As expected, the new Republican majority on the Wake County Board of Commissioners voted 4-3 this evening to rescind the resolution expressing concern about resegregation of the school system.

Paul Coble, newly elected chairman of the board of commissioners, said it was time to remove the "political hammer" that was used by the prior Democratic majority to go after the school board for eliminating the diversity policy.

Coble said that commissioners should have run for the school board if they had wanted to get into student assignment.

UPDATE

By a 4-3 vote, commissioners approved adding lifting or eliminating the cap on charter schools to the board's statewide legislative goals. It was a straight party-line vote after Norwalk unsuccessfully added an amendment saying charter schools should reflect the diversity of the community.

Click here for today's article of the meeting by Thomas Goldsmith.

Capitol Broadcasting CEO Jim Goodmon decided to financially back all four Democratic candidates for Wake County commissioner after all.

A last-minute report for Commissioner Lindy Brown shows that she got $1,000 from Goodmon. It's one of the 48-hour campaign reporting notices that candidates submit if they get at least $1,000 from a donor between the period of the last pre-election report and Election Day.

Previously, Brown had been the only Democrat who hadn't gotten money from Goodmon.

Bob Geary is speculating on what could happen if Democrats win at least one seat today to retain a majority on the Wake County Board of Commissioners.

In an online column today for the liberal Independent weekly, Geary writes that he's optimistic that Democrats are closing the gaps on private polls showing the four GOP candidates in the lead. Geary is speculating that Steve Rao has the best chance of winning of the four Democrats.

(I've heard from both sides in the last week that the Republicans are still ahead in the private polls. Public Policy Polling, which was hired by the Democrats, has said it doesn't plan to release the results.)

Wake CARES has announced that it's endorsing the four Republican candidates for Wake County Board of Commissioners.

The group notes that in 2006 it had endorsed Republicans Joe Bryan, Paul Coble and Tony Gurley and Democrat Lindy Brown. But WAke CARES says only the three Republicans kept their promises on mandatory year-round schools.

"Unfortunately, Brown quickly broke with her campaign promise to support families who could not make the mandatory year round calendar work," Wake CARES says in explaining why they're endorsing Republican Phil Matthews.

All of the final pre-election campaign finance reports are in now and they show that the four Republican candidates for Wake County commissioner have raised more than their Democratic opponents.

Republicans got $48,000 from Art Pope and his family and $31,000 from political action committees for realtors and homebuilders. They also got thousands of dollars from individuals involved in both fields.

Democrats got $13,000 from Jim Goodmon and his wife. Democrats didn't get anywhere close to the Republicans in terms of PAC money. But they did a lot  of individual smaller donations from people who've opposed the school board's elimination of the diversity policy.

Businessmen Art Pope and Jim Goodmon are out in the financial forefront when it comes to backing candidates for Wake County Board of Commissioners.

As noted in today's article, the latest round of campaign reports show that  Pope and his family have given at least $32,000 to Republican candidates for commissioner. Campaign reports also show that Goodmon and his wife have given at least $13,000 to Democratic candidates for commissioner.

“It’s a contributor referendum on the school board,” said Democratic candidate Jack Nichols.

The Independent is calling this year's Wake County Board of Commissioners elections "a referendum on the policies of the Wake school board and its majority of five Republican members."

In this week's issue, the Independent is endorsing all four Democratic candidates for commissioner after having endorsed two of the Republicans in 2006. The liberal weekly says "the (school board) majority is out of control" and that it's the job of the commissioners to reign them in.

"True, the commissioners can't and shouldn't micromanage the school board," the Independent writes. "However, when five members of the school board are acting recklessly while simultaneously shutting out public debate and input from anyone not a card-carrying member of the Republican right wing — including the four other school board members — the commissioners have a duty to step in."

The elimination of the Wake County's socioeconomic diversity policy is the central theme in this fall's battle for control of the Wake County Board of Commissioners.

As noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, incumbent Democratic Commissioner Lindy Brown and Republican challenger Phil Matthews hold sharp differences about the elimination of the diveisity policy. Similiar party splits are playing out in the other three races on the ballot.

Brown said she's concerned that the school board's direction will result in schools with disproportionate numbers of low-income and minority children.

Wake County school board chairman Ron Margiotta laid down the law at Tuesday's commissioners meeting before the vote approving the Rolesville High School site.

As noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, Margiotta came to the meeting to make a public pitch for purchasing the Rolesville site. He told commissioners that any thoughts of rejecting the site to try to force the school board to go back to the Forest Ridge High site would fail.

“Wake County Public Schools will not build H6 on the Forestville Road site,” Margiotta told commissioners.

Whether the Wake County school board can stick with the Rolesville High School site or has to go back to the Forest Ridge High site will be decided today by county commissioners.

Supporters of the Rolesville site are mobilizing for the public comment section of today's meeting before the commissioners vote. They'll be joined by opponents of the site, urged on by County Commissioner Stan Norwalk's call to draw a line in the sand against the school board majority.

One of Norwalk's arguments for going back to Forest Ridge is that the traffic concerns about the site have been resolved. The residents of Chesterfield Village strongly disagree.

UPDATE

County commissioners approved the Rolesville High School land purchase. The vote was 4-3 with Lindy Brown breaking ranks with her fellow Democrats to back the deal. Click here for the online story.