Barring any holdups, the school board should decide this week who will take Rosa Gill's vacant seat.
The plan is to meet from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday to interview all nine people who want to fill the District 4 opening caused by Gill's appointment to the state House. The board is slated to meet from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday to make a final selection.
The new board member would be sworn in on Aug. 18 and finish out Gill's term, which expires November 2011.
Five people filed after I went on vacation. Here's a quick synopsis of their applications, including links for you to read them yourselves.
A common theme among most of the nine applicants, including those who just got in before the deadline, is their praise for the school system.
In his application, Johnnie Darden says he wants to join the board to help continue to provide to other parents the "level of satisfaction" he and his wife have experienced with their children's education.
Darden touts his military service, law enforcement background and his more recent work as a minister and youth mentor. He says the three strategies he'll advance are recruiting and retaining quality teachers, providing a safe learning environment and promoting a fiscal and responsible school system.
Alice Garrett goes on to praise both Wake and the diversity policy in her application.
"I believe any thing less than a strong diversity policy in Wake County could lead to separate and unequal schools and a loss of the system's world class recognition and progress over the years," Garrett writes.
Garrett argues that her time as a teacher, principal and senior central office administrator will help "make me a strong and viable contributor" to the school board and children in Wake. This includes strategies such as improving community engagement and ensuring schools maintain a diverse student population.
Garrett's references include Dudley Flood, a respected longtime educator who helped oversee integration efforts in the state's public schools, and Gordon Brown, chairman of the board of the Wake Education Partnership.
Jonica Rowland also promotes an upbeat response. In her application, she says "I believe that WCPSS is one of the best school systems in the nation."
Rowland touts her service as a Wake County PTA Council member and her experience as an independent insurance agent. She says she will be a team player on the school board because the "Wake County Board of Education is to have no 'lone rangers.'"
Rowland says her three strategies are to increase partnerships with the community, support programs that "help to reduce 'social strain'" in our community and promote continual professional development for teachers and staff.
Keith Sutton is also very effusive in his praise of Wake being "among the best in the nation." He notes in his application that while president of the Triangle Urban League he wrote a resolution in 2002 supporting the board's diversity policy.
"I still support the Board's socioeconomic diversity policy and feel that it is the bedrock of the system's success," writes Sutton, legislative affairs program manager for the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Sutton says his three strategies would be to employ quality teachers and staff, reduce the number of suspensions and expulsions and provide adequate resources. This includes giving taxing authority to the school board.
He has a reference letter from Harvey Schmitt, president of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.
While not harshly critical of the school board, Venita Peyton doesn't profess her love for current board policies in her application.
Peyton's three strategies are to lower the dropout rate through greater K-5 intervention, increase parental participation through improved communication and recognize student achievement beyond standardized tests.
Peyton, a real estate agent and community activist, has a reference letter from Garner Mayor Ronnie Williams. That could raise some eyebrows in the Southeast Raleigh community, which makes up much of District 4.
Williams drew flak last year after saying Garner didn't want more Southeast Raleigh students. To try to smooth things out, Williams later met with several black leaders.
The four earlier applicants for the District 4 seat are Lynette Aytch, Doris Burke, Lillian Lee and Samuel Greene.
