A real estate agent is using the lack of base assignments in Wake County's new student assignment plan to help market homes in Johnston County.

In this blog post today, David O'Doherty talks about the "excellent schools in the Clayton Area" and how "the location of your address is what determines the school your child will go to" in the Johnston County school system. He then notes the situation in "neighbouring" Wake County.

O'Doherty writes how "in Wake Co. you cannot be guaranteed that your child will go to the school around the corner unless you are successful in getting them assigned to that school which is done on a first come first served basis.

How much stock should people place on the new list of the nation's best public high schools that was released this week by U.S. News & World Report.

As noted in today's article, the rankings saw some schools that do well on other lists such as Raleigh Charter High, Enloe High and East Chapel Hill High not getting ranked. Less academically heralded schools such as Garner High and Southern Wake Academy were honored on this new list.

The difference from the lists done by Newsweek and The Washington Post seems to be that U.S. News requires schools to do well with their low-income and minority students.

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.

Dry-lipped Johnston County students can tear up their permission slips — they're no longer needed to bring lip balm to class.

Johnston schools Superintendent Ed Croom on Monday sent a letter to parents informing them that they'll need to write a note only if they don't want their kids to use lip balm, hand sanitizer or sunscreen.

Croom wrote that the change is "an effort to bring clarity to this situation," after some news reports said that a doctor's note was necessary for the items.

Schools spokeswoman Terri Sessoms said officials made the change after talks with the Johnston County Health Department, which established the policy. The health department has authority over public-health issues in government agencies, including schools.

"They felt that it would be simpler for parents who did not want their children to have lip balm to notify the school rather than the other way around," Sessoms said.

The permission requirement stemmed from parent concerns that kids were sharing lip balm — and germs — and that some students were allergic to hand sanitizer.

But the policy caused confusion even before it made news. A newsletter from West View Elementary in the Cleveland community told parents lip balm simply wasn't allowed, and the school's handbook only mentioned medicated lip balm — not the over-the-counter variety most folks use.

Here's a link to The Herald's original story on the issue.

Randy Jordan and Brent Walston are acting athletic directors at Cleveland High and Corinth Holders High. Both schools are expected to open this fall.

Postponements

NCHSAA 1-A/2-A/3-A and 4-A indoor track championships in Chapel Hill, Saturday, Feb. 20

NCHSAA 1-A, 2-A, 3-A and 4-A dual-team wrestling finals. 1-A, 2-A and 4-A have been rescheduled for Sunday, Feb. 14

NCHSAA 1-A/2-A swimming finals, Monday, Feb. 15

Basketball games

Clayton vs. Smithfield-Selma, Monday

Durham Jordan vs. Durham Riverside, Monday

Harnett Central at Garner, Monday

Northern Durham vs. Durham Hillside, Monday

Waccamaw Academy at Raleigh Word of God, TBA

West Johnston at Southeast Raleigh, Monday

The N.C. High School Athletic Association will waive its games per week limit next week and allow teams to play four games in a week. The limit is usually three games. Teams will not be allowed to play on Saturday, though, unless games are postponed next week.

Wake, Johnston postpone events tonight through the weekend

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.

It looks like Horace Tart will have at least one competitor in his bid to be reelected to the District 2 school board seat.

Cathy Truitt, a retired Johnston County principal with three decades of education experience, has announced her candidacy. In an interview in the Garner Citizen, Truitt takes some shots at Wake's reassignment policies and doesn't give Wake high marks for responsiveness to the public.

While Truitt doesn't advocate the complete elimination of busing, she does find that some aspects go too far.

West Johnston boys basketball coach and current deputy superintendent
of Johnston County Schools Shelly Marsh has been selected for the North
Carolina Athletic Directors Association Hall of Fame.