today warning that the two board members may have "potential serious code of ethics violations" because of their ties with Great Schools. He also alleges that Great Schools has a "stranglehold" on the board members.

Both board members told Tata in their email responses they're not currently involved with the group. But Tata charges they refused his requests to sever ties with Great Schools.

The school board now has an official conflict of interest policy for its members.

The board adopted the new policy last week at the recommendation of the N.C. School Boards Association. The board has been reviewing its policies for the past several months, including adopting an ethics policy in March.

Previously, the only reference to conflicts of interest was at the tail end of a policy on performance of duties which said board members should "have no business interests which will conflict with the activities of the Board."

My column in today's News & Observer has generated several calls. Some people have asked to see New Hanover's Code of Ethics. Here is the link: 

 http://www.nhcs.net/athletics/NHCSCodeofEthicsPledge.pdf