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It could be an academic bloodbath this year for schools in Wake and statewide.

As noted in today's article by Lynn Bonner, passing rates on the state's end-of-grade reading exams plummeted this year due to new tests and higher standards. While Wake should still do better than the rest of the state, scores will still tumble.

You can expect far fewer Wake schools to be named Schools of Excellence or Schools of Distinction. You'll also probably see even more Wake schools fall short under No Child Left Behind.

The fact that Garner has taken on the school system in a very public way over the diversity policy led to one of the more heated moments of yesterday's roundtable.

As noted in today's article, Garner municipal and community leaders said they've had to take a public stand to force the school system's hand. Diana Bader, a Cary resident, suggested yesterday that the town take a different approach.

"Stop complaining about your schools," Bader said. "You need to support your schools."

The school board probably won't get the $3 million that was withheld for not meeting enrollment — or will it?

As noted in today's article, Joe Bryan, chairman of the board of commissioners, said he thought it was unlikely the current board would vote to give the money. But what about a future board later this fiscal year?

Things could change based on how the elections go for commissioners in November.

The 20th day numbers are in and they're even further off than they were last year.

Wake says it had 137,706 students on the 20th day. That's 2,737 students below the projection that was used for this year's county budget, likely meaning commissioners will keep the $3 million that was withheld in case enrollment fell short.

It's the second year in a row that Wake has come in more than 2,000 students below projection. Enrollment was 2,084 students below projection last year.

Folks from near Atlanta will be coming to town this week to see what tips they can pick up from the Triangle, including from the Wake school system.

The delegation from Gwinnett County, an Atlanta suburb, will spend part of Friday learning about education issues.

Things will kick off with former Superintendent Bill McNeal and former school board member Tom Oxholm talking about their new book, "A School District's Journey to Excellence: Lessons From Business and Education."

Seats are still available for Wednesday's Wake Regional Education Roundtable on socioeconomic diversity.

It should be a lively discussion considering the two groups who are sponsoring the event — the Wake Education Partnership and the Garner Chamber of Commerce. Both have somewhat differing visions about diversity.

It's clear where the Partnership stands on the issue. They're going to present the position they put forward in their report, “Striking a Balance: In Support of Diversity in the Wake County Public School System.”

Enloe High School officials are saying there's no connection between the cancellation of the Homecoming Dance and pep rally and a gang-related fight earlier this month.

On Sept. 11, six Enloe students were arrested after a series of fights at school that Raleigh police have labeled as gang-related. It was on the minds of some Enloe students when it was announced Thursday that the dance was canceled.

Enloe Principal Beth Cochran said the Oct. 4 dance was canceled strictly because not enough tickets were sold. She said only 180 tickets were sold instead of the 300 needed to break even.

How safe do your kids feel in school right now?

As noted in today's article by Thomasi McDonald, Wake school officials are trying to downplay the recent highly publicized cases of school violence. They're arguing that violence has actually decreased in recent years.

Anthony Pecoraro, a school district critic, disagrees.