In a moment loaded with symbolism, school board chairman Kevin Hill took the unusual step of briefly turning the gavel over today to vice chairman Horace Tart to present the CUBE award to the school board.

Hill traveled to Texas earlier this month, just days after the board election, to accept the award from the National School Boards Association’s Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE). Wake got the award for its diversity efforts.

Hill, from the speakers' podium, called the receipt of the award one of the proudest moments in his time on the school board.

Cathy Truitt's decision to concede the election on Monday puts the likely new school board majority in good shape to run the show for four years.

As noted in today's article, the school board's approach of electing members by district instead of countywide will make it hard for the other side to regain control in 2011. It's ironic considering that supporters of current board polices have been the ones who most fought against at-large elections.

As it now stands, three of the board seats in 2011 are held by supporters of the diversity policy. The only one that they could pick up to flip the board is the District 8 seat held by Ron Margiotta.

While there's been some talk about Ron Margiotta becoming the new school board chairman, it probably won't happen quite that soon.

Kevin Hill said he's planning to stay on as chairman until at least June when his term expires. He said he feels he can work with the new board members.

But what could happen is Margiotta being elected vice chairman in December when Horace Tart, who lost his reelection bid, leaves the board. The new vice chairman would sit in on board agenda meetings with Supt. Del Burns and in leadership meetings with the county commissioners.

The question on the minds of a lot of people is whether the new school board will live up to campaign promises about neighborhood schools, year-round schools and ending the diversity policy.

Some people are anxiously hoping for the changes to come while others are dreading the future. But as noted in today's article, the new board members aren't sure yet how they'll turn their promises into reality so they're urging parents to give them some time.

"We haven't had neighborhood schools in such a long time that we have to see what we have in our neighborhoods," said new board member Deborah Prickett.

The Wake school system is getting a fresh round of national recognition for its diversity efforts.

Wake learned this week it will receive a special recognition award from the National School Boards Association’s Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE). Wake got the recognition for its "outstanding achievements and continued progress" after being nominated for CUBE's Annual Award for Urban School Board Excellence.

"The judges felt the (Wake} school board's commitment to diversity should be really recognized," said Katrina Kelley, director of the CUBE program.

At her final regular meeting, school board members lavished Beverley Clark with praise.

While Clark will stay on through Aug. 14, Tuesday was her last regular meeting after 9 1/2 years on the board. One after another, board members and Supt. Del Burns praised Clark for her service.

"You have always sought consensus where possible, but you have also always held to your vision of what our schools and school system should aspire to become," said school board chairman Kevin Hill as he read from a letter written by the board members to Clark. "That clarity has benefitted our board, our schools, and our children well. It is a voice that will be missed."

For what could be the only time in his/her life, the new school board member for District 4 could see what it's like to speak to board members while under the clock.

Board members agreed Tuesday to give each of the nine applicants 30 minutes to answer questions at today's meeting. The plan is to put the applicants on the same timer in the board room that measures how long people have to speak during public comment sessions.

That was one of the things that came up during a fairly lengthy discussion about the ground rules that would be used during the interview and selection process.

UPDATE: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE AT END OF POST

Don't be surprised if your child's school web site seems a little slow updating with new information.

It turns out that a lot of the technology faciliators who served as school webmasters were among the 1,496 employees who weren't rehired when their contracts expired June 30. School administrators said at Tuesday's school board facilities committee meeting that they're giving emergency training to new webmasters.

In addition, Paul Cory, the webmaster for the district's web site, has been helping schools get to back-to-school info on their sites.

Ready or not, we're about the begin the era of weekly Wednesday early dismissals.

As noted in today's article, year-round schools this week will be the first to begin sending students home early each Wednesday. They're arguably the guinea pigs that will test things out before traditional-calendar schools start in late August.

The one thing that's not in doubt is that Wednesdays aren't going to be the same.

The "Grade Doctor" won't be making any house calls to Wake County.

As noted in today's article, school administrators have broken off contract negotiations with education consultant Ken O'Connor, who calls himself "The Grade Doctor." Administrators had been hoping to hire him to speak with teachers as part of the district's review of middle school and high school grading practices.

At a cost of as much as $6,000 a day for up to eight days, the contract negotiations had become controversial.