Don't look for any 5-4 votes at today's Wake County school board meeting.
School board member Kevin Hill sent his colleagues a message today that he won't be at the meeting. Hill, who is out of town now, said he didn't want to make the six-hour drive back in this poor weather.
Wake County school board chairman Ron Margiotta said there are no plans to move Tuesday's board meeting but that the May 18 meeting could be held at a larger venue.
In a statement released today, Margiotta said he had reviewed options over the weekend but had ruled out the possibility of moving Tuesday's meeting to a larger site. A large crowd is expected because of Tuesday's initial vote on revising the student assignment policy to make proximity a priority in lieu of socioeconomic diversity.
Margiotta said he and school system staff are reviewing the possibility of a different location for the May 18 meeting. That's when the final vote on the student assignment policy change is expected.
Supporters of socioeconomic diversity are hoping to block passage of Wake County's new student assignment policy by requiring a two-thirds vote by the school board.
There would seem to be five votes on the nine-member board on Tuesday to approve the revised policy to make proximity a priority while eliminating references to socioeconomic diversity. But six votes is unlikely.
Members of the board minority have asked board attorney Ann Majestic for her legal interpretation of whether a two-thirds majority is needed to change the policy. They haven't heard back from her yet.
Both Joy Jones and Susan Doyle have raised upwards of $30,000 in the quest for the district attorney’s position, making it the biggest-spending political campaign in Johnston County this year.
In the race for sheriff and register of deeds, the challengers have raised significantly more than the incumbents so far, though without a primary this week, those campaigns have just begun.
The large number of candidates vying for school board seats appears to have limited fundraising in that race, with only two candidates, Strickland and Lisa Klisiewecz planning to raise more than $3,000 — the amount requiring disclosure forms.
The data comes from campaign finance forms filed last week with the North Carolina and Johnston County boards of elections. Johnston elections director Leigh Anne Price said all the candidates got their first-quarter reports in on time. “They did good this year,” she said.
District attorney’s race: By mid-April, Doyle led the fundraising totals in the highly publicized Republican primary race with $38,635 to Jones’ $30,258.92. Jones, a Smithfield attorney in private practice, was attempting to unseat Doyle, the incumbent.
Most of Jones’ biggest donors were private-practice attorneys. Doyle got her largest contributions from business owners, family members and her own staff members throughout the district.
The following people donated $1,000 or more to the Jones campaign: Clayton lawyer Elizabeth Carter, Benson lawyer John Ivey Jr., Clinton lawyers L.D. Starling Jr. and Douglas Parsons and Smithfield attorneys Vann Sauls, Frank Wood and Stephen Woodard Jr.
Sauls was one of the attorneys who pled guilty in the DWI-fixing scandal earlier this year. Several of his family members and co-workers also gave to the Jones campaign. But Jones said there’s nothing inappropriate about his donation since he’s not currently allowed to practice law. She said the donation likely stems from a lifelong friendship.
“Our families have grown up together,” she said.
Jones also got a $100 donation from Ed Roach. Roach is the N.C. Department of Insurance investigator who’s worked on the case of Mark Hall, the former Smithfield financial adviser charged with fraud. Jones is Hall’s court-appointed attorney. Roach said he gave because he’s gotten to know Jones through the case; he resides in Carteret County and has little connection to local politics.
“I’ve had a good working relationship with her,” Roach said. “She’s been very helpful and forthright.”
The following people donated $1,000 or more to Doyle’s campaign: Ralph Hodge of Wilson, Dunn lawyer Caron Stewart, assistant district attorney Paul Jackson, Smithfield pawn shop owner James Lassiter, Frank Lee of Smithfield, Raymond Doyle of Cary, Wayne Dale of Clayton, Robert Buzzard of Lillington, Trudy Hales of Clayton, Hunter Olive of Smithfield, Rebecca Riley of Smithfield, William Riley of Clayton and Scott Lockamy of Dunn.
