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. 

Wednesday's Wake County school board policy committee discussion had a lot of emotion and some colorful statements.

As noted in today's article, the committee rejected proposed student assignment policy changes that would eliminate all references to diversity in favor of making neighborhood schools a priority. The action came after a good deal of discussion on the role of diversity in student assignment.

It culminated in committee chairwoman Debra Goldman getting applause from the crowd, which had several members of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, after she didn't second the motion to recommend the changes.

Here's a quick recap of the highlights of today's Wake County school board policy committee discussion.

New school board member Chris Malone didn't get a second for his motion to recommend approval of changes to the student assignment policy that would eliminate all references to diversity while making neighborhood schools a priority.

Debra Goldman, chairwoman of the committee, was again the swing vote. She said she coudln't second the motion because there needs to be more discussion about the policy before they make a recommendation.

SEE END OF POST FOR SUTTON'S COMPROMISE POLICY. CORRECTED TO REFLECT THAT POLICY DIDN'T PASS BECAUSE OF A LACK OF A SECOND

Wake County Schools Superintendent Del Burns may be staying on through June 30 after all despite the lobbying from some groups to remove him now.

As noted in today's article, the school board spent 90 minutes in closed session on Tuesday discussing Burns before recessing the meeting until the morning of March 2. There was speculation from some that Burns would be out as early as Tuesday.

Board members confirmed that one option on the table is to allow Burns to stay on through June 30, presumably with the understanding he wouldn't publicly voice any other disagreements with board policy while still on the job.

How much is it worth it for the new Wake County school board majority to get rid of Superintendent Del Burns before June 30?

As noted in today's article, the board majority says it wants to work with him through the end of June 30. But there's another option available.

In Burns' contract, there's a provision that says that once he submits written notice of resignation the board can choose to unilaterally terminate him immediately. (The contract I've posted is the original from 2006 but school board attorney Ann Majestic said the language is still there.)

Critics of the new Wake County school board majority are in an uproar over Del Burns' resignation as superintendent.

As noted in today's article, Burns' surprise resignation announcement was met with shock by all sides. But for those fighting the new board majority, the shock was mixed with fear about what would happen without Burns at the helm.

"It makes my stomach hurt. It frightens me as a parent," said parent Vickie Adamson, who was ruled out of order by board chair Ron Margiotta for saying Burns left because he was unhappy.

Forest Ridge High is now dead as a Wake County school site.

The school board voted 5-4 tonight to abandon Forest Ridge and direct staff to pursue two alternatives in Rolesville proposed by Rolesville Mayor Frank Eagles. The new majority wasn't deterred by warnings from staff it could cost an additional $15.4 million to switch sites.

You could soon see some major shakeups in the membership of the Wake County school board advisory councils.

The policy committee recommended on Wednesday a policy change that says members of the board advisory councils need to be reinstated after new school board members take office. It's a major change from current policy in which BAC members serve until their terms expire, which can run for up to three years.

The change is important considering the differences in opinions between most new school board members and their predecessors.

It looks like you're out of luck if you were hoping that the new Wake County school board majority would quickly blow up the diversity policy.

As noted in today's article, it's still the intention of the new majority to change the student assignment policy to move toward neighborhood schools/community schools. But Debra Goldman, chairwoman of the policy committee, said it's going to be a process that will take several meetings to produce changes in Policy 6200.

"This is the beginning of the discussion,” Goldman said at Wednesday's policy committee meeting. “This is not a discussion that’s going to be wrapped up in one or two meetings.”