Don't think that today's court hearing is strictly about whether the Wake County school board majority violated the state's Open Public Meetings Law.
The lawsuit is an all-encompassing attack on the new majority's actions over the past few months. It's readily apparent in the affidavit filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by Christine Kushner, a magnet parent who had applied for the school board opening now filled by Carolyn Morrison.
In her affidavit, Kushner attacks the majority for just about everything that has occurred since December. She cites a variety of board votes, including the community schools directive, the student reassignment changes, abandoning Forest Ridge High, the ending of Wacky Wednesdays, the placement of Supt. Del Burns on administrative leave and the layoffs of the Project Enlightenment employees.
Kushner calls the "reassignment without proper public input" and "rewriting decades of desegregation policy" the most dramatic actions taken by the new majority.
"The new Board majority has repeatedly said it would not segregate our schools, but with these reassignments, that is what they have begun to do," Kushner writes.
Click here to read Kushner's affidavit.
The plaintiffs are asking for a preliminary injunction so a decision could come as soon as today. If Wake County Superior Court Judge Bill Pittman grants the injunction, the question is whether he'll also throw out the March 23 and May 4 diversity votes in addition to ordering that Tuesday's meeting be moved to a larger location.
The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 5C in the Wake County Courthouse, 316 Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh. It's a pretty small courtroom. I don't know if anyone will be streaming the hearing.
UPDATE
FIXED LINK FOR KUSHNER'S AFFIDAVIT
Comments
What I don't get
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 09:47 — MiraMilWhat I don't get is why the Board didn't follow to a tee the normal process for approving major policy changes? The held numerous public forums on ending mandatory MYR and re-converting schools, but not a single community meeting on upending the diversity policy though they knew this is a policy that the community, parents, teachers and students deeply cared about. Did the Board take short cuts because they were afraid that their changes couldn't stand up to the light of day that truly open meetings would have brought? Why else would the Board ram through a major policy shift in such a bumbling way (agenda items added on Friday nights before a Tues. meeting, long held rules on public participation thrown out the window on the night before a board meeting)? Margiotti said words to the effect of "bring on the lawsuits, we don't care". I think the taxpayers of Wake County are waking up to the fact that the Gang of Five is going to ram through their agenda regardless of the cost to taxpayers and in the end we aren't going to have one iota of improvement in student achievement. Sigh. . . .talk about bad government!
So...
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 11:57 — Bob_SconceCalling that "normal process" is a bit of a stretch -- there were plenty of other things that the previous board didn't hold community meetings about. Wacky Wednesdays is a great example.
I suspect that if you were to ask the board about the amount of public input they received, they would tell you that it was quite high.
Can I sue the previous board
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 16:17 — HJ2ss2Can I sue the previous board for accepting my resignation even though I was not informed of the meeting in which my resignation was tendered and I signed the resignation under duress? With two very large administrators glaring at me.
Why do you keep airing your
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 16:33 — woodstockWhy do you keep airing your personal situation here? What is your goal? Why did you allow yourself to be intimidated and do something you did not want to do? I suggest you either get a lawyer and deal with it, or move on. (Psst...life is not always fair.)
Thank you for your advice.
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 16:54 — HJ2ss2Thank you for your advice. They were big and scary. All these years I thought life was fair.
I know how these people operate. I would not be surprised if Del and his followers are, in some way, involved in causing the conflict and disorganization. As long as there is chaos nothing will be accomplished. I learned to think this way after years of working in the system.
"if you were to ask the
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 13:19 — jeannie84"if you were to ask the board about the amount of public input they received, they would tell you that it was quite high."
Bob: Are you talking about the former BOE or the current one? It seemed like the former BOE was holding CEMs all the time, but this current board -- who so vehemently promised to LISTEN to parents -- has turned a deaf ear to everyone except those who voted for them.
Numbers, please.
Sat, 05/15/2010 - 15:05 — Apexter"It seemed like the former BOE was holding CEMs all the time, but this
current board -"
Do you have numbers to back up your assertion that the former BOE was holding CEM's at a higher rate than the current board?
