Gov. Bev Perdue and several other Democratic Party leaders are scheduled to attend a Thursday fundraiser in Raleigh for a group that's hoping to wrest control of the Wake County school board away from the Republican majority.
The stated goal of the fundraiser for the Wake Citizens for Good Government PAC is to benefit Wake school board candidates "who support high quality public schools for all children." The PAC was formed in 2009 and unsuccessfully ran a television attack ad against Republican-backed school board candidates.
The PAC was formed by Dean Debnam, president of the Democratic-leaning polling firm of Public Policy Polling. PPP has recently conducted surveys on Wake school issues for what the firm says is a private client.
Democrats have tried to rally their base against the changes made by the Republican school board majority, including the elimination of the use of socioeconomic diversity in student assignment.
Perdue has frequently made negative remarks about the Wake school board, including during a January meeting with the Greensboro News & Record's editorial board and during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event. Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker, who also criticized the school board majority during that January MLK Day event, is among the sponsors for Thursday's fundraiser.
Other sponsors of Thursday's fundraiser include Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, State Schools Superintendent June Atkinson, U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell, U.S. Rep. Brad Miller. U.S. Rep David Price, State Treasurer Janet Cowell, State Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin. State Sen. Dan Blue, State Rep. Rosa Gill. State Rep. Grier Martin. State Rep. Deborah Ross. State Sen. Josh Stein, State Rep. Jennifer Weiss and Raleigh Councilwoman Mary-Ann Baldwin.
Five of the nine school board seats are on this fall's ballot. GOP chairman Ron Margiotta and Democrats Kevin Hill and Keith Sutton have said they plan to run. Democrats Carolyn Morrison and Anne McLaurin, who is also Meeker's wife, have not said if they'll run.
With the school board still working on redistricting of boundaries for board seats, challengers to the incumbents haven't publicly announced yet. School board candidates in Wake run by district and not countywide.
Republicans hold a 5-4 majority on the school board. But the coalition has been shaken at times by the defection of GOP vice chairwoman Debra Goldman on several issues.
Comments
What Can Atkinson Be Thinking?
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 05:31 — woodstockApparently these folks do not trust Wake County voters to make good decisions so these desperate Democrats are raising funds to apparently educate us. What they fail to recognize is that we've already educated ourselves on the issues and have made our decision... and we WILL NOT go backward to illegal, discriminatory and failed status quo policies.
Also, I find it very odd that a State Superintendent of Schools -- June Atkinson -- would get involved in a county election. That seems entirely inappropriate... and just plain classless. It is going to be a very hard sell for the State Superintendent -- who resides over a state school system ranked near the bottom nationally -- to attack a school board of one of the best school systems in the state and one that has advanced significantly over the past year with positive changes instituted by a new board elected in landslide victories. If anything, Atkinson needs to be listening and learning from the folks who are successful, not playing partisan politics and joining forces with the least popular Gov. in the entire country.
If they
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 08:18 — nancyncIf they hitch their political wagons to support the old diversity policy and AdvancEd and NAACP actions, it will backfire locally. Not only for those involved in county and state elections but those who wish to stay in DC as well.
The people of Wake County are pretty fed up and have witnessed enough nonsense to suffer any fools through grandstanding.
I agree. The
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 08:30 — woodstockI agree. The Democrats' fear, anger and frustration is leading them down a self destructive path. I am all for it, of course, but it is still amazing to me just how tone-deaf they are.
Why does it bother you?
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 06:21 — magnetParentWow, I've never seen so many self-contradictory and narrowminded statements in one post.
- You say that WCPSS is one of the best school systems in the state, yet you contend that WCPSS is a failed school system and worse than others in the state (CMS).
- You say that "we will not go backward" yet the other side has been saying the same exact thing - only that concern is about going backward toward resegregation.
- you claim that WCPSS has advanced significantly over the past year, yet there is absolutely no data to show that achievement has improved. There isn't even any data showing that the "significant" changes made have a ghost of a chance to improve achievement. The only thing that has "advanced significantly" is the parents convenience.
- You question why the Democrats are raising funds to support the next elections, yet that is exactly what the Republicans did last school board election. I guess its only a good thing if it agrees with you.
