For those of you who haven't read it yet, the latest issue of the liberal Independent Weekly has a not very flattering account of how some staff members say former Wake County Schools Superintendent Tony Tata berated and belittled them.

The article by Will Huntsberry quotes named and unnamed current and former Central Office staffers who accuse Tata of leading by using tactics of fear and intimidation. The article comes as members of the Democratic board majority have charged that Tata's relations with staff were one of the reasons they fired him.

One example in the Indy article is how former staffer Meredith Weinstein complained that she, a person with a Ph.D. was "told I'm not allowed to speak unless spoken to or interrupt him." She also charged that, rather than motivating them to do well, Tata essentially threatened them they could be replaced.

Democratic members of the Wake County school board were under the gun Tuesday to justify their decision to fire Superintendent Tony Tata.

As noted in today's article, Democratic members got far more explicit about their reasons for firing Tata than they did last week. At the same time, members of the audience and the Republican board members ripped into the board majority for its decision.

School board chairman Kevin Hill set the tone for the Democratic response during his opening comments.

Congratulations to Rene Herrick, who learned this morning that she's been named the North Carolina North Central Regional Teaccher of the Year.

Herrick, who teaches fourth-grade at Combs Elementary School, was named Wake County's Teacher of the Year in May. This new award means she's now a finalist for the state Teacher of the Year award.

Herrick was praised for going above and beyond to help her students. She spends countless hours of her own time on weeknights and weekends with her students, taking them to movies and attending their events.

René Herrick, a fourth-grader teacher at Combs Elementary School in Raleigh, was named Wake County’s 2009 Teacher of the Year on Thursday.

Herrick, a teacher for five years, was praised for her active involvement in the lives of her students. She tutors students after-school.With her husband, who is also a teacher, she takes students on outings to movies and restaurants.

Her supporters stressed how much Herrick cares about her students.