Rita Rakestraw may run again for a seat on the Wake County school board.

Rakestraw, who lost the District 1 race in October to Chris Malone, said Monday she's put her campaign committee on hiatus as she mulls whether to run again. One indication that she may run again is that her final campaign report shows she still has $9,670.70 left of the $29,634.74 she had raised.

Rakestraw had raised the most money of any school board candidate last year although John Tedesco spent more than her.

There's a "he said, she said" dispute going on between District 1 school board candidate Debbie Vair and a NAACP official.

Ronald White, president of the South Central Wake NAACP, denies that he's endorsing Vair. But Vair says White gave her permission to list him as a supporter on her campaign web site.

They both can't be right on this issue.

There wasn't much of a debate for District 1 school board candidates on WPTF on Thursday.

Chris Malone was the only candidate who appeared on the Bill LuMaye show. LuMaye apologized on air for changing the dates, which resulted in Rita Rakestraw and Debbie Vair not being able to attend Thursday.

Click here to listen to Malone.

The three District 1 school board candidates are hitting on familiar themes in their campaign mailers.

In Rita Rakestraw's mailer, she wants voters to know that she was "endorsed by Wake County's teachers!" That stems from her endorsement by the Wake Count chapter of the N.C. Association of Educators, whose membership includes 5,000 Wake school district employees.

The front of Chris Malone's postcard touts that he "supports community schools." The back of the card lists his resume.

The front of Debbie Vair's postcard tells voters "it's time for a change," and a vote for her will assure school stability. The back of the postcard lists her resume.

You've got a mix of school board politics and catcalling between Rolesville Mayor Frank Eagles and school administrators over the Forest Ridge High School site.

On Monday, District 1 candidate Debbie Vair was planning to present to Wake County Commissioners her alternative to using the Forest Ridge location. But Vair wasn't allowed to make the presentation because Commissioner Betty Lou Ward objected to letting a candidate speak.

Rolesville Mayor Frank Eagles stepped in for Vair and made the presentation for acquiring a site on U.S. 401 near Louisbury Road. It's about a mile or so from the Forest Ridge site on Forestville Road near U.S. 401.

School board candidates Chris Malone and Debbie Vair aren't pulling any punches, against Rita Rakestraw or each other, in the battle to win the District 1 seat.

As noted in today's article, both Malone and Vair back neighborhood schools and contend that voting for Rakestraw would be a mistake. But they're also taking shots at each other as they try to win the support of board critics.

Malone calls Vair a "one-issue candidate," with that issue being her opposition of the location of the new Forest Ridge High School.

If you missed Wednesday's countywide school board candidate forum, you've got another chance next week.

Former Wake County Commissioner Phil Jeffreys has organized a forum for Thursday. While Jeffreys was a harsh critic of the school board during his time in office, he's recruited a majority of the candidates to attend.

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST

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.

Thursday night's District 1 school board debate was interesting to say the least.

As noted in today's article, the three candidates took very strong stands on the diversity policy. They also took time to take some personal shots at  one another.

Rita Rakestraw repeatedly warned that electing either Chris Malone or Debbie Vair would result in taxes having to be raised to pay for the resulting increase in the number of high-poverty, neighborhood schools.

Tonight's forum for the District 1 school board candidates has the potential to be a lively event.

You should see clear contrasts between Chris Malone, Rita Rakestraw and Debbie Vair on where they stand on the issues. At the same time, you'll also probably see Malone and Vair trying to distinguish themselves from each other as they try to win votes of board critics.

Rakestraw will likely be making a pitch to supporters of current board policies.