Are Kenn Gardner and Stan Norwalk as dangerous to education or to your pocketbooks as critics claim?

As noted in today's article, some inflammatory things are being said by the candidates and their backers in that contested race for county commissioner. Many of those accusations revolve around how both men would deal with school funding if they're elected next week.

"Stan Norwalk will give the school system a blank check," said Kathleen Brennan, a co-founder of Wake CARES, which is backing Gardner. "Norwalk basically supports everything the school system wants."

The magnet parents at Daniels Middle School made an unsuccessful pitch to the school board today to save its magnet program.

These parents, from Cary and Apex, were miffed when told by the board that the Oct. 7 decision to demagnetize Daniels was final. They questioned how such an important decision could be made before giving the public a chance to comment.

The Daniels' parents are being treated differently than those at Lincoln Heights, Olds, Root and Wake Forest elementary schools when they were demagnetized.

Broughton High School is keeping its magnet program.

The school board unanimously voted today to keep Broughton as an International Baccalaureate magnet school. The vote came after intense lobbying by Broughton parents, which board members acknowledged, to save the magnet program.

Board members stressed the strong academic quality of Broughton's IB program.

UPDATE

The school board has also voted to keep the IB program at Enloe High School. While Enloe's magnet status was never in danger, Lori Millberg questioned whether it needed to be both a GT and IB school.

The school board has some major decisions to make on Tuesday that could impact even a one-year reassignment plan.

A lot rides on which new schools and renovation projects stay on track or are delayed due to the borrowing crunch. More changes could occur depending on the review of the magnet secondary schools.

One big question is whether the school board should go ahead with the $62.8 million renovation project at Wake Forest-Rolesville High School. While delaying the project would save a lot of money, it could create other problems.

Several different options were discussed on Tuesday for providing families with more access to traditional-calendar schools.

It's just, as noted in today's article, that switching Baucom and Green Hope elementary schools back to a traditional calendar were what got the school board's support. But staff brought up two other options.

For instance, Chuck Dulaney, assistant superintendent for growth and planning, had an option that would have created more traditional-calendar seats in Knightdale.

Wake is pulling the plug on the magnet program at Daniels Middle School.

The school board voted 5-3 to phase out Daniels' magnet program, but no timetable was announced today. Board members said they feel that Daniels, located off Oberlin Road near Cameron Village, will be in good shape even without a magnet program.

The board ran out of time before it could discuss the magnet high schools or any of the other magnet middle schools. They'll resume the issue at the Oct. 21 meeting.

Will the school board pull the plug on Broughton High School's magnet program today?

As noted in today's article, Broughton will get some scrutiny when the board reviews the magnet middle and high schools. On the district's magnet reviews, Broughton has a low ranking when it comes to accomplishing the magnet goals of reducing high concentrations of poverty and promoting student diversity.

But options other than demagnetization are also expected to be discussed.

Sixth-grade centers are officially on the table to deal with overcrowding in some middle schools.

Chuck Dulaney, assistant superintendent for growth and planning, proposed today delaying the 2009 opening of Alston Ridge Elementary in Cary to serve as a sixth-grade center for West Cary Middle School.

He also suggested delaying the 2009 opening of Herbert Akins Road Elementary in Fuquay-Varina to serve as the sixth-grade center for Holly Ridge and Fuquay-Varina middle schools.

There's going to be at least one new school board member next year.

Lori Millberg says she won't seek a second term, citing the impact of the long hours on her family. She's telling people now so they can get ready for the race in October 2009.

Click here for the online story.

If Wake pulls the uncoversion trigger, it's looking pretty good that Baucom Elementary School will be on the list.

As noted in today's article, several school board members say that Baucom would be a lkely school to switch back to a traditional calendar. A school in Knightdale also probably would rank. But after that it's pretty uncertain.

"Baucom keeps coming to the foreground," said school board member Patti Head.