Wake County school board member Debra Goldman is accusing the board majority of firing Superintendent Tony Tata at the behest of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition.

As noted in today's article, Goldman and other Republican board members were angry in their remarks about Tata's firing by the Democratic majority. Goldman used part of her time at the meeting to go after Great Schools.

"Now a partisan board majority is choosing to dismantle our school system to remove him from the Wake County schools," Goldman said of Tata's firing. "Why? You just heard not for cause, not for any documentable or viable reason. They didn't pick him. It's just that simple.

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.'"

Wake County Commissioner Phil Matthews is urging people to show up at Monday's school board meeting to rally behind Superintendent Tony Tata.

"Attention Everyone!!" Matthews posted today on his Facebook page. "Rumor is the new liberal school board members are going to try to terminate Superintendent Tony Tata on Monday at their 12:30 at a closed session! They are using a lame excuse about buses to get rid of him. Everyone needs to show up at the meeting in Cary to show their support.

He is a good friend, and is doing an outstanding job. I will take his firing personally so I am now "on record"!! Pass this on to everyone you know and contact your school board members to show your concern!"

Members of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition accused Wake County Schools Superintendent Tony Tata of scapegoating Don Haydon for the bus problems and said he's the one who should be relieved of his duties.

During the public comment session at Tuesday's school board meeting in which speakers were repeatedly warned not to discuss specific personnel, several GSIW members lamented the senior staff who've left Wake since Tata became superintendent.

Lynn Edmonds complained about Wake's longtime staff being replaced by people with no experience working in school systems. who come from the "free market or the corporate world," or being graduates from the Broad Superintendents Academy.

The Wake County Taxpayers Association announced today that it had filed a complaint with AdvancED asking the accreditation organization to investigate the actions of the Wake County school board majority.

The complaint hits on a variety of things, including the private meeting the new board members had with Michael Alves, the post-midnight vote on the student assignment directive and board member Jim Martin trying to arrange an assignment provision for parents going on sabbaticals,  

Several of the allegations deal with the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, from the behavior of some members in the audience of board meetings to charges they've unduly influenced the board majority.

Great Schools in Wake Coalition members are making a visual statement at today's Wake County school board meeting about the senior school administrators who've resigned or been pushed out during Superintendent Tony Tata's tenure.

GSIW members have brought several mock headstones. One says "RIP Competent Experienced Staff." Others say the word "Resigned" under the names of David Ansbacher, Michael Evans, Donna Hargens and Don Haydon. For David Holdzkom, it says "Reassigned" under his "headstone."

Some people like Evans, Haydon and Holdzkom were clearly forced out. But for Hargens, she left to become a superintendent.

Lynn Edmonds is scheduled to discuss the issue during public comment.

This email from Yevonne Brannon, chairwoman of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, offers a perspective of what critics of Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata and the Republican school board members say behind the scenes.

In the Aug. 18 email message, Brannon says Tata is taunting and bullying people when he says they need to "cowboy up" to pass a school bond issue next year. She says many people don't approve of Tata's work and feel that he's helped resegregate the schools.

"Many, many people in the minority community, the economic developers in the business community, the progressive and social justice community members, the advocates for the disabled and underrepresented children, advocates for our teachers and staff, and those who regard public education as a right for all children together add to a large group that does not trust Mr. Tata," Brannon writes.

UPDATE

To make it clearer, the email was not forwarded to me by Brannon. I obtained a copy of the email from another person and posted it, as I mentioned in the post, as an example of the things that are said privately about Tata and the board members.

The discussion of underenrollment at year-round schools and new school needs for the next bond issue are on the agenda at today's Wake County school board facilities committee meeting.

The board is scheduled to discuss utilization of year-round schools. Board member Susan Evans, whose Apex district has a number of year-round schools, asked the committee last month to discuss which underenrolled year-round schools might be considered for conversion to a traditional calendar.

Wake had converted 23 schools to a year-round calendar and opened a number of year-round elementary schools and middle schools as part of the 2006 bond issue and construction program. With growth slowing down due to the recession, several multi-track year-round schools have been moved to a traditional calendar or converted to a single-track year-round calendar.

There were plenty of apologies and recriminations coming from Wake County school board members on Tuesday over the bus problems.

As noted in today's article, Superintendent Tony Tata and board members apologized to parents and students for the problems last week. But also amid the apologies, the new Democratic board members worked to distance themselves from the problems, blaming staff for telling them they could implement the new transportation plan.

In addition, the choice plan was also a target of the new Democratic board members.

WakeUP Wake County says the Wake County school system's future "brightens" now that the school board is changing the student assignment plan.

In an email update today, WakeUP Wake says the group is "excited that Wake County will significantly revise the current 'choice' plan, that has already proven to decrease economic diversity in elementary schools."

WakeUP Wake also "thanks" the members of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition "for their persistence over the past two years." Great Schools i a project of WakeUP Wake, an officially non-partisan progressive group