John Tedesco defended today his decision to run for state schools superintendent and potentially leave his Wake County school board seat early.

In today's edition of the Called2Action radio show, conservative talk show host Steve Noble and guest Steve Henion asked whether it's appropriate for elected officials to run for higher office and leave their terms early. Since Tedesco was one of the examples highlighted, he called in to explain his decision to run for superintendent.

Tedesco said he felt he could do more to serve children as superintendent than he could on the school board, especially now that he's in the minority. Tedesco said he'd work to find a school board replacement to run next year if he become superintendent or to run for reelection if he loses this year.

The quick summary of the message from Thursday night's meeting is that neighborhood schools and political conservatism are bad.

As noted in today's article, the teens of N.C. HEAT argued that neighborhood schools will lead to resegregation and that the Wake County school board majority is controlled by conservative groups. The teens didn't have nice words to say about Steve Noble, chairman of Called2Action, and conservative businessmen Art Pope and Bob Luddy.

Enloe High student Robert Wright said the school board's policy is being set by Called2Action and Pope. He said members of the board majority are "puppets used by conservative organizations."

Can either side claim the high moral ground in the Wake County school diversity fight?

As noted in today's article, the various Christian leaders allying with the state NAACP to restore the old diversity policy are arguing they're on the side of good. Terms like evil and Jim Crow were bandied about at Tuesday's press conference on the July 20 mass march.

“We're here today to fight against something that is extremely evil,” said the Rev. John Mendez on behalf of the General Baptist State Convention of N.C., whose 400,000 members represent the largest black denomination in the state. “We would not be here today if evil was not pervasive. But there is something evil because it is divisive.”

This is admittedly more of a state issue, but the ramifications are obvious for Wake County.

As noted in today's article by Lynn Bonner, the state Department of Public Instruction is considering a new social studies curriculum in which U.S. history in 11th-grade would only cover 1877 to the present. Currently, it covers 1789 to the present.

State education officials have been under siege since Fox News reported on the change on Wednesday. People have been in an uproar over the exclusion of the Founding Fathers and the Civil War from the class.

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Called2Action is answering the call to stand behind the new Wake County school board majority.

In an ActionGram sent Thursday, Called2Action leader Steve Noble says the conservative Christian group's members need to support the new school board. He's urging people to pray for the school board, especially chairman Ron Margiotta, and to attend the Tuesday rally being organized by N.C. Americans for Prosperity.

Margiotta is a member of Called2Action.