Fifteen former Wake County school board members have signed a joint letter that supports the diversity policy and urges voters to pick school board candidates Lois Nixon, Rita Rakestraw, Karen Simon and Horace Tart.

In the letter, it argues that Wake has no "bad" schools and that the "opposite of diverse schools is unequal schools." It says that '"community schools' means that 'you' can't come into 'my' community.'"

The signers include recent former members such as Rosa Gill and Beverley Clark. But you also've got names such as Tom Oxholm, Carol Parker, Susan Parry, Wray Stephens and Judy Hoffman.

New Wake County school board member Keith Sutton pledged today to be a leader who will be a strong advocate for the school system.

Sutton said that "despite being recognized as one of the best school systems in the nation," Wake was "one of the best kept secrets in the state." He said Wake can't afford to lose the progress it has made.

Sutton was sworn in this afternoon to fill the District 4 vacancy in Southeast Raleigh caused by Rosa Gill being appointed to Dan Blue's seat in the state House.

The Keith Sutton era officially starts today.

Sutton, legislative affairs program manager for the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, will be sworn in at 3 p.m. as the new school board member for District 4. Sutton was chosen two weeks ago by the other board members to fill Rosa Gill's vacant seat.

BTW, in the final 5-2 vote, Sutton was backed by Beverley Clark, Patti Head, Anne McLaurin, Lori Millberg and Horace Tart. Retired educator Lillian Lee was backed by Eleanor Goettee and Ron Margiota.

I doubt it's going to be a surprise to anyone that Venita Peyton was not among the favorites on Wednesday to fill Rosa Gill's seat on the school board.

As noted in today's article by Ray Martin, Keith Sutton was the board's choice. He was the clear favorite in all three written ballots.

On the first ballot, board members were asked to pick four people on a weighted system with four points for the top choice, three points for the second choice and so on.

Keith Sutton is your newest Wake County school board member.

The school board moved so quickly through the interview process today that the vote wasn't held off until tomorrow. Board members tapped Sutton, legislative affairs program manager for the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, for the District 4 vacancy in Southeast Raleigh.

Sutton will serve out Rosa Gill's term through November 2011. Whether he runs for a full four-year term remains to be seen.

UPDATE

For those who want one-stop shopping, click here for Sutton's application.

The process for filling Beverley Clark's seat on the school board isn't quite as clear cut.

Wake has posted information on its web site on what should be included in the applications before the Aug. 27 deadline. But the district won't officially seek applications until after Clark steps down Aug. 12.

The delayed resignation will allow Clark to participate this week in the vote to fill Rosa Gill's vacant seat.

The person who eventually takes Clark's seat will finish out her term, which expires November 2011. Clark's "Central Raleigh" Distict 6 includes North Hills and the Ridge Road area inside the Beltline.

Barring any holdups, the school board should decide this week who will take Rosa Gill's vacant seat.

The plan is to meet from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday to interview all nine people who want to fill the District 4 opening caused by Gill's appointment to the state House. The board is slated to meet from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday to make a final selection.

The new board member would be sworn in on Aug. 18 and finish out Gill's term, which expires November 2011.

(The applications for all nine candidates are listed in this post.)

Will Beverley Clark became the next school board member to give up her seat?

Rumors are swirling that Clark will resign her seat in August, allowing her to stay on for a little while longer to vote on the applicants for Rosa Gill's vacant seat. Clark has served the longest of any of the board members. She was first elected in 1999.

Clark was non-committal about her intentions.

Lynette Aytch, a director in the state's Smart Start program, became the fourth person to apply for the vacant seat on the school board.

In the application submitted today, Aytch said her four policy priorities would be high quality preschool programs, specialized services for students with disabilities and special learning needs, classroom diversity and inclusion and community and families partnerships.

"The public school system has a social and educational responsibility to advance policy that promotes and sustains classroom diversity and inclusion," Aytch said in her application.

A third former educator, Samuel Greene, wants to fill the vacancy on the school board for the District 4 seat in Southeast Raleigh.

Greene, who spent 33 years as an educator and was a principal at West Millbrook Middle School in North Raleigh, submitted his application today. In addition to his professional experience, he cites his lengthy history of community service.

"As a Wake County Public School board member, I would exhibit a strong commitment to working with other board members towards the common goal of providing the best possible education for the children in our district," Greene writes in his application. "My entire professional career has been in the area of working with children, parents and the community."