The winner of Tuesday’s primary will face Democrat George Murphy of Benson in November.
Sheriff’s race: By mid-April, former state trooper Gerry Mouzon had raised almost seven times as much as incumbent Steve Bizzell, though without a primary, the race has been low key so far. Mouzon gathered $14,818.32 in donations; Bizzell garnered $2,159.54.
Much of Bizzell’s total came from himself and several smaller donors; Scott Lockamy of Dunn gave $1,000.
The following donated $1,000 or more to Mouzon’s campaign: Dell Richards of Willow Spring, Coates Hauling and Grading owner Michael Coates of Willow Spring, Manuel Cruz of Clayton and Cleveland Medicap Pharmacy owner Lance Wheeler.
School board race: Incumbent board chairman Strickland led fundraising in this race with $3,421. He received $500 from Pine Level Town Market owner Billy Daughtry, but much of his total stemmed from smaller donations.
Klisiewecz raised $1,749, with her biggest donation a $1,000 check from W.A. Holland of Smithfield.
The other nine school board candidates did not plan to raise more than $3,000 and were not required to file disclosure forms.
Register of deeds’ race: Challenger Donald Byrd of McGee’s Crossroads raised a bit more than incumbent Craig Olive, with $1,050 to Olive’s $688.23.
About half of Byrd’s total came from Pine Level Commissioner Jimmy Garner’s N.C. House campaign fund. Garner, who ran unsuccesfully for that office in 2008, is serving as Byrd’s treasurer.
Olive received $480 from Jerry Brown of Clayton and $100 from County Commissioner Cookie Pope.
It looks like most people who will be watching tomorrow's Wake County school board presentation on the community assignment zones will have to do so on a video monitor.
The school system has sent out a press release today announcing that the board still plans to hold Friday's special board meeting in the small board conference room. Approximately 150 ticket vouchers will be distributed for people to watch the presentation on video in the main board room.
The board meeting starts at 4 p.m. Vouchers will be distributed starting at 3 p.m. Unlike the last few meetings, odds are that all the vouchers will be taken this time.
We've got 22 people signed up to speak at today's Wake County school board meeting.
The proposed budget cuts, socioeconomic diversity and the voluntary desegregation resolution account for many of the speakers. Also on the list is Rolesville Mayor Frank Eagles.
School board chairman Ron Margiotta warned they'll have to stop after 30 minutes because of other items on today's agenda. The remaining speakers would come at the end of the meeting.
The Great Schools in Wake Coalition is formally requesting the Wake County school board to move its committee meetings to a larger facility to allow greater public access.
In a letter today, GSIW chairwoman Yevonnne Brannon complains that the board's use of tickets, lack of adequate parking and video and audio problems with the COW meetings has "had a chilling effect on public attendance."
"Creating an environment that encourages public participation will eliminate the need to have additional security and police officers present at meetings and will encourage meaningful engagement," Brannon writes.
There's plenty of empty seats at today's Wake County school board meeting.
Only 35 of the 153 vouchers were handed out for today's meeting. That's far less than the crowds that backed up into the hallway at recent meetings.
SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST
How much tension and melodrama will there be at Tuesday's Wake County school board meeting?
School administrators are bracing for Tuesday with similar security measures that were employed at the March 24 meeting that saw three arrests. Tickets will again be required for seats, a large contingent of off-duty police officers will be present and barriers will be up in the board room to keep the public from getting too close to board members.
This time though, administrators say they're trying to give more notice to the public. Last time, the news about the measures only a day before the meeting drew complaints from various groups.
In a work session that lasted nearly six hours, the Wake County school board approved reassignment decisions Wednesday night that will affect several hundred students.
Among those to be reassigned is a group of students that transferred from Lacy Elementary to Stough Elementary last year, and will now be sent back to Lacy. And 132 Garner High School students will be transferred to Southeast Raleigh High.
