Supporters of the old Wake County diversity policy are urging the school system to slow down the pace for adopting a new student assignment plan.

In an op-ed piece today, Great Schools in Wake Coalition members Sharon Eckard and Amy Lee argue that there are too many questions unanswered right now for the school board to vote on a plan. But much of the criticism in the piece focuses on the blue plan while both writers argue that it would be "easier" to support a modified green plan.

"Let's slow down the pace and analyze the options with rigor and appropriate details," Eckard and Lee write. "There is much more at stake in these plans than 'Where will my child go to school?' These plans will affect all Wake County residents through the real estate market, school taxes, the ability to cost-effectively attract high-performing teachers and the allocation of money among schools."

Former Wake County school board member Beverley Clark is criticizing the blue plan, warning that it will split up neighborhoods, increase how often schools are capped and increase the number of buses running through neighborhoods.

In a letter to the editor today, Clark writes that eliminating base assignments means "it is likely that your neighbors on each side will go to different schools." While she doesn't mention the green plan, Clark is echoing the criticism that the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, which she is a member of, has with the blue plan.

"Keeping neighbors together, retaining meaningful magnet choices, avoiding high-poverty schools and reducing the frequency of reassignment are worthwhile goals that I believe can be accomplished, but sadly the Blue plan does not do that," Clark writes.

It looks like we now have the person who will emerge as the standard bearer in District 6 for supporters of the old diversity policy.

Christine Kushner, a longtime school volunteer, magnet parent and member of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, announced today that she would seek the District 6 seat on the Wake County school board.

Her press release hits on the same themes echoed by other critics of the board majority. She talks about the need to make data-driven decisions and avoiding creating low-performing schools.

It doesn't take a crystal ball to see that it's looking clearer that Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata will recommend the blue plan be adopted by the school board.

During today's press conference, Tata said he’ll ask the school board on June 21 to approve the student assignment framework that should be used. While Tata didn’t say which of the two choices he’ll recommend, he repeatedly praised today the blue plan over the green plan.

“In my view it finds that middle ground where parents have the primary say and the system then has the ability to help efficiently use the resources,” Tata said of the blue plan.

The Great Schools in Wake Coalition is praising the green plan while saying there is a "great concern" over the blue plan potentially being used for student assignment in Wake County.

In a press release today, GSIW touts the green plan's use of base assignments, efforts to promote student achievement and "modified choice" options. In contrast, GSIW says the blue plan has too many uncertainties from the lack of base assignments that could impact things such as property values.

"Given the information currently available, GSIW believes that the Green Course of Action offers the best chance to get it right: to prioritize achievement for all students in Wake County while maintaining the greatest stability for our community and our children," according to the press release.

The Great Schools in Wake Coalition is suggesting arguments that people can use to question the two new Wake County student assignment proposals.

In an e-mail Tuesday to supporters, GSIW chairwoman Yevonne Brannon attached a list of comments about the blue and green plans that can be used when submitting online feedback. She urges people to not cut and paste the comments but to use them "to stimulate thought and allow you to capture comments in your own words."

She warns that "if you simply cut/paste, our comments will be perceived as coming from a single source, and they will be discounted."

The green plan may not be the more popular choice as Wake County's new student assignment plan but it's got some pluses.

As noted in today's article, the green plan would be an effort to improve the current node-based student assignment system. The improvements to the current system, the continued busing for diversity and the continued use of base assignments mean it has some backers.

The green plan would seek to reduce how often students are reassigned. You would be reassigned no more than once in each grade span.

Should the Wake County school board have requested an additional redistricting map to review before approving the lines that will be used for elections over the next 10 years?

As noted in today's article, the issue of only having one map split the board in the 5-3 vote. Kevin Hill, Anne McLaurin and Keith Sutton unsuccessfully urged the board to ask Kieran Shanahan to come up with an additional map to consider before holding a final vote.

The other school board members said they were reasonably satisfied with the map and felt there was not a need to draw up any other options.

The Great Schools in Wake Coalition is urging the Wake County school board to delay Tuesday's vote on the redistricting maps after finding what it called "errors" in the information released by attorney Kieran Shanahan.

In an e-mail message today to school board members, GSIW says there's a mismatch between the actual boundaries for two precincts that separate board districts and how they were publicly described by Shanahan.

Based on this analysis done by Tim Stallmann of the liberal Southern Coalition for Social Justice, GSIW says Shanahan incorrectly described the splits for 05-03 and 16-02 in the information provided on Wake's website before last week's public hearing.

The Great Schools in Wake Coalition is firing more shots at the new Wake County school board redistricting proposal.

In a press release today, GSIW says it's going through the data it finally  received about the redistricting proposal after having made formal public records requests. (The N&O received the data yesterday.)

As it goes through the new data, GSIW says it has several questions about the plan developed by Kieran Shanahan. They're asking why the plan divides so many additional towns into multiple districts and why District 5 picks up part of Holly Springs while other areas closer to the district in Cary were sent to District 8.

"GSIW believes the redistricting process should be fair, open, and transparent, and encourages the community to email Board members with their thoughts and suggestions," according to the press release. "That there has been an absence of details and no substantive information explaining why only one redistricting plan was developed at significant taxpayer expense has been a chief complaint from many organizations, municipalities, and individuals across the County."