If actions have consequences, the consequences for speaking out in favor of the diversity policy could be costly for one local law firm.

It didn't escape the attention of the new school board majority that prominent local attorney Wade Smith was one of the speakers at the Oct. 5 Friends of Diversity press conference. Smith had helped push the 1976 merger through when he was in the General Assembly.

One potential response by the new board majority is to drop the firm that Smith helped found, Tharrington Smith, as the school district's attorney.

UPDATE

Ann Majestic says Smith never agreed to attend the Friends of Diversity press conference and did not attend. His name was on the list of speakers put out by the event's organizer, Keith Sutton.

Smith had talked about the importance of the diversity policy in an article that ran the Sunday before the election.

While it may not be likely, Clay Aiken could actually be prosecuted over voting in last month's school board election.

As noted in today's aricle by Josh Shaffer, the Wake County Board of Elections will hold a hearing on Wake GOP Chairman Claude Pope's challenge of Aiken's voter registration status. Although Pope's press release says they're not seeking punitive action against Aiken, that might not matter.

The Wake Board of Elections will first decide whether Aiken should still be registered to vote in the county. They'll ask Aiken questions such as where his pets spend the night and where he goes to sleep at night.

It looks like he Grand Marquis Ballroom in Garner will be the place to be on Saturday night.

Newly elected school board candidate John Tedesco is organizing a "Victory Ball." He'll be joined at Saturday's celebration by fellow new board members Debra Goldman, Chris Malone and Deborah Prickett.

We may have the Claymates taking on the new Wake school board.

In a blog post on his web site Thursday, Aiken says "he's extremely disappointed" by the election results. The former American Idol contestant and Leesville Road High student calls the new school board members “selfish idiots” and says he hopes the public can get rid of them before they “ruin the school system.”

“What happened to Wake County Schools?!?1,” Aiken writes. “Now that i have a kid i am so much more invested and I am EXTREMELY disappointed that so many selfish idiots ran and won seats on the school board. i hope we can get rid of them as soon as possible before they ruin my school system. Idiots.”

UPDATE

Click here for the online story.

Click here for Saturday's article, including the response from new board members.

Will the election of a new Wake school board majority that opposes the current diversity policy help Durham?

That's the viewpoint articulated Wednesday on the Bull City Rising blog by Kevin Davis. His take on the election results is that neighborhood schools will make western Wake even wealthier, which in turn will make Research Triangle Park even more relevant.

Wake NCAE President Jennifer Lanane is in damage control mode after having sent an e-mail message accusing the new school board members of not caring about children and teachers.

As noted in today's article, Lanane sent an apology letter on Monday to the new board members, who weren't happy about the tone of an earlier message sent to Wake NCAE reps. She says that the first message was a draft that was never meant to be sent, pointing to the multiple grammatical errors.

Lanane is in a difficult spot as she wants to try to get along with the new board majority. The problem is Wake NCAE didn't endorse any of the new members.

Here's a quick rundown of the facilities committee meeting.

Enrollment projections have been scaled back again. For budget purposes, the preliminary figures have Wake at 164,480 students in 2015. For construction planning purposes, the projection is 176,489 students in 2015.

For the 2006 bond issue, enrollment had been projected to reach more than 190,000 students by 2015.

UPDATED END OF POST TO INCLUDE LINKS TO ONLINE ARTICLE AND HANDOUTS FROM MEETING

Are Wacky Wednesdays on the way out with the new school board majority?

As noted in today's article by Ray Martin, new school board member John Tedesco said it's "highly probable" that the new majority will scrap the weekly Wednesday early dismissals. Tedesco didn't rule out the possibility that the change could happen as soon as this school year instead of waiting until July.

"I can tell you what I've heard and what the others have heard is an overwhelming number of parents who are not happy with this and we'll do our best to represent the parents," Tedesco said in the article. "I could not imagine that this would go on in the next academic year,"

Considering how much supporters of the diversity policy made Charlotte-Meckkenburg schools a boogeyman during the school board campaign, the new board members arguably are having the last laugh now.

As noted in today's article, the new 2009 state report cards show that Charlotte's black and low-income students are outperforming their peers in Wake on state EOG and EOC exams.

"We're not saying that Charlotte is the right way, but the fact that they're doing better than us shows how poorly we've been doing," said new school board member John Tedesco in the article.

What do the Wake school board elections, Maine's repeal of the same-sex marriage law and the election of Republican governors in Virginia and New Jersey all have in common?

According to state Rep. Paul Stam, they're a sign "voters are squarely focused on core issues affecting their family and their future more than at any time in recent history." The Apex Republican and House Minority Leader linked all these election happenings in the latest blog post on his web site.