Wake County Schools Superintendent Del Burns is getting some online help to be able to stay on through his June 30 resignation notice.
Del's Army has formed on Facebook to aid Burns now that the school board will meet Tuesday to decide whether to remove him before June 30. According to the page, it's a "group of students, parents, educators, citizens and community leaders who support Superintendent Del Burns and his principles."
"We believe that Dr. Burns should be able to serve as Superintendent until June 30," according to the group's description. "This [sic] is group is our way of thanking Dr. Burns for over 30 years of service to the children and community of Wake County."
Comments
For Del's supporters...
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 09:48 — Eric_BHonestly, what do you see as Del Burns' primary achievements and accomplishments during his tenure? I really, honestly want to know.
Looking at the data, I see falling graduation rates every year of his tenure, falling test scores relative to state average every year, and more schools than ever violating the 40% F&R threshold.
I have no doubt that Dr. Burns is a very kind and sincere person and has put lots of time into his job, but what is his legacy?
At least 39 new members are Enloe students -
Sun, 02/21/2010 - 14:13 — midtownmomMany more are and don't list Enloe as their network; several are at Charter Schools; a large % of members are just children (and for this purpose I call high school students children because they don't have real life experience to judge issues like this); and many more don't even live in this area. Although I respect everyone's opinion, this group cannot be taken too seriously.
Del's Army
Sun, 02/21/2010 - 20:32 — duval339 members and counting..
I would not discredit this group of people, young and "mature" who are not willing the BOE to make rash decisions.
Did not the BOE all state they thought Dell was doing a fine job and thought they had a great working relationship!?!
Del Burns
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:12 — iam4kidsI think it would be a terrible mistake to remove Del before his retirement date. The new board members are obviously NOT for what's best for students in Wake Co. It is also obvious, that they are trying only to please their voters. These people don't have a clue what WCPSS is all about much less do they appear to care. This is a great school system - the people that are employed w/this system care about the children and how to give them the best education possible. What's best for the students of WCPSS should be in the forefront - not what's best for the parents. I'm proud of Del for standing up for what he believes.
I do not discredit this group, but they are...
Sun, 02/21/2010 - 20:55 — midtownmomYoung, mature, and only know their specialized magnet education. I'm sorry, but they are not parents, nor huge taxpayers. They are children who have had a completely different educational experience than most children in our system. Of course they and their parents do not want any changes in their schools, I don't blame them at all. I am speaking about the over 100,000 other families who have not had the same educational benefits as this elite group. The ones in schools who don't offer ANY foreign language, very few specials and/or electives and are in over crowded classrooms, in many ways caused directly by mandatory year round conversions.
"they are not parents, nor
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 09:02 — jeannie84"they are not parents, nor huge taxpayers.:
Clearly, you have NO idea what you're talking about; have you even looked at the FB group? many of the members are taxpaying Wake County citizens and, as of this AM, we are 442 strong; not too shabby for a group that was created three days ago.
Are facebook pages and groups really that important?
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:31 — mereteachAre facebook pages and groups really that important? There are pages and groups on facebook for just about everything, so other than their creators, who really cares how many members they can get to join in on the fun? I have seen pages like, WHERE THEHELL ARE MAX AND RUBY'S PARENTS??? with 52,489 members and and as of this morning the group It snowed in S.C. on February 12, 2010 and I ran around in it had 43,381 members.
A fun facebook group
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:51 — shank56I Ran Behind the Mosquito Truck and Lived to Tell About it!
Exactly what is your purpose?
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 10:06 — Voice_of_Reason_Are you trying to overthow the duly elected school board and reinstate Dr. Burns? Are you going to start frivioulous lawsuits to eat up public money? I am not sure of what you hope to acheive. I believe the time for this enthusiasm was before the election, everything was in your favor if people were so happy with the status quo.
