It looks like the closing chapter of the Wake County school board protests could begin on Friday.

As many as 19 of the 30 people arrested for protesting at school board meetings in 2010 are expected to enter guilty pleas under the first-offender program. Among the group who will plead guilty are the Rev. Nancy Petty and Tim Tyson.

I don't know whether the Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP, will be entering a guilty plea.

Unless the judge says no, the protesters would plead guilty and agree to perform a minimum number of hours of community service. If they perform the work within a specified time period, the charges would be dismissed. The protesters could then also ask to have the charges expunged from their records.

It looks like the 30 protesters who were arrested at Wake County school board meetings in 2010 will finally be going to court.

Court dates have been scheduled for four Fridays between March 2 and April 13. Prosecutors grouped the court dates for the defendants based on when they were arrested.

This means the people arrested in March and June 2010 will be in court March 2. This group includes the Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP; the Rev. Nancy Petty, pastor of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church; Tim Tyson, a Duke University historian and author; and Dante Strobino, co-founder of the self-described socialist group Raleigh FIST.

It looks like protesters were wrong if they were hoping that the new Democratic majority on the Wake County school board would be more sympathetic that the Republicans were on the issue of mediation instead of prosecution.

As noted in today's article, the school board met in closed session last week and agreed to stick with the decision made by the former majority to recommend that the protesters who disrupted board meetings in 2010 go to trial.

Since it was discussed in closed session, neither the board members or board attorney Ann Majestic are saying why the board decided not to go with mediation.

The state NAACP is joining the Great Schools in Wake Coalition in calling for a delay in implementation of Wake County's new student assignment plan.

In today's open letter, the NAACP says "we believe it is in the best interest of all children of Wake County to delay implementation." The NAACP says there are too many unanswered questions to implement the plan for the 2012-13 school year.

"We encourage the school board to proceed in implementing a new student assignment plan only once they have the data and a clear program to ensure they are making the very best decision," according to the open letter. "We believe thoughtful people who put all our children first and who want high-quality, constitutional, well-funded, diverse education for every child -- as opposed to those driven by ideological agendas and partisan politics -- can always find common ground."

The letter was co-signed by the Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP; and Timothy Tyson, education chair of the state NAACP.

Former Wake County school board chairman Ron Margiotta says protesters arrested for disrupting school board meetings don't deserve leniency for "reprehensible behavior" that "threatened" public safety and "deliberately created chaos and fear."

In a letter to the editor Sunday, Margiotta contrasts the people who were arrested with those who were not during the last two years. He writes the board "tolerated" the "rude and disrespectful" behavior of people who were "cheering and jeering" and "simply refused to maintain civility and adhere to proper decorum."

But Margiotta writes that the protesters who were arrested went beyond simple acts of civil disobedience or disruption. He charges those protesters used "extreme and intimidating tactics."

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST FOR RESPONSE FROM STATE NAACP

Should Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby prosecute the 30 people charged with disrupting school board meetings last year, seek mediation or drop the charges?

As noted in today's article, the outgoing Wake County school board called a  last-minute closed session meeting last week in which it agreed to rescind its prior authorization to seek mediation.

"We decided against mediation," said former school board chairman Ron Margiotta of the Dec. 1 meeting. "We wanted a court trial. We wanted to see them stand trial for their actions."

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST

Here's a look at today's local headlines.

ANTI-LOITERING RULE REPEALED: The Carrboro aldermen repealed the four year-old anti-loitering ordinance affecting day laborers at Jones Ferry and Davie roads. Find out what behavior Jacquie Gist wants them to turn to next in Tammy Grubb's story.

And in today's Chapel Hill News:

COUNTY OKS ELEMENTARY: It will be the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' 11th. Find out where it's going in staff writer Katelyn Ferral's report. Read the story here.

OCCUPY TALKS TACTICS: Don't let the balmy weather fool you. Winter's coming, and with it cold temperatures that could bring change to the Occupy Chapel Hill tent encampment outside the Franklin Street post office. I listened in Sunday afternoon, Read the story here (and see a picture of the calmest cat in Chapel Hill in today's print edition).

TOWING RULES REVISITED: The Town Council is leaing to stricter rules for towing companies after a spike in complaints. But council members aren't ready to endorse an increase in fees the towers want. Katelyn Ferral has that story here.  

Tim Tyson, J. Linn Mackey, Vincent DiSandro Jr. and Michael Czeiszberger comment on the Yates Motor occupation and police response in today's opinion pages, and the Carrboro Jaguars come oh so close in the state soccer championship.

Thanks for reading,

Mark

The reactions from Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday night to the Wake County school board election results was about as different as you could get.

As noted today in this article and this article, Democrats were hailing the results as a step forward. Republicans who face four years of being in the minority were warning about a return to the days of forced busing and possibly even Superintendent Tony Tata leaving.

Speaking to reporters after the results came in, GOP board vice chairman John Tedesco said he hopes the new board majority won't try to rehash old battles.

The Wake Citizens for Good Government PAC is looking like it could be a big player in this fall's Wake County school board elections.

As noted in today's article, the PAC has reported raising $27,803.28 with $25,671.54 on hand. In contrast, the Wake Schools Community Alliance has reported raising $268.92 an having only $1 on hand.

There's a strong connection between Wake Citizens for Good Government, the five Democratic school board candidates and the Wake County Democratic Party. A number of people are giving money to all three groups, similar to how some of the 2009 donors gave money to the four winning school board candidates, the WSCA and the Wake County Republican Party.

Groups hoping to unseat the Republican majority on the Wake County school board appear to have a substantial early fundraising advantage.

As noted in today's article, the five Democratic school board candidates and the Wake Citizens for Good Government PAC have reported raising more than $85,000 so far. That doesn't include the donations that the Wake County Democratic Party plans to raise as part of its coordinated campaign.

The biggest donors so far are John and Ann Campbell, who've given at least $40,000. That's $32,000 to four school board candidates and $8,000 to Wake Citizens for Good Government.