A retired Wake County principal became today the second person to apply for the district’s open school board seat.

Tom Benton of Zebulon said his 32 years in education would help the often divided Wake County school board. He’s seeking the District 1 seat vacated by Chris Malone that represents Wake Forest, Rolesville and most of eastern Wake.

“I’ve got some useful experience, and I consider myself a consensus builder ... this is a really good opportunity to step in and try to have an impact,” said Benton, 62. “I’m too young to stay at home and do nothing.”

UPDATE

Benton also has a letter from former District 1 school board member Linda Johnson urging the board to appoint him to the position.

Track My Steps is hosting a public forum tonight on the state of education in Eastern Wake County.

Forum organizers say there is a "crisis in public education in eastern Wake County and that they want to "break the silence on education inequality." The forum will focus on the challenges faced by Eastern Wake students and parents in the areas of early education, student discipline, student/parent rights and resources, course selection/availability and student achievement.
 
"Eastern Wake residents are calling for education reform in their part of Wake County to create a better Wake County," according to the press release. "Participants will introduce a plan of action to change the perception of education in Eastern Wake."

The 22 former Wake County school board members who gathered together today were officially diplomatic about the changes being made by the new board majority, but it was clear they were personally unhappy with what's happening.

The former members talked about wanting "to ensure an equal opportunity for a sound basic education for every child in Wake County Public Schools." It was clear from their two-page statement that they feel "equal opportunity" is based on keeping the school district's longstanding busing for diversity efforts.

"For over 30 years, the Wake County Public School System has been a model for school districts around the nation," according to the statement read at today's press conference. "Because research consistently shows that challenges to success for all students in high poverty and racially isolated schools are greater, we have worked hard to prevent the creation of such schools."

UPDATE

Click here for an article in the Independent that lists the statement read by the former school board members..

Fifteen former Wake County school board members have signed a joint letter that supports the diversity policy and urges voters to pick school board candidates Lois Nixon, Rita Rakestraw, Karen Simon and Horace Tart.

In the letter, it argues that Wake has no "bad" schools and that the "opposite of diverse schools is unequal schools." It says that '"community schools' means that 'you' can't come into 'my' community.'"

The signers include recent former members such as Rosa Gill and Beverley Clark. But you also've got names such as Tom Oxholm, Carol Parker, Susan Parry, Wray Stephens and Judy Hoffman.