Does the school system need more money or should it just work with what it now gets?
That's a key dividing point in the District 9 school board race. Lois Nixon argues that Wake is underfunded while Debra Goldman says that's not the case.
Similar arguments are being made in the other school board races.
UPDATE
Click here for today's District 9 article by Thomas Goldsmith.
The non-WSCA school board candidates are complaining about the alleged tactics of their opponents.
Karen Simon's campaign says that their campaign signs on Lumley Road in Brier Creek were removed while those for Deborah Prickett remained. it's being called a case of "unsportsmanlike behavior."
Last week, Democratic political consultant Perry Woods said four Debra Goldman signs were put in County Commissioner Stan Norwalk's front yard while he was hosting an event for candidate Lois Nixon.
The N&O's editorial board has announced its endorsements in today's newspaper.
The editorial board is backing Rita Rakestraw in District 1, Horace Tart in District 2, Karen Simon in District 7 and Lois Nixon in District 9. The editorial notes, among other things, how the four candidates support the diversity policy.
The editorial board is not connected to the newsroom's coverage of the school board races. They don't tell us what to write and we don't tell them.
The editorial board's endorsements mirror those of Wake NCAE, BiggerPicture4Wake, the Independent and the Wake County Democratic Party. The one exception is that the Dems aren't backing a candidate in District 2.
If you missed Wednesday's countywide school board candidate forum, you've got another chance next week.
Former Wake County Commissioner Phil Jeffreys has organized a forum for Thursday. While Jeffreys was a harsh critic of the school board during his time in office, he's recruited a majority of the candidates to attend.
SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST
Wake school board candidate Debra Goldman is not happy that she was unable to have her opening and closing statements read at Wednesday's forum.
Goldman said that she stayed away from the forum because she has "influenza like symptoms" and didn't want to risk infecting anyone. She had asked that a representative be allowed to read her statements along with those of the nine candidates who did attend the forum.
But Maryanne Olsen, voter services chairwoman of the League of Women Voters of Wake County, which ran the event, said it's always been their policy to only allow candidates speak at events.
The Independent has announced its endorsements for Wake County school board and is warning what could happen if the opposition wins.
In today's Indy, the weekly is backing Rita Rakestraw in District 1, Horace Tart in District 2, Karen Simon in District 7 and Lois Nixon in District 9. The list is identical to the endorsements made by Wake NCAE, BiggerPicture4Wake and, except for Tart, for the Wake County Democratic Party.
The Indy doesn't have kind things to say about the candidates endorsed by the Wake Schools Community Alliance and the Wake County Republican Party. They warn of the end of the diversity policy and underfunding of schools should that slate win.
UPDATE
Click here to read the Indy endorsements.
School board candidate Lois Nixon is touting her leadership skills and her endorsements in a mailer sent out last week to District 9 voters.
The mailer includes testimonials from several people saying why they are endorsing Nixon. The four on the mailer are former Wake County Commissioner Bob Heater, retired Wake teacher Anne Kratzer, former Cary Town Council member Marla Dorrel and former Cary High Principal David Coley.
It's safe to say that those who attended Wednesday's District 9 forum clearly saw a difference between the two school board candidates.
As noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, Debra Goldman tried to portray Lois Nixon as "old-guard status quo." Goldman said Western Wake students have been "abused" by repeated reassignments and disputed the idea that more money is the solution to the district's problems.
While Nixon said the board needs to be "more family friendly," she generally praised the school district. Nixon noted how the school system had put Wake on many best places to live lists while also saying the district is underfunded.
Both candidates also disagreed over how much year-round schools has helped the district.
Today's your chance to see Debra Goldman and Lois Nixon go one on one in a District 9 school board candidate forum.
The forum, sponsored by the Wake Education Partnership and the Cary Chamber of Commerce, will take place at noon at the chamber's offices, 307 N. Academy Street. The 90-minute forum is open to the public.
If you can't make it to Cary, NBC 17 is supposed to stream the forum live. Whether you can watch the forum after the event remains to be seen.
The 30-day pre-election campaign finance reports for Wake school board candidates are trickling in.
Candidates who intend to spend more than $3,000 have to have their report postmarked by today. As of this morning, five reports were in at the Wake Board of Elections.
The most interesting reports tell who is backing incumbent Horace Tart and challenger Cathy Truitt in the District 2 race. John Tedesco's report hadn't been in as of this morning.