The group seems very
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 09:38 — CaryCurmudgeonThe group seems very partisan to me. I did a sample of the voting-age members I was able to find in the Wake County BoE database, and found 82% of them to be registered Democratic. Nothing wrong with that, but I find it a bit ironic that Del is complaining about partisan politics while he seems to enjoy partisan support.
before Apexter accuses you,
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:12 — carson79before Apexter accuses you, I want to say this is not "creepy stalker" behavior.
gosh if WSCA's leadership was not mostly secret, we could sample them and see if they are "partisan" or not as well!
"Young, mature, and only
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 00:37 — Tony_Lucas"Young, mature, and only know their specialized magnet education. I'm sorry, but they are not parents, nor huge taxpayers. They are children who have had a completely different educational experience than most children in our system."
midtownmom, I created the group and I have never attended a magnet school and neither have many of the other students. If you look at the members, they are people that have a connection with Wake County. Some of the students are from non-magnets such as Middle Creek, Sanderson, and Athens.
I attended Rand Road from K-4, Middle Creek E for 5, North Garner 6-8, and Middle Creek H 9-12. None of these schools are magnets. I have lived in the same general area for my entire public school education, the Garner area. While I wasn't a fan of reassignment at the time, I have since realized that I benefited from it and so have many others. I am a product of WCPSS and the policies supported by Dr. Burns and so are many other WCPSS students.
Also, while we may not be "huge" taxpayers now, some of us do pay taxes. It is a public school system and we deserve to have a voice.
if you started the group
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:16 — loriacIf you started the group - pls answer the question - what exactly has Mr. Burns accomplished in the past 5 years? Eric B gave a good summary - falling graduation rates every year of his tenure, falling test scores relative to the state average, increasing numbes of schools at >40% F&R?
Add to this the fact that he withheld the SAS EVAAS report which showed that minorities are under-represented in 8th grade algebra (entry to the college track), he relied on state class size waivers when he was clearly warned they would not be approved this year (resulting in moving kids mid-year - always the kids who get the shaft), he offered up central office cuts AFTER laying off teachers , encouraged his staff to give parents self-described 'odious school choices' for traditional opt outs, and the list goes on.
No wonder he's starting up a media storm - he's probably hoping to deflect them away from his lack of any true accomplishments.
Under Dr. Burns, WCPSS has
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 13:01 — Tony_LucasUnder Dr. Burns, WCPSS has seen an increase in AP enrollment and an increase in SAT scores after the change in the test. Dr. Burns has had to deal with funding below what the school system had requested for many years, while also dealing with growth. Graduation rates have dropped in other counties as well in the recent years - look at CMS. Dr. Burns is committed to equality and developed a 2008 vision to better the school system.
OK - on the AP enrollment
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 15:54 — loriacOK - on the AP enrollment and SAT scores increase.
Funding - that comes w/ the job. I would argue that he made poor decisions - maintaining a large PR budget, spending staff time and real money for faux award applications and travel to accept said faux awards while teachers lack for basic supplies. This is NOT an accomplishment.
Wake graduation rates falling faster than other counties - NOT an accomplisbhment.
2008 vision - NOT an accomplishment unless he was successful in implementing it - what was the vision and what was inplemented?
So far this is not a long list of accomplishments.
AP enrollment may have gone
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 16:13 — Eric_BAP enrollment may have gone up, but we still lag far behind Charlotte-Mecklenburg in the number of students taking AP tests. Apparently CMS pays for students to take the AP tests, so this allows more students to take part, including low income students I imagine.
As for the SAT scores increase, yes that is true, but the percentage of students taking the SAT has been dropping. That's sure not something to be proud of.
All in all, I find it ironic that Dr. Burns seems to not have helped low income students during his tenure, yet still gets lauded for the diversity policy and his focus on "all students".
Perhaps SAT scores increase
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 16:12 — CaryCurmudgeonPerhaps SAT scores increase as a result of having less lower-performing students graduate, thus eliminating their need to take the test.
where are you getting the
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:20 — carson79where are you getting the "odious" quote from? I have heard it but don't know the source.
And I assume you are pointing this post toward Ron as well since he said he would try to convince Del to stay? If he is as bad as you argue, shouldn't Ron be aware of it and coming out with accusations such as yours?