I've not run the numbers, but I would bet that if you bothered to run the numbers you would find that the current board would show a number of CEMs per number of months of operation that is greater than or equal to that of the board in previous years.
"It seemed like" and "all the time" lack mathematical precision.
So...
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 13:48 — Bob_SconceI'm talking about the current board. I know that they were each receiving hundreds of emails a day, extending public comment hours to allow more people to be heard, etc...
CEMs are largely there to obtain geographically diverse opinions about inidividual schools, which is why they're mainly used for student assignment. The current board used them for that reason earlier this year -- I went to one at Heritage HS. I don't know that they've even been used for district-wide policy -- Wacky Wednesdays didn't have CEMs, for example.
I think that the model that's come out has been influenced by the pro-diversity voices. JT, for example, actually mentioned some minor use of diversity in the model. And the idea of allowing people to go to school outsize their zone appears to have added partially as a response to those people.
It shouldn't be any big surprise that the pro-diversity forces are losing a lot of ground -- the board was elected largely to overturn the diversity policy. But, those pro-diversity forces have been able to influence the outcome and, if they continue to be engaged, will continue to influence that outcome.
Are you new to the area? The
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 11:03 — woodstockAre you new to the area? The entire past election cycle -- including the numerous debates, forums, public meetings, interviews, campaign event, etc. -- was centered on the issue you claim had no public scrutiny. If fact, there have been grassroots efforts that for years have working to change the wrong-minded and antiqulated forced busing policies in Wake County. The landslide victories last October and November by the Fab 5 showed very clearly what public sentiment is.
As for your suggesion that the approach was "bumbling" that is a very odd comment. From most people's perspective, it has been extremely effective ...and the students and families of Wake County are thankful for that. For far too long the status quo focused on transportation instead of education. Now, finally, we can put the emphasis on achievement where it should have been all along. The Fab 5 ROCKS!!!!
So You Mean
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 11:28 — MiraMilInteresting way of looking at elections. So I guess you are saying that once someone is elected, their platform becomes The Law, end of discussion--the public should just shut up and lie down and learn to love it? That doesn't really sound like the civics I learned in school, but, hey, the Gang of Five could just overhaul the civics curriculum while their at--shoot, they won an election, they can do anything they want.
No one said "shut up and lie
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 11:44 — woodstockNo one said "shut up and lie down." But there is the concept of getting beyond the constant "Gang of 5" criticism and recognizing that elections do indeed matter. Expecting elected officials to abandon their mission and the views that got them elected is a bit naive and unrealistic. Face it, forced busing for "diversity" and the at-risk model of education adored by the status quo is antiquated. It may have served some purpose at one time, but it is not a scalable and effective approach as we progress into the 21st century. It failed and hurt more students than it ever helped. Time for change.
That's exactly why we needed better process
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 12:11 — MiraMilI appreciate that the Board has it's views on diversity. Seems to me, though, that we expect our elected officials (regardless of party affiliation) to do a little research and analysis before trashing the system. I for one, as a taxpayer and parent would like to know (1) What the heck is our new assignment policy?, (2) How much is going to cost taxpayers? (3) How does it affect the education of my child, the kid down the street, in North Raleigh, Cary, in Southeast Raleigh, etc. Little questions like these were not even discussed before throwing out diversity as one of many components in the assignment policy. Sounds like the Gang of Five is using a fifth century bludgeon to come up with 21st century policy.
Malone summed it up
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 12:47 — Solon77Malone pretty much summed it up - we are right, they are wrong.
With Ms. Kushner's laundry
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 07:47 — woodstockWith Ms. Kushner's laundry list of petty and childish complaints, it seems pretty clear that her concerns have a lot more to do with personal politics and a pursuit of self interests than anything to do with seating capacity at a meeting. What is the proper seating capacity, by the way? If it is not whatever the capacity of the board room is, then what is it specifically? How much should taxpayers spend to have meetings at different venues to accommodate any potential capacity requirements?
Ms. Kushner personifies the unfairness of the magnet system and the astounding lengths people will go to to protect their children's private educations paid for by taxpayers. Her antics are going to draw even more attention to the educational discrepancies inherent with our current magnet system. Whether she likes it or not, Ms. Kushner is shining light on the unfairness and will ultimately help bring about needed changes.
