How much detail should the new Wake County school board majority provide before going ahead with the development of the new community-based assignment system?

As noted in today's article, members of the majority say it was not necessary to roll out dollar estimates and details before the resolution was put up for a vote Tuesday. But critics of the resolution say those details should have been provided first.

“I'm kind of tired of talking about a vision; I want a price tag to go with that vision," said Yevonne Brannon, charwoman of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition.

You might have thought you were attended a 1960s civil rights protest instead of a Wake County school board meeting on Tuesday.

As noted in today's article, critics of the community-based school assignment resolution steeped their language and actions around themes that wouldn't have been out of place for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to have used.

The Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP, led many in the audience in singing "We Shall Overcome" during the meeting. Once the board recessed after the vote on the resolution, Barber led the crowd in "Don't Let Nobody Turn You 'Round," another civil rights anthem.

SEE END OF POST FOR UPDATE WITH LINK TO OPEN LETTER SENT BY BARBER TO WAKE SCHOOL BOARD CHAIRMAN RON MARGIOTTA. 

Amid all the higher profile stuff at today's Wake County school board meeting are a pair of items that could affect who the board listens to and how they operate.

The board is scheduled to give final approval today to a policy change that would allow new board members to remove people on their board advisory councils. The board will also discuss today during the COW meeting changing board meeting times.

Both changes are being pushed by members of the new board majority.

Americans for Prosperity is joining the call in urging supporters of the new Wake County school board majority to speak out at Tuesday's board meeting

In an e-mail message, AFP asks people to speak out on the community-based school assignment resolution. Similar calls have been made by the Wake County Republican Party and the Wake Schools Community Alliance/John Tedesco.

Here's the message from Dallas Woodhouse, state director of the conservative group, minus the portion that talks about Tuesday's Raleigh City Council meeting:

Wake County school board member John Tedesco and the Wake Schools Community Alliance are teaming up to marshal public support for the community-based school assignment resolution.

Both Tedesco and the WSCA are urging members of the public to contact board members to let them know they support the resolution. They're also urging people to show up and speak at Tuesday's school board meeting.

"Let's show everyone that we are all ready to do the work necessary to make academic success a reality for ALL Wake children," says the WSCA's steering committee in an e-mail message sent Saturday to supporters.

Supporters of Project Enlightenment are hoping that the program's potential budget cuts won't be lost amid all the talk about calendars and student assignment policy.

As noted in today's article, parents and preschool directors are worried that Project Enlightenment will take a major hit when the superintendent's budget proposal for the 2010-11 fiscal year is presented Tuesday. More than 1,000 people have joined a "Save Project Enlightenment" Facebook group.

Project Enlightenment is part of the Central Services budget for the upcoming year that Supt. Del Burns ordered in November be cut by $20 million.

Critics of the new Wake County school board majority and their plan to end the diversity policy just hate John Tedesco.

As noted in today's article by Lynn Bonner, Tedesco's name was invoked by protesters at Saturday's 4th annual Historic Thousands on Jones Street rally organized by the state NAACP. Fears about resegregation caused by neighborhood schools was a major theme of the rally.

“Hey-hey, ho-ho, John Tedesco’s got to go,” some shouted, as Duke University historian Tim Tyson led marchers in a chant aimed at Tedesco.

It looks like the world will hear about what's happening in the Wake County school system in the Sunday edition of The New York Times.

The Old Grey Lady has posted the story on its web site today. It isn't nearly as glowing about the school system as compared the 2005 Sunday front-page story about the diversity policy.

“My feeling is that it’s very important for people in Wake to drive over to Charlotte and see what’s happened,” said Gary Orfield, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who studies school busing, in the article.

Bob Geary is hoping Wake County school board member Debra Goldman will vote against the resolution calling for community-based assignments.

In a blog post late Friday for the liberal Independent weekly, Geary describes the resolution as a case of "in short, the new majority, or at least four of its five members, are chomping at the bit to junk the current policy of balanced student assignments."

Geary calls the resolution an attempt by school board chairman Ron Margiotta to "go around" Wednesday's decision by Goldman not to second the student assignment policy changes during the policy committee meeting.

By the end of Tuesday, the Wake County school board could oust Supt. Del Burns, approve a resolution calling for community-based school assignments, approve calendar conversions and name the Civitas Institute as a provider for board member training.

As noted in today's article, Tuesday is looking to be a long day for the school board. One definite hot topic is the resolution establishing a board directive for community-based school assignments.

You can essentially view it as the blueprint for the direction the new board majority wants to take.