....
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:58 — Sideburns"Odious" goes back to a BAC meeting with Chuck Dulaney. That's how the traditional options were described. It's hard to forget a word like that.
Thanks. So Chuck said that
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 13:08 — carson79Thanks. So Chuck said that the traditional options were designed to be "odious"? or did someone else call them that? did he explain further what this meant?
THat's all you could come up
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:51 — loriacTHat's all you could come up with?
Sounds like you can't come up w/ anything Mr. Burns has accomplished. Still waiting.....
I have no idea what Mr. Margiotta is thinking - this is my (and Eric B's) question - I've posted it in a few places.... still waiting.
was this to me? I thought
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 13:07 — carson79was this to me? I thought you were asking people who are members of or specifically the creator of the group?
I was, but you jumped in as
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 14:04 — loriacI was, but you jumped in as usual w/ more questions, and nothing to add.
lol that is kind of funny,
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 14:07 — carson79lol that is kind of funny, but actually I jumped in with a question that Sideburns answered and then a point that you agreed with me on about Ron's positive statements about Del.
So you've been reassigned once in 12 years
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 02:26 — jeffrey1I attended Rand Road from K-4, Middle Creek E for 5, North Garner 6-8, and Middle Creek H 9-12.
So you've been reassigned once in 12 years. Congratulations. And while I don't know your address, the 4 schools you listed are in the same general area, so I'm guessing you never had a very long bus ride.
What do you say to the 4th grader who's looking at his 3rd school in the past 4 years? What do you say to the young kindergartner who goes to a distant school, despite the fact that there are 23 other elementary schools that are closer to his/her home?
And what policies supported by Dr. Burns were you subject to? Are you referring to the thousands of F&R kids bussed from East Raleigh to Garner area schools over the past decade that helped you to experience diversity? Again congratulations -- you reaped the benefits of a policy that you never had to pay a price for. Those poor parents in East Raleigh never got a chance to witness their children's education while you sat back and patted yourself on the back for being such a well rounded guy. Nice.
The fact is that you don't have a clue.
Actually, the Middle Creek
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:01 — Tony_LucasActually, the Middle Creek schools are not in the same area as Rand Road and North Garner. They are about 20-25 minutes away. Middle Creek is one of the schools that SE Raleigh students are being assigned to. I lived in the Cloverdale Neighborhood, which is in North Garner until 10th grade and then we moved to Sauls Road, just outside of Garner. At Sauls Road, I was assigned to Garner High but my mom filled out the transfer form for me to stay at Middle Creek. While at the same time, my sister who was one year behind me attended Garner High.
Also, I consider the people from SE Raleigh to be a part of my community. I basically lived on the border of SE Raleigh and Garner for K-10. My family paid a price but it was a price worth paying.
Is this really the tone you
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 08:28 — carson79Is this really the tone you meant to bring to the discussion?
Are you the guy that headed up a parent group and what was the name of the group?
Your assumptions are way off base
Sun, 02/21/2010 - 21:06 — duvalNot everyone who believes in the diversity policies of our county decided to choose a magnet program for education.
Many of us believe that a sound basics program, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science with sound and general electives that will get our students far. AG honor students in traditional base schools proves that we are correct in our beliefs.
Your assumptions are just that.
From your comment, are you
Sun, 02/21/2010 - 19:06 — Tony_LucasFrom your comment, are you saying that the children of Wake County don't even have a stake in their own education? Also, some of the people in high school networks may have graduated and they haven't added another network or changed that network to be a secondary network. The majority of members of this group have a connection to Wake County Schools. By your own statement, Americans for Prosperity should not be taken too seriously because they're an NC Chapter and many of their members don't live in Wake County.
Okay, so you're correct, I definately didn't do enough research.
