Chris Fitzsimon is calling the resignation of Wake County Schools Superintendent Del Burns and the abandonment of the Forest Ridge High site "costs of the ideological crusade" of the new school board majority.
In a column today, Fitzsimon, executive director of the liberal N.C. Policy Watch, mocks the statements from school board chairman Ron Margiotta and school board member John Tedesco that they didn't want Burns to go.
"Surely Tedesco and Margiotta can see through their crocodile tears and understand that a man who dedicated 34 years of his life to improving public education would not want to end his career watching the school system he loves fall victim to an ideological crusade." Fitzsimon writes.
Fitzsimon also takes aim at the new board majority for dropping Forest Ridge despite warnings from staff that switching sites now could lead to $15.4 million in additional costs.
Fitzsimon writes that the board's vote "displayed its arrogance and poor judgment." He again says the decision to scrap Forest Ridge is part of the new board's ideological crusade and "not a reasoned approach to making the best decisions for Wake County."
"That was clearer than ever Tuesday when the people of the county lost not only $15 million, but something far more important, the steady and dedicated leadership of a superintendent who refused to be part of destroying 30 years of progress," Fitzsimon writes.
Comments
User, I think you may be
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 10:52 — woodstockUser, I think you may be experiencing the stages of grief: anger, denial, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
You seem to be stuck in the denial stage. You refuse to acknowledge that the public overwhelmingly demanded change last Oct. and Nov. You have a journey to make before getting to the acceptance stage, but you'll get there...eventually.
money?
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 10:23 — loriacUser - don't forget about the many, many donations that came from other individuals, $10 and $20 at a time to support the BOE members. These people who donated were not all republican. It's interesting that you can't seem to accept the results of this election.
Yep, there was a lot of
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 10:13 — jenmanYep, there was a lot of money involved in this election. But if you think that this was all orchestrated by the Republicans you're fooling yourself. Without the parent groups involved it would have been a much different campaign & outcome.
I dont think so.....
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 10:11 — J8307200Hey 123456789.............
I am the "general" public"...nobody paid me off to vote. My family got sick and tired of being screwed over by the old board members and felt it was time for a change. My kid gets bused 16 miles to a high school when there are three other closer to home. My neighborhood goes to six different school and is made up of at least seven nodes. My kids are on two different calendars. That is why the bums got voted out of office.....make no mistake!!!
Wow...
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 22:21 — Bob_SconceYou really can tell how desperate the opposition is getting by how shrill they get. "Ideological crusade" really? Does that really describe an assignment model that's followed by 99% of the school districts in the country? And, somehow, I just have difficulty figuring how how the Forest Ridge school site could possibly be ideological.
It's most certainly
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 22:33 — carson79It's most certainly ideological, I think most of the new members would admit they have a problem with diversity encouraged by government incentive in any way...
And if it's the "assignment model that's followed by 99% of the school districts in the country"..
I think we should start calling the new majority the true status quo right now..
So..
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 22:51 — Bob_SconceWhat does that have to do with Forest Ridge? How does ideology tell us where the school should be located? Heck, the closest we've come to that in the H6 debate has been the claim of a slave cemetary. Heck, board opponents on this blog have claimed several times that moving H6 is not a conservative thing to do -- see some snide comments about how AFP would feel about the H6 switch.
The true motivation here isn't ideological, it's organizational. Rightly or wrongly, the school board does not trust the administration. And, that situation cannot endure. While I don't agree with surprising the board, Del Burns did the right thing by stepping down -- the board needs to have a Superintendent it can trust.
Chris doesn't mention that
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 22:15 — ctillChris doesn't mention that Del Burns went off the deep end on Whacky Wednesdays and thereby set in motion the sequence of events that led to the conservative takeover. If Del had not instilled such mistrust of the school system among moderates (and even liberals), the elections in November might have turned out differently.
You took the words right out
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 01:44 — aquaman4life68You took the words right out of my mouth. I have said from the beginning of all the campaigning months before the elections. the "uproar" of citizens in the county was all due to the hasty decision and fly by night plans that Del, Chuck, former board members, etc (funny how most of them QUIT) threw out to the parents and teachers. If anyone who is upset by the path that the new board is taking, the very people you are upset about leaving...ARE THE VERY ONES you should BLAME for your own dissatification. Del, Chuck, former board members...THEY ENDED THEIR OWN positions/ranks in WCPSS.
Exactly right.
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 06:51 — DrActualFactualThe quitters had the luxury to enact policy within pretty good budget constraints compared to what the new board will face. It is easy to do a good job when the economy is good, much harder when it is not. These consumate professionals seem to be doing all they can to setup the new board for adverse circumstances and yet they supposedly have "empathy for kids, teachers, parents" --every professional sees to the proper transition of power for the good of the company/customer. It is always dignified to take the high road.
What does he mean???
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 21:57 — occum_sharpeFrom the WRAL Webpage Story:
I wouldn't characterize it that way," said board member John Tedesco, who was elected in a runoff election in November. "I feel we gave him every opportunity to work with us." Tedesco said the school board plans to push for a national search to find the best possible candidate to replace Burns. "I can understand, after doing something the same way for 33 years and people wanting to look and be innovative and focus on high-quality education, sometimes it's hard to deal with change," he said.
When Lil' John says doing the same thing for 33 years is he referring to Dr. Burn's time in Wake County or is he referring to the number of years since the merger of Raleigh City and Wake County Schools??? Is this a coincidence or is there a revelation of things to come = resplitting Raleigh City and Wake County Schools??? Could this be a Freudian slip??? 33 is such a historically ironic number.
Ahh the Fitz Fetish
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 20:20 — g88ky07continues doesn't it.
I'm Shocked!
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 20:36 — JanisTango