- And why shouldn't the State Superintendent of Schools be concerned about the direction WCPSS is going in - especially if NC is ranked near the bottom. Perhaps she sees the downfall of WCPSS as a negative thing that will even lower the ranking of the NC schools. And who are these successful folks you claim she should be listening to and learning from?
Just because people do not agree with you does not make them wrong, and it certainly does not make you right.
I am not questioning the
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 07:03 — woodstockI am not questioning the raising of money, I am questioning who is involved in raising the funds for county elections. You have to admit having a very unpopular Gov. involved and an incompetent state school superintendent attacking a county school board is very odd... some would say extremely desperate.
BTW, I should have clarified, WCPSS was great for SOME students, but the status quo failed miserably with low income and many minority students with their discriminatory and illegal policies. Thank God, we now have folks in office that think ALL students deserve a high-quality education... which is something it seems Atkinson does not have a clue about.
As for the rest of your post... it's just the same impotent talking points that led to the status quo beat down in 2009.
Woodstock, I met and worked
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 07:34 — DrActualFactualWoodstock, I met and worked with more Dems than Repubs during the past BOE campaign; it really was a bipartisan across the board effort to bring reforms that DEMS seemed to be embracing and pushing just as hard if not harder than Repubs. Prior DEM BOE members stepped down and didn't bother to finish their terms, less than stellar appointees taking their places, EVAAS/EI issue former chair Hill clung to desperately, etc. etc. etc. I wonder what Miller/Price think about the OCR response--do they think that is a fair and honorable way for local Dem. leaders to have treated their constitutents? If Price and Miller infuse money into this local race to support any of the past members I can't imagine that won't backfire and result in Dems crossing over to vote for Repubs especially in Hill/Margiotta districts. I have to wonder if Price/Miller realize that it is the fringe Dems that instigated the AdvancED action that may well lead to the loss of accreditation for the district, hard to brand yourself as pro-education when you are associated with that action. I wonder where they stand in regard to legislation to have the state of NC accredit schools.
I hear you, there were
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 07:49 — woodstockI hear you, there were indeed lots of Democrats that worked to elect the new board members and support the change in direction. However, at the Party level and within left-wing organizations the support is not there. It makes no sense and I agree, it will likely backfire on them.
It certainly did not work
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 07:52 — CaryCurmudgeonIt certainly did not work well here in Wake County for the 2010 commissioner elections where they went 0 for 4 running on a school board referendum.
Mudge, is Kevin Hill in the
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 08:05 — DrActualFactualMudge, is Kevin Hill in the same boat as Patti Head as far as voter popularity goes? He seemed irate to be replaced as chair, and then appeared to be visibly pouting with a vendetta to get even--not even-tempered, adult responses. Nevertheless, he seems so rigid and immovable in his thinking it doesn't really make for a team player. Any guage on the support for him in his own district?
Bob Sconce and Jennman live
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 09:32 — CaryCurmudgeonBob Sconce and Jennman live in his district and can probably comment at length on this. I do know a number of people in his district who were livid when some of the other districts were able to take some sensible steps converting YR schools back to traditional, but Hill wouldn't budge on any in his district. I think some of this depends on how many happy and unhappy voters end up in his new district, but my sense from BS and JM is that even with today's districting, Hill would get pounded by a good opponent.
Bob's assessment is spot
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 12:40 — jenmanBob's assessment is spot on. I think that even people who don't like the new board are unhappy with Hill. He's definitely vulnerable.
That's right
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 10:16 — Bob_SconceI think he's vulnerable. He has really ticked off a lot of people in his district with two decisions: (1) Blocking the conversion of Wakefield ES back to a traditional calendar, even though a majority of parents at the school wanted to convert back (with the school running well under YR capacity), (2) Voting to move Bedford's high school assignment from Wakefield HS to Heritage (meaning, effectively, that Bedford students, on their way to Heritage, would pass students going the opposite direction from the Heritage area to Wakefield).
Plus, since the population of Hill's district has ballooned over the last 10 years, its southern boundary will probably pull northward in redistricting, which means that district voters will be more conservative. Since Hill has been associated with the more liberal wing of the board, that won't help him.
A lot of tit for tat here.
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 07:49 — CaryCurmudgeonA lot of tit for tat here. When Dumplin' runs for reelection next year, look for the "beneficiaries" of this event to hold one for her. Dumplin' barely beat Pat McCrory in 2008, and that was the year of Obama where Democrates across the country were riding the wave of positive voter mojo. Same goes for Price, who could be in deep trouble after redistricting. I think this is a lot more about politics than education. If you can rally a base of voters for their cause, you can win a golden pine cone award and a free set of Ginsu steak knives.