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 10:40 — midtownmomthe first time. I assumed that you were a professional and had the life experience to make judgements this important. Now I see that you are an enthusiastic young adult who is a college student at a very liberal university. I appaud you for taking a stance on something you feel is very important, but again I state that there is much more to this issue than you could possibly realize. There is a vast history behind the past Wake County board, and the appointment of Mr. Burns to his current position, that transcends the obvious issues that are happening right now. I also understand that there are many members in your facebook group that have had the experience to form a valid opinion about the situation. And don't get me wrong, I do not have a beef with Mr. Burns, he seems to be a very nice gentleman who has run our district to the best of his ability. But in a business environment, when an administrator or employee publicly states that he/she is in complete opposition to their employers policies than they are also stating that they cannot continue their position as required. It is that simple.
My life experience comes
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:13 — Tony_LucasMy life experience comes from attending Wake schools and also working on a school board campaign and actually doing research. As for the liberal university, I'll give you that but the university doesn't define who I am. I consider myself to be a moderate Republican. I don't identify with either the College Republicans or Young Democrats at UNC. Dr. Burns did say that he is stepping down in June because of his differences. Dr. Burns has not tried to block anything done by the school board, so there is no need to fire him now and cost taxpayers more money. For a fiscally conservative board, they do spend a lot of money.
are you saying that the
Sun, 02/21/2010 - 20:49 — red_balloonare you saying that the children of Wake County don't even have a stake
in their own education?
They do indeed, especially the ones who go to school for academics but are enlisted as pawns in a social engineering game.
Red ... not creating large
Sun, 02/21/2010 - 22:12 — user12345Red ... not creating large concentrations of poor kids in a single school is not social engineering ... it is a survival strategy … a way to continue to attract teachers and not have certain schools branded as the ghetto school where they send all the poor kids …. While grouping the poor in high concentrations seems efficient for delivering service, crowding poor people into ghettos has proven to be a failure over the years ... just as it is a failure to do it for schools ... in a diverse environment kids can find their place …, which might be low in English by high in math ….
I understand your concern
Sun, 02/21/2010 - 22:37 — red_balloonI understand your concern but it seems strange to me that a low SES child has to be told that being with his/ her kind is undesirable.
Only people in Leesville
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 00:24 — user12345Only some people think F&R are undesirable ... they are just kids with fewer resources ... they are only undesirable to those who want their seats or think they drag the school down.
Only people in Leesville
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 07:00 — AngelaWnot only is that a lie, but a bitter, ugly bigoted statement with absolutely nothing to back it up, as usual.
I think that Del Burns is
Sat, 02/20/2010 - 19:22 — ApexterI think that Del Burns is proof that you can be a nice guy with good intentions yet still be a poor leader.
So many people are wanting to make a martyr of this guy and claim that all of the school system's problems have come about because of some evil group of 5 on the school board. But the fact is, there has been considerable unrest in WCPSS for several years. This unrest was based on clear disparities in how people in different areas in the county were being treated (those in Raleigh/center of the county getting magnet schools and incentives to attend the schools where WCPSS wanted them; those in the outer areas of the county begging for new schools to meet enrollment demands, and watching them being built in the same county center because WCPSS felt that they would work better there for their bussing plan). The ante was upped when WCPSS decided that they couldn't keep up with growth and that they would meet it by forcing year round calendars in that same doughnut shaped area at the edges of the county, largely sparing the center of the county. Complaints over the disparities were clearly articulated and documented with numbers. Instead of recognizing the inequity of a system where we spent extra money to reward Raleigh/County Center families for attending where they were wanted while we cut costs by forcing undesirable things (lack of calendar choice, reassignments, and forbidding electives) on those in the outer county, WCPSS chose instead to label these people as malcontents. Worse than that, they tried to discredit the ones asking for equity by claiming that they were really just opponents of diversity.
A good and knowledgeable leader would recognize that you cannot expect a system with large and noticeable inequities to be stable and thrive. If instead of trying to discredit critics he had been shown them some respect and made some effort to address at least some of the complaints (for instance, relaxing the ban on electives in schools and allow more adequate treatment of AG students), there could have been better communication and less tension. Instead, Burns listened to advisers such as Chuck Dulaney who derided those who complained, and allowed him to implement policies such as providing intentionally unattractive assignments.
