The level of distrust between members of the Wake County school board's Democratic majority and Superintendent Tony Tata during his final month on the job was high.

As noted in today's article, the release this week of more than 3,400 pages of emails from Aug. 1 through Sept. 25 showed repeated board allegations that staff was trying to undermine them. Democratic board members also tried to distance themselves from the bus problems and the complaints about the release of the draft student assignment plan.

“I hate to seem suspicious, but at this time I am left with little other than to conclude that some on staff are trying to undermine the Board by creating mass confusion in the community,” school board member Jim Martin wrote in a Sept. 22 reply to Ellen Nightingale on the draft plan. “This is unacceptable.”

Among the names appointed to a Wake County school board advisory council on Tuesday was the familiar one of Ellen Nightingale.

School board member Jim Martin tapped Nightingale to serve on his District 5 board advisory council as the rep for Conn Elementary School. Nightingale was a vocal public critic of the choice plan, speaking to media outlets and appearing at board meetings.

Nightingale had complained that although she lives in the Mordecai neighborhood near downtown Raleigh, she and several neighbors weren't able to get their kids into kindergarten after the first choice round.

CORRECTION/UPDATE

Nightingale says she lives in Oakwood, which is near Mordecai and that Conn is her closest school. Nightingale says that, despite being on Yevonne Brannon's email list, she's not a member of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition.

The Great Schools in Wake Coalition is mobilizing to get the new Wake County student assignment plan to include the diversity-related assignments.

In an email message dated Sept. 12, GSIW chairwoman Yevonne Brannon tells people that her discussions with school board members was "not encouraging." Brannon writes about a "board member who wants what we want but is too weak to push for it and too afraid to step up to the plate, because he is worried about community push back."

Brannon writes that "another board member who doesn’t seem to 'agree' about how to fix diversity-how to have balanced schools.....he seems to believe kids can choose out. After some discussion he agreed to 'think it over.'"

Twenty-five people, consisting mostly of critics of the choice plan, have signed up to speak at tonight's Wake County school board meeting.

Speakers include familiar names like Sally Wooten, Neil Riemann, Lynn Stellings, Ellen Nightingale, Lee Hogewood, Rhonda Curtright, Amy Lee, Peter Rumsey, Amy Womble and Lettice Rhodes. Jennifer Mansfield could be on the few speakers who object to the board adopting the student assignment directive.

Also on the list is Russell Capps, president of the Wake County Taxpayers Association. He's listed as presenting an appreciation statement to Superintendent Tony Tata.

UPDATE

The turnout is actually fairly mixed with the majority criticizing the choice plan but a large number, such as Rhonda Curtright, who say it shouldn't be discarded for a base plan now.

It's not much of an understatement that the release of the round two results for the Wake County student assignment plan could have gone better.

As noted in today's article, the plan to get the results up by Thursday afternoon fell through. By the time it was finally up around 6:20 p.m., it was soon shut down for several hours because of glitches reported by parents.

The problems will likely give critics of the new choice plan more ammunition as they argue that it was rushed through without proper implementation.