Things definitely got heated at Wednesday night's forum looking into allegations of racial discrimination by the Wake County school system.

As noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, speakers used terms like "white supremacy" and going "back to the back of the bus" to describe the move toward neighborhood schools in Wake.

“They are being introduced to blatant white supremacy in the Wake County school system,” said parent Darryl Fulton about what his four children are facing with the end of the diversity policy.

Barring any holdups, the school board should decide this week who will take Rosa Gill's vacant seat.

The plan is to meet from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday to interview all nine people who want to fill the District 4 opening caused by Gill's appointment to the state House. The board is slated to meet from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday to make a final selection.

The new board member would be sworn in on Aug. 18 and finish out Gill's term, which expires November 2011.

(The applications for all nine candidates are listed in this post.)

Lynette Aytch, a director in the state's Smart Start program, became the fourth person to apply for the vacant seat on the school board.

In the application submitted today, Aytch said her four policy priorities would be high quality preschool programs, specialized services for students with disabilities and special learning needs, classroom diversity and inclusion and community and families partnerships.

"The public school system has a social and educational responsibility to advance policy that promotes and sustains classroom diversity and inclusion," Aytch said in her application.

A third former educator, Samuel Greene, wants to fill the vacancy on the school board for the District 4 seat in Southeast Raleigh.

Greene, who spent 33 years as an educator and was a principal at West Millbrook Middle School in North Raleigh, submitted his application today. In addition to his professional experience, he cites his lengthy history of community service.

"As a Wake County Public School board member, I would exhibit a strong commitment to working with other board members towards the common goal of providing the best possible education for the children in our district," Greene writes in his application. "My entire professional career has been in the area of working with children, parents and the community."

Retired educator Lillian Lee has got some pretty prominent backing in her bid to fill the vacancy on the school board.

Lee, who submitted her application Monday, included reference letters from former Superintendent Bob Bridges and former principal Johnny Farmer. This could give Lee's application some weight as the board weighs who will fill Rosa Gill's District 4 seat in Southeast Raleigh.

"Mrs. Lee appears to be a clear thinker and is confident in her abilities," Bridges wrote in his reference letter. "I believe that the current state of affairs in her life will permit the commitment of time and energy required to serve on the school board."

UPDATED TO INCLUDE LEE'S APPLICATION, WITH REFERENCE LETTERS, AT END OF POST

A woman who lost to Rosa Gill for a seat on the Wake County school board in 1999 now hopes to replace her.

Doris Burke, a retired educator, is the only applicant so far to fill the vacancy caused by Gill taking a seat in the General Assembly. Gill had beaten Burke to win her first term on the school board.

"I would welcome this opportunity to continue to help meet the elementary and secondary educational needs of Wake County by serving in this position," Burke wrote in her cover letter.