Members of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition accused Wake County Schools Superintendent Tony Tata of scapegoating Don Haydon for the bus problems and said he's the one who should be relieved of his duties.

During the public comment session at Tuesday's school board meeting in which speakers were repeatedly warned not to discuss specific personnel, several GSIW members lamented the senior staff who've left Wake since Tata became superintendent.

Lynn Edmonds complained about Wake's longtime staff being replaced by people with no experience working in school systems. who come from the "free market or the corporate world," or being graduates from the Broad Superintendents Academy.

Bob Geary is defending efforts by the three new Democratic members of the Wake County school board to delay public release of the new student assignment base maps.

In a blog post Wednesday for the liberal Independent weekly, Geary singles out board members Susan Evans, Christine Kushner and Jim Martin and says they were right for insisting that "the diversity piece (be) given form" before releasing the assignments.

"Letting the staff publish its online list of base schools by addresses — a list that would be preliminary at best, if only because no board member has even seen it yet, let alone thought about all the ways it needs to be changed — would've been a serious blunder," Geary writes.

"That was Tata's intention, apparently, to let parents start looking up their assignments on Friday. Talk about putting the cart before the horse."

Great Schools in Wake Coalition members are making a visual statement at today's Wake County school board meeting about the senior school administrators who've resigned or been pushed out during Superintendent Tony Tata's tenure.

GSIW members have brought several mock headstones. One says "RIP Competent Experienced Staff." Others say the word "Resigned" under the names of David Ansbacher, Michael Evans, Donna Hargens and Don Haydon. For David Holdzkom, it says "Reassigned" under his "headstone."

Some people like Evans, Haydon and Holdzkom were clearly forced out. But for Hargens, she left to become a superintendent.

Lynn Edmonds is scheduled to discuss the issue during public comment.

This email from Yevonne Brannon, chairwoman of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, offers a perspective of what critics of Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata and the Republican school board members say behind the scenes.

In the Aug. 18 email message, Brannon says Tata is taunting and bullying people when he says they need to "cowboy up" to pass a school bond issue next year. She says many people don't approve of Tata's work and feel that he's helped resegregate the schools.

"Many, many people in the minority community, the economic developers in the business community, the progressive and social justice community members, the advocates for the disabled and underrepresented children, advocates for our teachers and staff, and those who regard public education as a right for all children together add to a large group that does not trust Mr. Tata," Brannon writes.

UPDATE

To make it clearer, the email was not forwarded to me by Brannon. I obtained a copy of the email from another person and posted it, as I mentioned in the post, as an example of the things that are said privately about Tata and the board members.

The Wake County school system is pitching how its new Parent Academy "gives families roadmap for student success."

In a Friday press release, Wake says each workshop session "takes an in-depth look at a topic vital to student success." Topics include "college is possible," "how to understand the common core and essential state standards," "navigating the WCPSS System," "understanding special education" and "supporting literacy and math at home for elementary students."

Tonight's session on "how to support your kindergarten student in school" will be offered from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Millbrook High School. Like all the other sessions, it's free to attend but registration is required.

If you are certified to drive a school bus, the Wake County school system could use you right now.

Wake Schools Superintendent Tony Tata said the "real limiting factor" to operating the 41 of the 52 previously sidelined buses is lack of permanent drivers. Wake is getting by with steps such as using substitute drivers and team leaders. Mechanics who are certified bus drivers are also being paid overtime to get behind the wheel while the district hires and trains more permanent drivers.

But Tata said that it's still tight ensuring there are enough drivers each day to handle the new and readjusted routes.

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST

How did the Wake County school bus situation get so bad during the first two weeks of the traditional-calendar school year?

As noted in today's article, a combination of factors led to the problems that caused buses to come late or not all and generated a daily stream of media reports. It ultimately stems back to a desire to save money that led to the adoption of unrealistic bus routes that Wake has tried to remedy by putting back 41 of the 52 buses it had removed from service.

"We focused too much on becoming efficient, getting the right number of kids on the bus up, trying to squeeze too many stops too great a distance, particularly in those instances where we’ve got three tiers: one, two, three schools in a row," Don Haydon, Wake's chief facilities and operations officer told school board members last week.

How much is it costing the Wake County school system to put back into service 41 of the 52 school buses that had been taken off the road at the start of the school year?

As noted in today's article, staff is touting how the new routing system, even with the changes that have been made in the past two weeks, will still save money. They say the cost of putting back the buses isn't as high as it may seem.

"We're still saving," said Superintendent Tony Tata. "We're just not saving as much as we intended."

Wake County school officials announced today that they're adding six more buses to the Apex transportation area, where parents have been vocal about bus problems this school year.

School officials said that buses will be added to Turner Creek Elementary School in Cary and five Apex schools: Apex, Baucom, Laurel Park and Salem elementary schools and Apex Middle School. New buses and stops will become effective Friday afternoon.

"The new additions reflect our ongoing commitment to make this situation right for our families as quickly as possible,” said Superintendent Tony Tata in a press release. “We will continue taking all steps necessary to fix the problems.”

There were plenty of apologies and recriminations coming from Wake County school board members on Tuesday over the bus problems.

As noted in today's article, Superintendent Tony Tata and board members apologized to parents and students for the problems last week. But also amid the apologies, the new Democratic board members worked to distance themselves from the problems, blaming staff for telling them they could implement the new transportation plan.

In addition, the choice plan was also a target of the new Democratic board members.