The Wake County Republican Party is crediting the school board and county commissioners with reducing taxes.

In the latest issue today of the Elephant Express, Wake GOP Chairwoman Susan Bryant praises the Republican majorities on the school board and commissioners. Among the "major accomplishments" she credits both boards with is "reduced taxes for our citizens."

The commissioners haven't lowered taxes. She might have been referring to the GOP majority in the General Assembly that didn't renew the one-cent sales tax increase.

It was with a smiley face on her ballot that Wake County school board member Debra Goldman finally ended the 2 1/2 hour struggle on Tuesday to name a new vice chairman

A look at the 56 rounds of votes shows that Goldman voted for herself 48 times, in all but one case being the lone vote. She voted seven times for other people, usually Chris Malone or Carolyn Morrison, before finally going for John Tedesco in the 56th round to break the stalemate.

“Our chairman keeps saying somebody holds the key here and it's pretty obvious through the vote," Goldman said before the final ballot. "I’m going to cast my vote different this time because this is number 56, which is the year my parents got married and for me that's a good number because it showed unity and it showed commitment and it showed values. I am going to cast my vote this time and take myself out of that position.”

For a different view on the state budget than the Democrats on the Wake County school board, let's look at what the Wake County Republican Party is saying.

In this week's issue of the Elephant Express, Wake GOP Chairwoman Susan Bryant defends the General Assembly's budget while ripping into Democrats, Gov. Bev Perdue and The News & Observer.

"This budget is no attack on education," Bryant writes about Perdue's complaints. "The Republican legislature worked very hard and produced a budget that fully funds all teachers and teachers’ assistants — and even adds teachers in Grades 1–3.  They didn’t cut education…they cut the 'temporary sales tax' you put into effect over a year ago."

WakeUP Wake County is urging the Wake Board of Commissioners to increase funding for the Wake County school system.

In a press release today, WakeUP's Executive Director Karen Rindge argued that school funding can't continue to stay unchanged for a third year in a row while enrollment continues to grow. They also make a plug for alternative forms of additional school funding, such as a real estate transfer tax.

“We need funding to sustain our growing population, and next year’s student body will grow by more than 3,000 bringing us to a total of 147,000 students,” stated Rindge.

The leadership of the Wake County Democratic Party voted tonight for Cary Town Councilman Erv Portman to replace Stan Norwalk on the board of commissioners.

Portman was the lone nominee at the meeting. Portman would take the seat unless the GOP majority on the board of commissioners rejected him and called for a special election this year to fill Norwalk's vacant seat.

Traditionally, the commissioners have deferred to the political party of the commissioner who resigned. This would mean that Portman would fill Norwalk's seat through at least the end of his term in 2012.

How Portman, who is far more pro-development than Norwalk, fits in on the commissioners and on school issues remains to be seen.

UPDATE

Click here for Friday's article by Thomas Goldsmith and Andy Kenney in which County Attorney Scott Warren says that rejecting Portman's appointment would result in a a special election for Democratic voters to fill Norwalk's seat.

To no one's surprise, Wake County Manager David Cooke is recommending giving the school system $313.5 million for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

County commissioners had indicated they'd be willing to give the school system the same amount it had gotten the past two years. That intention was reflected today in the $951.5 million budget proposed by Cooke.

As noted in today's online article by Thomas Goldsmith, the county is also allowing the school system the choice whether to continue spending $900,000 on 4-H and Ready to Learn programs or convert that funding to other uses.

UPDATE

The only way the school system can use the money for its own purposes is if it agreed to make what would be an unpopular decision to eliminate 4-H and Ready to Learn services that county Human Services now provides to schools.

Is it the responsibility of Wake County school board members to ask for how much money they think they need or how much they think they can get?

As noted in today's article, that represented the split among Republican and Democratic board members when voting on the school budget proposal on Tuesday. Democrats on the board argued they need to ask for at least the same amount in local per-pupil funding as last year, even if it means asking for more money from the county commissioners.

"While I think the superintendent's budget is a very good one that has some very innovative ideas that protects classrooms and is overall a very good budget, I do think that we have a responsibility as a board to seek more funding, particularly given that we're in the third year of flat funding," said Democratic board member Keith Sutton.

More details to come later but the Wake County school board voted 4-3 along party lines tonight to reject asking county commissioners for an increase in funding.

Democratic school board members wanted to maintain last year's per-pupil funding level. That would have required a $7.9 million increase from the county.

Republican school board members noted the difficult budget situation the county is facing. They said that receiving $313.5 million for a third year in a row wasn't ideal but was still better than the cuts the county has made to other departments.

Swing voter Debra Goldman said she'd like to ask for more money. But Goldman questioned the ability to revise the budget and get it to commissioners before the May 15 deadline.

Wake County Commissioner Stan Norwalk left with a parting blast today as he announced that today's meeting was his last.

As noted in this online article by Thomas Goldsmith, Norwalk said his departure is "bittersweet" because he hasn't accomplished the full agenda for which he was elected in 2008.

"I'm leaving at a time when when the biggest thing that I advocate for, which is public education, is under attack," he said, laying blame on the "ultra-conservatives" at the state General Assembly.

Will Wake County school board members side with county commissioners or school district staff on the issue of "purpose and function" in school budgeting?

Commissioners had passed a resolution in December to request, but not require, the school board to use purpose and function. If implemented, the school district would divide the $313.5 million it will request from the county into several categories and have to get permission to change any category by more than the 15 percent.

But David Neter, the school district's chief business officer, says he'll ask the school board to request the $313.5 million as a lump sum and not through purpose and function.