It's time today for the Wake County school board to go back to having nine members.

The school board will interview six applicants for the District 9 seat formerly held by Debra Goldman, A seventh applicant, William Ingerslew, has withdrawn his application, according to school board chairman Keith Sutton.

The remaining field consists of Nancy Caggia, Bill Fletcher, Linda Gunter, Anna Johnson, Lois Nixon and Jim Pomeranz.

Nancy Caggia, a long-time school system volunteer, says she filed today for the District 9 vacancy on the Wake County school board.

In an interview with Andrew Kenney of the Cary News, Caggia and her supporters pointed to her years of experience in education. She also has endorsements from a bipartisan trio of Cary Town Council members — Gale Adcock, Don Frantz and Jennifer Robinson, according to Frantz.

“I’ve had 14 years of volunteering, from the trenches to the state level,” said Caggia, 53.

The Wake County school system isn't giving up on efforts to house Panther Creek High School's new ninth-grade center at the site of the future Alston Ridge Middle School.

In a Tuesday blog post, Cary Town Councilman Don Frantz writes that Wake has appealed the Town Council's decision to reject the district's use of the site. The appeal was filed with the Cary Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Frantz writes that the Council didn't want to amend Cary's Land Development Ordinance because it would pave the way for "any public or private school, trade school or other educational uses would be allowed to construct 'temporary' facilities in the absence of a principle structure."

"Make no mistake — this was not an easy decision," Frantz writes. "We all are well aware of the overcrowding issues at Panther Creek High School and we know we need additional school seats. Sacrificing our development standards however is not the answer."

Three Wake County school board members are requesting a revote on placing  Panther Creek High School's ninth-grade center at the site of the future Alston Ridge Middle School.

Republican board members Deborah Prickett, John Tedesco and Debra Goldman are requesting a discussion and revote on the location of the ninth-grade center at the June 5 meeting. They're citing the concerns raised by Cary Town Councilman Don Frantz about the town having to grant an ordinance amendment to approve the use of the site.

But the board's fourth GOP member, Chris Malone, is asking "isn't it very late to be having this discussion?" He asks what the "value proposition is" to reconsider the item at this late date.

The Wake County school system could find it hard getting approval from the Cary Town Council to erect a ninth-grade center for Panther Creek High School.

Cary Town Councilman Don Frantz writes in this Wednesday blog post that "we can all agree that we need additional school capacity, and I am well aware of many of the issues Panther Creek students and teachers are dealing with."

But Frantz adds he has several concerns with granting an ordinance amendment that would allow the ninth-grade center to be erected on the site of a future middle school next to Alston Ridge Elementary.

You can credit Wake County school board vice chairwoman Debra Goldman for there not being a school board meeting today.

The board traditionally meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. But at Goldman's request, the board agreed to reschedule the Nov. 2 meeting to next Tuesday.

"I have other things that I like to do on Election Day such as vote, work at the polls, a few different things," Goldman said at the June 15 committee of the whole meeting. "We have quite a few board members who are very active so I can tell you right now I won't be here at that meeting."

Here are a pair of campaign mailers from the Wake County Republican Party and school board candidate Debra Goldman.

In this final mailer, the GOP urges voters to stop the "roller coaster ride" that the school board has been taking families and taxpayers on.

In this mailer from Goldman, she plugs endorsements form Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison, Cary Town Councilman Don Frantz and Wake County parent Rene Hart.

Debra Goldman's school board campaign finance report is in but we're still waiting for several more.

According to an e-mail message from the state Board of Elections, the Wake Schools Community Alliance electronically transmitted a report late Monday afternoon. It hasn't been forwarded yet to the Wake County Board of Elections.

No updated reports are in yet from candidates Chris Malone or John Tedesco or the Take Wake Schools Back PAC. But as long as their updated reports were postmarked no later than Monday they're okay.

You've got a member of a George Soros-backed group and a Carolina Hurricanes hockey player among the donors in the District 1 Wake school board race.

Rita Rakestraw's donors include Gene Guerrero, a senior policy analyst for the Open Society Institute, who gave $250. The institute's founder and president is liberal billionaire George Soros, who is not exactly a favorite of conservatives.

Chris Malone has got some star power, namely a $250 contribution from Rod Brind'Amour, the team captain for the Hurricanes. Brind'Amour's ex-wife lives just outside Wake Forest with their three young children.

UPDATE

The Board of Elections says Karen Simon doesn't have to file until Sept. 28 because she hasn't spent more than $3,000 yet.

Some folks are willing to put their own money behind campaign efforts to change the school board.

Campaign finance reports show that PACs set up by Wake Schools Community Alliance and Take Wake Schools Back have combined raised a little more than $2,000 so far. Organizers say things will pick up closer to the October elections.

The Children's PAC hasn't filed detailed spending reports yet.