Regardless of who wins Tuesday's runoff election, the Wake County school board will have a lot on its hands after the new members are sworn in Dec. 6.

As noted in today's article, three big issues are student assignment, the budget and the next bond issue. One question is how those issues might be approached differently depending on whether the school board has a Republican or Democratic majority.

For instance, it's safe to say that the new student assignment plan will be modified as it goes along.

The record-setting amount spent on this year's Wake County school board elections was highlighted today by NPR's "All Things Considered" show.

The segment noted how Wake's huge escalation in campaign costs mirrors the trend of high-priced school board races in other parts of the country. The high cost and the infusion of outside special interest money has surprised both school board member Kevin Hill and challenger Heather Losurdo.

Hill noted how in 2007 he raised $6,000 and his campaign staff consisted of he and his wife. This time he's got 300 volunteers and  more than $42,000.

Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo is still saying that Superintendent Tony Tata could be out of if incumbent Kevin Hill defeats her, but she's changing how it could happen.

Also during her interview today on the conservative Frank Roche Show on WRDU, Losurdo pitched the benefits of why a parent like her should be on the board instead of a non-parent like Hill. She also charged that a Hill victory could lead to busing of high-achieving students to low-achieving schools.

On her radio ad, Losurdo has charged that a Hill victory would create a Democratic majority with enough votes to fire Tata. With Hill repeatedly saying he would not support firing Tata, Losurdo implied today that Tata might emulate Del Burns and resign because of philosophical differences with a new majority.

In somewhat election-related news, AdvancED will be back in town at the end of the month to assess how well the Wake County school system is doing with the issues the accreditation organization announced in March.

In the March report, AdvancED criticized the school board's governance and put the high schools on accreditation warned status. AdvancED identified seven action steps in its report and gave Wake a year to address the issues.

Ann Majestic, the school board's attorney, said a review team from AdvancED will return on Nov. 29-30 to see what's happened in the past six months. Superintendent Tony Tata has said they're seeking to fully comply with AdvancED's requested changes.

Tuesday's District 3 runoff election between Wake County school board member Kevin Hill and challenger Heather Losurdo pits two very different candidates with differing life experiences and views.

As noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, Hill is the long-time Raleigh resident and career educator who has made some decisions that he feels are data-driven even when they've been unpopular with constituents.

As noted in today's article, Losurdo is the relative newcomer who had a challenging childhood and early adulthood that she says has helped shaped her into a better person.

Wake County school board member Kevin Hill and challenger Heather Losurdo got into some spirited discussions during their joint appearance on WRAL's "On the Record" show.

The discussion opened with Losurdo saying her resume is "contextually accurate." She said she was offended that people would say that someone like her with her military background and organizational and communications skills couldn't do the job of overseeing $2 billion in small business loans.

The topic then moved to the recently adopted student assignment plan.

Common Sense Matters tells voters in this campaign mailer that "the Tea Party doesn't want you to vote in Tuesday's (Wake County school board) runoff election."

"The Tea Party is on the brink of controlling Wake County public schools; now it all comes down to Tuesday's runoff election," says the mailer. "If Tea Party activist Heather Losurdo wins, so does the Tea Party — because then they will continue their partisan, slash-and-burn agenda that's hurting our public schools. So it's no wonder that Tea Party extremists have poured more than $14,000 into Losurdo's campaign."

The mailer includes a screen capture of Losurdo being interviewed by WTVD, where she said "Yes, I support the Tea Party."

The mailer is one in a series sent by Common Sense Matters, which is affiliated with local Democrats. One of the donors is the N.C. Futures Action Fund, a group led by Democratic activist Dean Debnam.

Common Sense Matters tells voters in this campaign mailer that "if you stop (Wake County school board candidate) Heather Losurdo, you stop the Tea Party."

"The Tea Party is counting on you to skip next Tuesday's runoff election, so they can take control of the Wake County School Board," says the mailer. "They're hoping you won't stop Heather Losurdo, who is backed by Tea Party radicals with a right-wing agenda that is hurting our public schools. So it's no wonder that Tea Party extremists have poured more than $14,000 into Losurdo's campaign."

The mailer includes a picture of Losurdo speaking at a Tea Party rally.

The mailer is one in a series sent by Common Sense Matters, which is affiliated with local Democrats. One of the donors is the N.C. Futures Action Fund, a group led by Democratic activist Dean Debnam.

Common Sense Matters accuses Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo of being a "Tea Party extremist" who "has a radical agenda for our schools" in this campaign mailer sent last week.

"Right now, the Wake County school board is just one vote away from being controlled by Tea Party candidates," says the mailer. "If Heather Losurdo wins in the November 8 runoff election, then the Tea Party wins too.

That's because Losurdo is running to continue the same radical agenda that has endangered our schools accreditation and threatened $80 million in school funding. If Heather Losurdo gives the Tea Party total control of Wake County's schools, the results will be devastating."

The mailer is one in a series sent by Common Sense Matters, which is affiliated with local Democrats. One of the donors is the N.C. Futures Action Fund, a group led by Democratic activist Dean Debnam.

Common Sense Matters asks voters to "stand up to (Wake County school board candidate) Heather Losurdo and the Tea Party agenda" in this campaign mailer sent last week.

The mailer says "On November 8, stop the Tea Party takeover by stopping Heather Losurdo." The mailer accuses Losurdo of being "backed by Tea party radicals" and charges that "the Board's right-wing agenda has been devastating."

"Hoe much more damage will the Tea Party do to our schools if Heather Losurdo wins on November 8?" says the mailer, which is part of the strategy promoted by Democratic activist Dean Debnam to use an anti-Tea Party message to defeat Republican candidates

The mailer is one in a series sent by Common Sense Matters, which is affiliated with local Democrats. One of the donors is the N.C. Futures Action Fund, a group led by Debnam.