Re: "unfairness". I was
Sat, 05/15/2010 - 18:35 — HJ2ss2Re: "unfairness". I was recently informed, that "( P..sssst life is not always fair)".
I can't take credit for the
Sat, 05/15/2010 - 23:17 — HJ2ss2I can't take credit for the enlightening concept thay "life is not always fair". This was taught to me by woodstock in an earlier thread.
LOL Yeah, I was the first
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 18:01 — woodstockLOL Yeah, I was the first person to ever point that out.
You are right!
Sat, 05/15/2010 - 21:44 — g88ky07And that's why there are elections!
I'm not a lawyer (although I
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 09:23 — CaryCurmudgeonI'm not a lawyer (although I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night), but I don't see why Ms. Kuschner's laundry list should be a factor in the judge's decision. The suit is only asking that the board votes regarding policy 6200 be set aside, and that future meetings be moved to the RBC Center.
So move the meeting if the judge says so, knock out a couple of quick re-votes and off we go. For that matter, the previous board already showed that they have a huge amount of lattitude in making decisions, and that 40% F&R is a "goal," not a requirement, so even if the board did not go back and re-vote there is nothing stopping them from marching ahead with their 9-15 month plan.
Hmm...did she miss anything?
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 09:06 — srhudson06Looks like she's just plain unhappy with everything they've done. If she doesn't win this is she going to challenge the outcome of the election?
There were plenty of people who were unhappy with the old board, that's why they are the "old board". Work to make changes within the system, don't whine, cry and sue just because you didn't get your way.
Affidavit
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 07:21 — Bob_SconceKeung -- Link's not working.
Sorry about that. It's up
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 08:51 — KeungHui (author)Sorry about that. It's up now.
Should be interesting...
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 06:45 — zandeI tried to get tickets but I was not allowed to leave the building with them so I had to give them back. The tix were passed out at 10am and the meeting was that afternoon.
As a result I had to stand in a hot crowded hallway unable to see or hear the proceedings in the board room. I am eager to see what the judge says.
I realize hot crowded
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 18:35 — red_balloonI realize hot crowded hallways can be uncomfortable but everytime I read it on these blogs I wonder about the direction of our priorities.
zande--I was there at that
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 11:34 — jenmanzande--I was there at that meeting and I agree that it wasn't handled in the best way. However, you've never been guaranteed a seat in the room. For more crowded meetings you had to get there at least an hour before they started to get a seat. People have always stood in the hallway because of overflow and they've always been unable to see or hear the proceedings.
Heck, I was sitting in the board room for that meeting and I couldn't hear what was going on because of all the hecklers.
Oh my
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 09:46 — g88ky07it must've just been traumatic and horrible to have to endure such 3rd world conditions.
Next time maybe they can turn the AC off and make you feel more comfy.
Of course you were there
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 10:05 — zandeOf course you were there right? lol. Geesh. More potshots from those cloaked by anonymity.
So what this complete waste
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 06:32 — breining24So what this complete waste of time and money boils down to is the folks inside the beltline didnt like the results of the election, so they are suing.
In the wider view of things
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 07:08 — DrActualFactualIn the wider view of things I have to wonder if we were not able to be seated at the BOE meeting where the previous board converted traditional schools to MYR can we now sue to have that vote invalidated and thus revert schools back to traditional? If the judge agrees with those parties suing it will be interesting to see what the ramifications will be. How many unpopular decisions would be revisited and reversed? Does the district keep records on whether the board room seats were filled to capacity or not, if so how far back. The chaos this could create is mind boggling.
I attended many of those
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 10:08 — zandeI attended many of those meetings last year and never had to get a ticket to do so. I had to stand for a while once in the Board meeting room but after about 10 minutes I was seated. The anti MYR folks were every bit as vocal and outspoken also.
I'm referencing the meetings
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 11:03 — DrActualFactualI'm referencing the meetings on the initial conversion of the 22 schools which occurred 3-4 years or so ago, not sure which meetings you are referring to.