The John Locke Foundation is pitching a new checklist for voters to use when deciding which school board candidates to vote for this year.

The 28-question checklist touches on a variety of areas. Some of the questions may have a more conservative bent, which isn't surprising considering who put the list together.

Here are some of the questions:

Today marks the last day of the Beverley Clark era on the school board.

Clark said the one thing she'll consider to be her biggest legacy will be her advocacy for equity for older schools. As noted in today's article, Clark was a strong proponent of making sure that older schools got renovations to bring them closer to par with new schools.

"There are still schools that are quite old that need to be addressed," Clark said. "But we're closing the gap."

For every policy, a study.

Advocates of clean electricity have been saying for years how much the state would gain economically if Progress Energy and Duke Energy were forced to shift from coal-burning power plants and nuclear power to solar, wind, biomass and energy conservation programs.

Now free-market advocates are making the opposite claim. Promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency will cost this state nearly 3,600 jobs and raise electricity rates by $1.8 billion, according to a study issued last week by the Beacon Hill Institute in Boston and with the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh.

"Many parties have voiced concerns that requiring a certain level of renewable energy generation would have too great an impact on electric rates, as renewable generation costs more than conventional generation," the report states. "By mandating the sale of renewable sources of electricity, the state is essentially compelling the sale and use of more expensive electricity at higher prices relative to conventional energy."

The John Locke Foundation is not exactly a great fan of the Wake school system, but they're showing the district some love on a new web site, NCTransparency.com.

Wake was graded today "the most transparent school system in the state" by the Locke Foundation, receiving a B. No other district got above a C.

"We've got to give Wake its due when it deserves it," said Terry Stoops, education policy analyst for the Locke Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Raleigh.

You guys may want to say hello to Gerald Grant, who viewed the blog Thursday before speaking at Quail Ridge Books & Music on his new book "Hope and Despair in the American City: Why There Are No Bad Schools in Raleigh."

In front of around 100 people, Grant forcefully articulated his support for Wake's diversity policy. Citing a February article, he took Dana Cope, leader of the Children's PAC, to task for saying, "how dare they use my children for a social experiment that has gone wrong and needs replacing."

"The experiment has not gone wrong as Dana Cope says," Grant said. "It doesn't need to be replaced. It needs to be replicated."

If you missed last week's article, Wake may have to raise school breakfast and lunch prices.

Food and labor costs are going up, according to Marilyn Moody, senior director for child nutrition. She said there's also been a big drop in sales of a la carte items, the things that balance the budget.

But the reason that drew the most questions at a school board committee meeting earlier this month is that more families are applying for federally subsidized lunches.

A fiscal-policy analyst with the libertarian John Locke Foundation in Raleigh said Durham County's proposed 1 percent sales tax on prepared food is a bad idea.

"Unconscionable," even, according to Joseph Coletti, who released a harsh statement criticizing the prepared-food tax on Tuesday.

How much should be spent on renovations in the next bond issue, especially when it comes to issues of equity?

As noted in today's article, those are among the difficult questions that will have to be answered as the school board formulates the next capital improvement plan and bond issue.

“We need to have expectations for our older schools that have been around for a generation or two," said Kevin Hill, vice chairman of the school board.

Wake got a mediocre grade for parent friendliness in a new report issued by the John Locke Foundation.

Wake got a grade of C on the report. None of the state's 115 districts got better than a B+ on "The Parental Prerogative: How ‘parent-friendly’ are school districts in North Carolina?"

The report was put together by Terry Stoops, an occasional poster here and an education policy analyst for the Locke Foundation. One thing to keep in mind is that the Locke Foundation is pretty critical of the state's public education system.