...
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 07:18 — SideburnsAnd if the local Dems are running on the platform of bringing back diversity busing under the guise of not "going backward to resegregation", bring it.
Voters aren't stupid.
Looking at who gets...
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 07:48 — bpuli9999elected, I am going to have to disagree with your last statement.
I don't think she was
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 08:02 — woodstockI don't think she was talking about Obama voters.
Sideburns, your a Dem
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 07:37 — DrActualFactualSideburns, your a Dem right? Am I off-base in my observations as to how Dems that worked hard in the last election cycle will view the upper Dem candidates support?
...
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 08:35 — SideburnsYes, I am a Democrat. And, yes, I'm sure your observations are correct.
As much as people want to make this about politics (Dem and Rep parties included), it's not. IMO, parents will vote for those that support them and their family regardless of party affiliation.
I think you will see many Democrats in Wake County supporting candidates who want to continue the education reform in WCPSS. Simply, the old model was destructive and, as I said earlier, voters aren't stupid.
Puddin is a trooper freak
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 02:31 — bigpalshe and the rest of the democratic council of state will join the rest of the corrupt ousted democratic majority in both houses of the state legislature for thte first time in 140 years. THEY STILL JUST DONT GET IT.
Mr. Hui, are you going to
Mon, 04/04/2011 - 16:25 — DrActualFactualMr. Hui, are you going to post the questions from the most recent poll? I got a call this weekend and I guess I'm just going to have to put call blocking on my phone for PPP. Are their polls always this creepy and offensive?
My ability to write about
Mon, 04/04/2011 - 16:32 — KeungHui (author)My ability to write about the poll is signficantly limited if the survey results aren't made public.
Sorry, I thought they might
Mon, 04/04/2011 - 17:55 — DrActualFactualSorry, I thought they might release the questions to a journalist, even if they didn't release the results. Looks like this week is shaping up with things far more important than polls anyway.
My husband got that poll, I
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 12:31 — jenmanMy husband got that poll, I think over the weekend as well. It wasn't the first poll with the 'how many friends do you have of a different race' questions. Mostly questions about taxes going up to pay for the new majority's plan & I think one was about the national media coverage.
Morrison & McLaurin Should Decide Soon
Mon, 04/04/2011 - 15:50 — Bob_SconceAlthough not legally required, when redistricting happened after the 1990 and 2000 elections, the boards decided not to redraw district boundaries so as to remove any member from their seat. But, that consideration should go away if a member is not going to run again this fall. So, McLaurin and Morrison should clearly announce their intentions NOW, in order to give their colleagues the maximum amount of flexibility in redistricting.
Personally, I don't think that the school board should follow that rule. Redistricting is, by design, a bare-knuckles political activity. As long as the board follows the law, they should be able to do whatever they want. If the shoe were on the other foot, there's no doubt that the Democrats would be pushing to use redistricting to remove members of the opposition (they didn't do it in 1990 or 2000 because the board was generally all in agreement.)
True, they should...
Mon, 04/04/2011 - 20:20 — bpuli9999announce their intentions. But that might not work out well for the party. Which means they won't. That's politics - we should remember what Tony Gurley did a few weeks ago.
Wasn't Perdue quoted as
Mon, 04/04/2011 - 15:37 — woodstockWasn't Perdue quoted as saying she "hated busing?" Also, isn't she about as popular as the Mosque at ground zero?
On another note, I wish the N&O would stop referring to Goldman as part of the GOP majority as she clearly is not.
Peaches as popular as the mosque at ground zero?
Mon, 04/04/2011 - 16:50 — FSandYOUI think that is ranking her even a little higher than she actually is.
hhmmmm
Mon, 04/04/2011 - 15:36 — nancyncPPP seems to be getting mighty active again - like that 'odd' poll they won't release results on.
Now, according to reports, PPP only does polling for clients who pay, but one has to wonder if they polled people so they would have a direction to tell their left leaning friends to take in this election.
All this for one seat on the school board. Feel threatened much?
...
Mon, 04/04/2011 - 15:20 — SideburnsI wonder if Goldman has been invited. She's helped them a lot this year.