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WakeEd
The WakeEd blog is devoted to discussing and answering questions about the major issues facing the Wake County school system: the reassignment of thousands of students, the conversion of traditional-calendar schools to a year-round schedule, the district's response to growth and the school construction program.
WakeEd is maintained by The News & Observer's Wake schools reporter, T. Keung Hui. While Keung posts information and analysis on the issues, keep us posted on your suggestions, questions, tips and what you're doing to cope with the changes in Wake's schools.
Better pay and security for Gorman
Del Burns is no longer the highest-paid superintendent in the state.
The Charlotte Observer is reporting today that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Superintendent Peter Gorman got a $18,200 bonus and $7,150 raise on Tuesday. That lifts Gorman's total package to $320,350, above the $312,790 that Burns got earlier this month.
Gorman also got a perk that Burns doesn't have. At Gorman's request, he got a new clause in his contract promising to provide “reasonable security measures” to him and his family in case of “public controversy” or any other reason.
Gorman has the discretion to decide when that security is needed.
In the article, Gorman said he's not reacting to a threat and doesn't expect to have guards following him, his wife or his daughter, a CMS student.
“It's a precaution,” he said in the article. “Everything's fine.”
Spokeswoman Nora Carr said Gorman got the idea from the contract offered to his former deputy, Maurice Green, when Green was recently hired as superintendent of Guilford County Schools. “I think in this day and age it's a wise precaution,” Carr said.
Wake overtook Charlotte as the state's largest school district last year.
While Wake school security can be found at some board meetings, no one is assigned to Burns. He doesn't have a similar clause in his contract.
Security has occasionally been assigned to school board members. For instance, security guards will walk board members to their cars after reassignment public hearings.
During the controversy over whether Stough Elementary School should be converted to a year-round schedule in 2000-01, a security officer accompanied then-board member Judy Hoffman. She apparently got some nasty threats then.
T. Keung Hui
T. Keung Hui covers Wake schools.
Comments
Mutual assured destruction, anyone?
Sun, 09/28/2008 - 10:01 — dlb102 (not verified)Back in the days of the US vs USSR, and the nuclear weapons showdown, this was called the MAD principle (Mutual Assured Destuction), where every time one side increased its number of nukes the other side would try to top that, and of course we ended up with enough nukes to wipe out the planet several times over. It's still monetarily just as MAD as ever. The one who spends the most money does not WIN, but is in fact the BIGGEST LOSER, and I'm not talking TV shows. Wake county is owed the education of all its students, not a 30% dropout rate.
As far as these people needing protection from the public, that in and of itself tells a bigger story....
maybe the raise is because there are improvements not declines
Thu, 09/25/2008 - 17:30 — bigwinnieews14.com
Manning admires progress at CMS
09/23/2008 04:27 PM
By: Johnell Johnson
Judge Howard Manning CHARLOTTE -- Wake County Judge Howard Manning, often a critic of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, is now giving praise to three schools he once considered shutting down for low performance.
"Basically my message was those principals who have been there and haven't gotten the school moving have got to go," Manning said about a year ago, referring to struggling CMS high schools West Charlotte, West Mecklenburg and Waddell.
Those three schools were not performing well and Manning was ready to take action. But now things have changed. According to the Department of Public Instruction, West Mecklenburg's End-of-Course scores were up 15 percent, Waddell’s improved 9 percent and West Charlotte saw a 13 percent jump.
Last week, manning called CMS superintendent Peter Gorman to tell him how pleased he was with the latest scores."That work has paid off and that is one heck of an improvement," he said.
West Charlotte principal John Modest says there are a number of things his school has done to improve.
"We had to change the culture to make high expectations, and we had to build better relationships between the teachers and students," he said.
While CMS school board chairman Joe White says there is reason to be pleased, he knows there is still much more work to do.
"Our goal is to move faster, to make that improvement faster than ever but to continue to move forward so that it is acceptable," said White.
There are a number of programs in place to help those schools continue to improve. Principals have more authority and class size has been reduced.
thanks
Wed, 09/24/2008 - 17:20 — bigwinnieand stough was district 7 still?
if so, history repeats itself, rep who won't support her school!
Stough
Wed, 09/24/2008 - 20:14 — KeungHui (author)Northwest Raleigh has been part of District 7 for a long time. The big change, which helped influence Hoffman not to run again, was that Morrisville and Cary were added to the district after the 2000 census.
thank
Wed, 09/24/2008 - 20:25 — bigwinnieoh there's those "crazy Cary" people again an now *gasp* joined together with crazy NW Raleigh
Maybe the kid who had the
Wed, 09/24/2008 - 17:19 — Anonymous (not verified)Maybe the kid who had the guns and knives when he was picking up his girlfriend from FVHS could be Del's Body guard. He seems well equipped and all.
or the posse from Wakefield
Wed, 09/24/2008 - 19:43 — bigwinnieor the posse from Wakefield that beat the face off that child....
Stough Elementary School
Wed, 09/24/2008 - 16:12 — bigwinnieStough Elementary School should be converted to a year-round schedule in 2000-01
and how did they get off the chopping block, did THEIR DISTRICT REP SUPPORT THEM or is that why she was threatened because she DIDN"T support them?
Stough
Wed, 09/24/2008 - 17:04 — KeungHui (author)Hoffman's support for converting Stough made her unpopular with her constituents. Stough was in her district.