State legislators will be focusing on the issue of diversity in public schools in light of the controversy taking place in Wake County.

As noted in today's article, the General Assembly approved the creation of a legislative study commission on diversity in public schools. The commission could recommend school districts adopt diversity policies and maybe even suggest changing the way the state funds schools to encourage those kind of busing efforts.

The reason for the state attention, backers acknowledge, is all the talk about the Wake school board scrapping the socioeconomic diversity policy.

What are the odds that Tharrington Smith will still be the Wake County school board's attorney by the time the firm's one-year legal contract expires in June?

As noted in today's article, the school board's vote on June 15 to retain Tharrington Smith for one year didn't end the issue. The contract that Tharrington Smith is now working under includes a 30-day termination notice instead of the 90-day notice used by prior boards.

In this situation where Tharrington Smith could be gone in a month, former Wake County Republican Party chairman David Robinson is proposing that his firm, Nexsen Pruet, become the new board attorney.

The Wake County Republican Party is really making hay about Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker's recent verbal slam of the Wake County school board majority.

Wake GOP Chairman Claude Pope lashed into Meeker last week in a press release. Now the GOP is conducting an online survey about Meeker's remarks in which he said the members of the board majority "are not from the area" and "don't share our values."

The recent dustup over Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker's comments is raising questions again about a potential conflict of interest with his wife, Wake County school board member Anne McLaurin.

School board member Deborah Prickett, a lifelong Raleigh resident, called Meeker's comments "inappropriate" that the board majority are not from this area. She added that she's concerned now about Meeker's opposition to building a new high school in Rolesville instead of the Forest Ridge site in Northeast Raleigh.

Prickett raised concerns about how McLaurin receives confidential information about the H6 site during closed sessions. Prickett said she'd like to review the conflict of interest guidelines involving McLaurin and Meeker.

Here's a look at how the Wake County Republican Party put together the press release Thursday criticizing Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker for his remarks about the Wake County school board majority.

The press release was formulated after a series of e-mail messages between Wake GOP Chairman Claude Pope and Jay Bryant, a GOP spokesman. The messages are public because copies were also sent to Cary Town Councilwoman Jennifer Robinson, a Republican.

The messages show the GOP strategy for responding to Meeker's comments that the majority board members are "people who are not from the area, who don't share our values."

Wake County Republican Party Chairman Claude Pope Jr. is accusing Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker of making "bigoted" and "insulting" statements about the members of the school board majority.

In a press release this evening, Pope takes aim at Meeker for the remarks he made at Monday's East Raleigh Citizens Advisory Committee meeting. At a meeting in which Meeker raised the specter of legal action over the end of the diversity policy, he called board majority members "people who are not from the area, who don't share our values."

“Mayor Meeker has insulted our school board members and all the citizens in Wake County who have moved here from somewhere else,” Pope said.

The Wake County Republican Party is looking for help to feed Wake County school board members during their long meetings.

As noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, a May 28 e-mail newsletter from the Wake GOP includes a solicitation for donations to help provide all the school board members "with a healthy meal and snacks."

Wake GOP Chairman Claude Pope said these meals aren't meant to gain favor with the board, whose new majority was backed by the Republicans. Pope said the meals are in response to board members only getting a box lunch during the long meetings.

By popular request, here's a post on the questionnaires that three of the four new Wake County school board members had filled out last spring when they asked for the endorsement of the Wake County Republican Party.

I've got the questionnaires for Debra Goldman, Chris Malone and John Tedesco. I don't have Deborah Prickett's questionnaire but she was also endorsed by the Wake GOP.

Critics of the board majority have used the questionnaires to argue that the new members have politicized the board. You guys can read and decide.

On the same day state Democratic leaders were bashing the new Wake County school board majority, local Republicans were cheering them on.

During Saturday's Wake County Republican Party Reagan Dinner, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell said "Wake County set the stage for voters nationally to vote for change in the 2009 elections." Also during the event, Art Pope and Bob Luddy both received awards.

In case you're not sure what McDonnell was talking about, the GOP newsletter says the governor "was referring to the impressive election of the new Wake County School Board last October, which preceded the Governor's landslide victory in Virginia in November 2009."

Conservative businessman Art Pope gave more details today about his school board campaign strategy meeting with Wake County Republican Party officials.

In a meeting today with N&O editors and reporters, Pope said that like other large donors he was given a courtesy meeting with party officials last year to discuss fundraising and campaign strategy. But he said that he only gave his advice about the GOP plan.

Critics of the new school board majority have trumpeted an October e-mail message in which Wake GOP finance chair Marc Scruggs said they had implemented "Art Pope's plan." Pope repeated today his statement that Scruggs gave him too much credit.