Will the state NAACP be able to make a 45-minute presentation at a Wake County school board meeting in January?

The Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP, made the request for the time in an open letter sent Tuesday to school board chairman Ron Margiotta. Barber said he wanted to "spell out the NAACP's analysis and suggestions for making Wake County Schools live out the promises of our children’s constitutional protections."

Margiotta hasn't indicated yet whether the board will accommodate the request.

For those who haven't been watching the meeting, here's an update since the last post.

The school board pulled the mandatory year-round resolution off the table after administrators raised capacity concerns. It's looking far less likely they'll make any headway on ending mandatory year-round beginning in 2010-11.

The board voted 5-4 against putting on the Jan. 5 agenda a resolution to request bids for the audit of legal services. That new resolution would have invalidated the resolution approved Dec. 1 for attorney Thomas Farr to do the audit.

The scope of the Wake County school calendar survey is being scaled back.

Instead of surveying parents of all 140,000 students as agreed to on Dec. 1, only parents of current elementary and middle school students will be contacted. School board members pointed out that only elementary and middle schools would be impacted if calendar changes are made.

The costs could have been $40,000 higher to also survey parents if high school students.

New Wake County Commissioners Chairman Tony Gurley is pledging a closer working relationship with the school board, assuming he still holds the post by the end of the day.

As noted in today's article, the commissioners will reconvene at 10 a.m. to try to break the 3-3 deadlock on vice chair. But Gurley and Wake Democratic Party Chairman Jack Nichols are expecting the Dems to try to revote on chairman if Harold Webb is able to attend.

Gurley insists that his election on Monday, made possible by Betty Lou Ward's unexcused bathroom break, lasts for the whole year. The Democrats may feel otherwise.

UPDATE

Today's meeting is on Time Warner Cable Channel 11, at least in Raleigh. Click here for the county web site for the link to watch it live online.

Harold Webb is participating by phone. Betty Lou Ward is calling for a revote on chairman. She's threatening to sue if Gurley doesn't allow a revote. Gurley has ruled her out of order, saying they can't go back because of all the actions they did after that vote Monday. County Attorney Scott Warren said he's siding with Gurley that she's out of order but would have to recuse himself in favor of outside counsel if a lawsuit is filed.

With Webb present by phone, it ended on one vote today with Ward being named vice chairwoman by a 4-3 vote over Paul Coble. According to Coble, it was the 129th vote on vice chair.

The new Wake County school board members will have their next round of orientation meetings today, including a review of the legal aspects from board attorney Ann Majestic.

One of the things that Majestic will discuss is the state Open Public Meetings Law. Some questions were raised based on the meetings the new members held before they were sworn in and during the recesses on Tuesday.

But the board could have a new attorney at the end of June.

How much of a role did the hostile crowd at Tuesday's meeting play in the new Wake County school board majority's willingness to compromise?

As noted in today's article, new school bard chairman Ron Margiotta repeatedly warned the crowd that he'd shut down public comment or call in security if they didn't calm down.

School board member Keith Sutton thinks the vocal complaints from the crowd are why the board was willing to accept compromises, especially on the proposed changes to the student assignment policy.

You might want to show up early for today's school board meeting.

Some 200 people are expected to watch in person the four new board members get sworn in. Plus, you've got a lot of people who may show up at the public comment section.

All this will occur while most of the people in the Administration building are still at work. Parking spots will be at a premium.

It's probably unrealistic to expect a new system of neighborhood schools to be in place as early as next school year.

As noted in today's article, new school board members say their eventual goal is to move to neighborhood/commnity-based schools. While folks on the blog probably knew that, it may come as a a surprise to those who thought change would be immediate.

"We will begin to make systemic changes," said new school board member John Tedesco. "It's not going to happen overnight."

The TAP program could get a big boost now that the new school board majority is set to take over on Tuesday.

As noted in today's article, the new majority thinks TAP can help provide incentives for teachers to work at high-poverty schools, which would increase in some areas under neighborhood schools.

It's a shift from how TAP was viewed by the old board as a supplement to the diversity policy. Outgoing board members such as Patti Head had thought of using TAP in schools where the F&R percentages were high despite efforts to balance enrollment.

It looks like he Grand Marquis Ballroom in Garner will be the place to be on Saturday night.

Newly elected school board candidate John Tedesco is organizing a "Victory Ball." He'll be joined at Saturday's celebration by fellow new board members Debra Goldman, Chris Malone and Deborah Prickett.