The Wake County Republican Party has got a new campaign jingle that could have ramifications on funding for the school system.

In this radio ad for the four GOP candidates for county commissioner, the phrase "Gurley, Coble, Bryan, Matthews, they’re the ones who won’t raise taxes" is repeated several times.

"If you want the conservatives, who’ll keep spending down and won’t raise taxes, that would be Tony Gurley, Paul Coble, Joe Bryan and Phil Matthews," according to the radio spot.

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.

Both Wake County Commissioner Paul Coble and challenger Jack Nichols are talking about education in their campaign material.

In a television ad, Coble, a Republican, introduces himself and says "we all want our tax dollars spent wisely to strengthen the economy and create new jobs." He adds that "I've stopped over $40 million of wasteful spending and reinvested it in our schools to make them stronger."

In this campaign mailer, Nichols, a Democrat, asks "what's going on with education in Wake County?" He says he'll "restore sanity and civility." He promotes a "third way."

UPDATED WITH COLOR VERSION OF NICHOLS' MAILER

Here's the text of Coble's other TV ad:

"I'm Paul Coble. My daughters got a great education in the Wake County school system. In tough times I've worked hard to make sure our schools were a top priority and pass a budget that will help keep our schools strong. I'm Paul Coble."

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."

Wake County school board members Ron Margiotta and John Tedesco and county commissioners Tony Gurley, Joe Bryan, Paul Coble and Betty Lou Ward are slated to attend a special showing tonight of the documentary "Waiting for Superman."

Those elected officials are among the nearly 200 people that Parents for Educational Freedom in N.C. says have agreed to attend tonight's free screening and post-film discussion. The Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association is partnering with PEFNC in sponsoring the screening at 6 p.m. at Regal North Hills Stadium 14 in Raleigh.

"The discussion will allow parents and community leaders — including members of the Wake County School Board and the Wake County Board of Commissioners — to share questions and ideas about local educational issues and solutions for reform," according to a PEFNC media advisory.

The Wake Schools Community Alliance announced today that it will host a forum Oct. 20 for candidates for county commissioner to discuss the Wake County school system.

The WSCA says discussion topics will include funding for school operations and construction, the role of mandatory year-round in addressing school capacity issues, the commissioners' 2010-11 legislative agenda regarding schools and the relationship between the commissioners and school board.

The public is invited to attend the forum, which will be held next Wednesday from 7:15 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Bond Park Community Center in Cary. The WSCA is setting up ground rules such as audience members not being allowed to bring signs or ask questions directly to candidates during the forum.

Former Wake County Superintendent Del Burns is stepping back into the public eye to issue candidate endorsements and to speak out on the state of the school system.

In a press release today, Jack Nichols, a Democratic candidate for Wake County commissioner, announced he's been endorsed by three former Wake superintendents, including Burns. Nichols has been a harsh critic of the Republican majority on the school board and is running against Republican incumbent Paul Coble

"Jack Nichols is a consensus builder, and understands that when it comes to our children and our tax dollars, we must make decisions based on data and research, not ideologically driven agendas,” Burns said in the press release.

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST

Supporters of the old diversity policy are holding a pair of forums next week for candidates for the Wake County Board of Commissioners.

Schools will be among the topics at Monday’s forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Wake County and WakeUP Wake County. Other topics will include water supply, public transit, revenue and growth.

The forum will run from 7 to 9 p.m. at Temple Beth Or, 5315 Creedmoor Rd. in North Raleigh. The N.C. Center for Voter Education will air it live online at www.voterradio.com and also for replay as a podcast.

The Democratic majority on the Wake County board of commissioners gave their official disapproval Monday to the plans of the Republican majority on the school board to go to community-based schools.

As noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, the board of commissioners approved in a party line vote a resolution that formally expressed “deep concern over any attempt to resegregate Wake’s public schools by either race or socioeconomic status.”

“Segregate, segregate, segregate is what you are doing!” said Democratic Commissioner Harold Webb of the new school board's elimination of the socioeconomic diversity policy.

On the heels of hearing William Sanders present the SAS EVAAS report, Wake County commissioners may next hear from Richard Kahlenberg.

As noted in a recent article by Thomas Goldsmith, Commissioner Stan Norwalk successfully got a motion approved last week to explore bringing Kahlenberg in to make a presentation. Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, has been a strong supporter of Wake's diversity policy.

After last fall's school board election, Kahlenberg made a pitch for a controlled-choice diversity model in lieu of going to neighborhood schools.