Critics of new board majority fret over Burns' resignation

Critics of the new Wake County school board majority are in an uproar over Del Burns' resignation as superintendent.

As noted in today's article, Burns' surprise resignation announcement was met with shock by all sides. But for those fighting the new board majority, the shock was mixed with fear about what would happen without Burns at the helm.

"It makes my stomach hurt. It frightens me as a parent," said parent Vickie Adamson, who was ruled out of order by board chair Ron Margiotta for saying Burns left because he was unhappy.

School board member Carolyn Morrison said Tuesday afternoon that she hadn't "stopped shaking" over the news of the resignation. Morrison had hired Burns for his first teaching job in Wake in 1976.

"You can read in between the lines," school board member Keith Sutton said of Burns' reasons for leaving. "I think he said what he felt."

Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker said Burns’ resignation is a signal that the new board majority should slow down. School board member Anne McLaurin is Meeker’s wife.

“The new school board majority needs to rethink its approach to everything,” Meeker said. “The current threat to our school system from the new majority is a major issue for all of us.”