Terry Stoops and Perry Woods had a running exchange today on the qualifications of Heather Losurdo and Kevin Hill to be on the Wake County school board.

Stoops, director of education studies for the conservative John Locke Foundation, kicked things off in this blog post today responding to Woods  saying on the Bill LuMaye Show that Losurdo lacked qualifications for being on the board.

Citing the broad qualifications in the state Constitution, Stoops writes that "it is an implicit acknowledgment that experience and credentials do not guarantee competence." He adds that "diverse perspectives and experiences strengthen elected bodies."

Wake County school board vice chairman John Tedesco is accusing Cash Michaels of spreading lies in his new article in The Carolinian newspaper.

In the article, Michaels speculates on what could happen if Heather Losurdo wins the runoff election and Tedesco becomes the new board chairman. Michaels rips into Tedesco for things such as his firing as borough administrator in New Jersey, calling himself a family man, speaking at Tea Party rallies and his public war of words with board member Debra Goldman.

In a letter written today after the story was published, Tedesco tells Michaels "try not to use so many lies with only a sprinkle of truth."

Wake County school board vice chairman John Tedesco was a guest last Thursday on "Free Markets With Dr. Mike Beitle," an Internet radio show.

Normally I listen to the whole interview before blogging but things are a bit backlogged right now. From what I did hear, Tedesco touches on topics in this interview such as the 2009 and 2011 elections, the change in the student assignment policy and the hiring of Superintendent Tony Tata.

Tedesco stumped for Heather Losurdo in the runoff election. He was critical of school board member Kevin Hill, saying he's "been part of the problem for 35 years, not part of the solution."

"If they bring him back, what he'd like to institute is a new busing system for student assignment based on busing for test scores and quotas at every one of the schools and restrict choice for our families," Tedesco said of Hill. "That's just not what we're about so it's going to be a battleground here the next couple of weeks in Wake County. We'll see how that plays out."

Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo is promoting "the choice is clear" message with this palm card that says she's for neighborhood schools and incumbent Kevin Hill is for forced busing.

The palm card does a compare and contrast saying Losurdo supports "the new Bi-Partisan Assignment Plan passed by the School Board." It also says the plan will "end Forced Busing," "expand parental choice" and "stabilize assignments."

In contrast, the palm card says Hill "was one of only two Board members to oppose the Bi-Partisan Plan." It also says Hill "championed Forced Busing throughout his career" and "ignored Parental and community concerns about where their children go to school."

The card also says that Hill "as chairman, led a period of turmoil and public dissatisfaction with the Board's arrogant policies." Hill's supporters are just as likely to level these same charges at the current board majority.

The conservative Wake Community Network is going two years in the past to attack Wake County school board member Kevin Hill's re-election bid.

In Tuesday's Daily Journal, Joey Stansbury points back to how Hill had made a big deal in 2009 about the National School Boards Association’s Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) giving Wake an award for its diversity efforts.

"They say a picture is worth 1000 words," Stansbury writes. "In this case a picture is worth thousands of reaassigned (sic) children. In this photo, Kevin Hill presents the National School Boards Association Council of Urban Boards of Education's Award to the Wake County Board of Education."

Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo unveiled a new political ad today that implies that re-electing incumbent Kevin Hill will lead to more "forced busing" and children going to school in the darkness.

The ad, which will appear on television starting Thursday, is titled "From Forced Busing to Parental Choice." It opens with a picture of students boarding a bus in the dark above the caption "Raleigh NC 6:50 AM."

Narrator: “For years, Wake County children have been bused many miles from their homes. Now there is a new bi-partisan plan that will stop forced busing and enhance parental choice. But will the new board keep the momentum going or will they lose the opportunity for a bold new beginning?"

UPDATE

If you're having problems viewing the video, click here.

Was U.S. Education Arne Duncan trying to influence voters to back Wake County school board member Kevin Hill in the runoff election?

As noted in today's article by Jane Stancill, Duncan called the Oct. 11 election results "very positive" and said he's watching the runoff "very closely." He also said the elections "maybe an opportunity to move in a more positive direction."

The fact that Duncan promoted results that could lead to Democrats regaining the board majority prompted Republican board vice chairman John Tedesco to say that the secretary's visit to Raleigh was no coincidence.

Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo is calling the Nov. 8 runoff election a battle to decide whether there will be "forced busing" in the district.

In an interview today on the Bill LuMaye Show on WPTF, Losurdo told the conservative talk show host that "there is a very clear choice on Nov. 8th." She then pointed to Kevin Hill's no vote on the student assignment plan as an example of what will happen if Democrats regain the board majority.

"With the four people who were elected to office on Oct. 11th, you can be sure that if my opponent wins this race there will be forced busing in Wake County," Losurdo said. "And he made that very clear in a nice bipartisan vote on this new assignment policy, that is family friendly and gives parents choice for proximity schools, that he would not vote for it."

Democrats are now using Wake County school board vice chairman John Tedesco as a campaign issue to help boost Kevin Hill's re-election bid over Heather Losurdo.

In an e-mail message today to Democrats, Wake County Democratic Party Chairman Mack Paul writes that "if Heather Losurdo wins, it means John Tedesco ascends to the chairmanship of the Wake County School Board."

In writing about what Tedesco's elevation to chair would mean, Paul rips into Tedesco for his Tea Party remarks about "bringing conservative values to education.” Paul also brings up Stephen Colbert's satirical attack on Tedesco on Comedy Central.

Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo says she's "thrilled" to receive the Wake Schools Community Alliance's endorsement in the runoff election.

In a statement Saturday, Losurdo called the WSCA endorsement "a major indication that Republicans, Democrats and independents are coming together" in the bid to oust incumbent Kevin Hill.

These upbeat words are a sharp contrast to the negative remarks traded backed and forth by supporters of Losurdo and the WSCA before Oct. 11. Both groups were saying some pretty harsh things about each other back when the WSCA was endorsing Jennifer Mansfield over Losurdo.