The writing on the wall regarding unrest has been there for quite some time, and Dr. Burns chose to ignore it. The forcing of MYR to so many families all at one time allowed the anger to reach a flash point and drive the resounding message that was sent when 4 new board members with a mandate for change were elected this fall.
A good leader would have recognized this and acted upon it. Dr. Burns owns a part of responsibility for the bad situation we are in now. Trying to play the "My heart is so pure, so I can't follow their evil policies" card in multiple press interviews is yet another example of horrible leadership. In the interviews, he repeated "It's about me." Well, that's the problem, Del. It shouldn't be about you. Your insistence on going out saying "Look at me! I'm Mr. Clean!" you're just fomenting even more discord and division in the system. If you wanted to incite a civil war in this county, I couldn't think of a much more effective way to do it.
What a horrible legacy to leave behind.
And I'm changing my opinion about him being a nice guy.
Well Said Indeed!
Sun, 02/21/2010 - 13:21 — JanisTangoI'm sure Mr. Burns is a nice guy with good intentions. He witnessed the chaos and unrest from the last several years. Parent begged and pleaded for the same thing the status quo supporters are begging for now....SLOW DOWN and COMPROMISE. He didn't do a thing and as the head huncho he should have. That is the biggest disappointment in my mind.
JanisTango. The N&O
Sun, 02/21/2010 - 14:40 — aquaman4life68JanisTango.
The N&O should print your post above on the front page in the largest Font possible. You said it so well! The very ones complaining about with the new majority is doing, didn't have a problem with the old board and Burns doing the very same thing in the past!
This is a post that Dr.
Sat, 02/20/2010 - 23:55 — red_balloonThis is a post that Dr. Burns should read.
brilliant summation...and
Sat, 02/20/2010 - 19:28 — AngelaWbrilliant summation...and may I just add? ditto!
Indeed, well said.
Sat, 02/20/2010 - 20:21 — woodstockIndeed, well said.
Apexter for Prez!
Sat, 02/20/2010 - 20:41 — g88ky07VERY, VERY well said indeed.
Del's Army, best laugh I've had all afternoon. Send this guy packing this coming week and let's get on to real issues NEW majority. Thanks ahead of time!
I think you should start a "Not Nice, Del" facebook group...
Sat, 02/20/2010 - 22:40 — raleighlauraCouldn't agree with you more.
WELL SAID!!!!
Sat, 02/20/2010 - 23:24 — choice4all.
Del Burns a Wake County hero
Sat, 02/20/2010 - 18:45 — thompsnr1Del's Army. It is discouraging that Del is leaving. I think he did the honorable thing.
Let the new school board drive this thing over the cliff as fast as they want so we too can have the system that Mecklenburg County sought AND GOT. More expensive and less effective.
Let's remember that Del gave his career in support of a great school system. (Didn't say perfect.) He offered to stay for some transition. If the new school board doesn't want him, they show their continued lack of wisdom.
"Let's remember that Del
Sat, 02/20/2010 - 18:56 — CaryCurmudgeon"Let's remember that Del gave his career"
No, let's remember that it was Wake County Schools who gave Del his career. He was given the opportunity to rise from teacher to district superintendent, and he was paid $273,000 a year. Wake County owes Del Burns nothing, he has been more than paid in full.
Mr. Cuilla..
Sat, 02/20/2010 - 19:02 — truthBtoldas twisted an bitter as you are, can't you wait a little longer to get your rich schools and your poor schools?
It took CMS at least a year to break down. Running out of patience?
Or do you want to be interim? Afterall, you were promised a job out of WSCA?
I'm not bitter (and I don't
Sat, 02/20/2010 - 19:13 — CaryCurmudgeonI'm not bitter (and I don't think I'm twisted). I am very much looking forward to a bright new future for our schools. You've been apparently listening to some trolls, I already have a job and have no desire to be interim superintendent.
...
Sat, 02/20/2010 - 10:36 — SideburnsDA?
That means something else to me --- but still very appropriate. :>)