The District 7 race is getting more crowded with Jerry Ballan the lone candidate to file today for the school board.
Ballan, a securities principal/certified financial planner, became the third candidate in District 7. It looks like Ballan is positioning himself between Deborah Prickett, a board critic. and Karen Simon, a supporter of school policies.
"I'm not pro-SES (socioeconomic status) but we have to find a way to work around it to find something better," Ballan said. "You can't throw the baby out with the bath water on the first day."
Ballan said he's a "realist" who would be the ninth vote to bring people together.
For instance, Ballan said he is a big supporter of community schools who would like to have more of them in his community of Brier Creek. But he said he's realistic about the fact that there's no money right now to build more schools there.
Ballan said he's not happy that Brier Creek was reassigned from Panther Creek High to Broughton High. But he said he's glad they kept all the Brier Creek students at one school instead of splitting them apart.
The reassignment of the Brier Creek students to Panther Creek High is one of the things that triggered Prickett's decision to run. Prickett was endorsed by the Wake Schools Community Alliance.
Ballan said he spoke with WSCA but the problem with the group was that it was "not willing to have positive confrontation" with the school system.
Ballan, 62, is raising twin grandsons who are assigned to East Cary Middle School.
Ballan said it's important to have a person like him with business experience on the board. Prickett is the character education consultant for the state Department of Public Instruction and Simon is a grants manager with the N.C. Governor's Crime Commission.
Whether Ballan has more of an impact on Prickett or Simon remains to be seen. But having three candidates could make it harder for someone to get a majority of the vote on Oct. 6 to avoid a runoff.
If you're curious to see and hear Ballan, he spoke at the 33:50 mark of the first hour at the reassignment hearing at Millbrook High's gym. Click here for the link.
For a contrast, you can hear Prickett speak at 14-minute mark for the second hour in Millbrook's gym. Click here for the link.
Comments
Sure you can!
Sun, 07/12/2009 - 20:30 — g88ky07"You can't throw the baby out with the bath water on the first day."
Ok, maybe not on day one, but day 12, get it done! The time for "studying" stuff in Wake County that is a proven failure is over!
Ask Lisa B how far *positive
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 08:31 — Big_PictureAsk Lisa B how far *positive confrontation* got her? Honest, factual, respectful, and ignored. She shoulda made some public noise and thrown manners out the window. The group she built approaches 2000 members but BoE ignores those who are respectful regardless of cold hard facts. The Leesville schools are tanking; time to fire up the MYR fight again. Go WSCA!
...
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 10:34 — SideburnsBig_Picture,
Can you write me off-line? Ask Hui for my email address.
Thanks.
Fear he's not as much of a realist as he thinks
Wed, 07/08/2009 - 23:05 — FalcI'm afraid Mr. Ballan may not be as much of a realist as he thinks. I believe Harold Weinbrecht tried patiently for over a year to make progress with this BOE using positive confrontation - without success.
You are correct...
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 09:40 — designmanYou are correct about Cary's Mayor Weinbrecht, he did try mightily to work with the Wake BOE. He soon learned of their profound arrogance and refusal to work with the parents and communities in Wake County. So, who does he support? He supports the Wake School Community Alliance (WSCA) and their candidates for positive family-friendly change in Wake County, including Malone and Prickett. Most of the other mayors in Wake County also support WSCA.
As for Ballan, he is not a realist. He is a self-serving and naive middle of the roader that will be nothing more than a nusance in the District 7 race. He has no ideas for where we need to go in Wake County to advance academic success. He is simply saying he's is the neutral candidate. Neutrality will not lead to the systemic change needed in our school system.
Anyone who thinks Ballan may be their guy in the BOE election, please try to spend 10 minutes talking to him... twenty minutes later you will still be listening to his disjointed ramblings and desperately trying to figure out your escape route.
...
Wed, 07/08/2009 - 20:41 — SideburnsA very smart man once told me "Don't waste your time with the deadheads." If Mr. Ballan thinks he is going to make headway (sorry, AngelaW, no pun intended) with any current BOE members using "positive confrontation", he obviously hasn't been paying attention.
I think what he is saying
Wed, 07/08/2009 - 22:19 — user1234I think what he is saying is that negative confrontation does not “sell” to the wider audience of voters. Most of BOE isn’t running again so there is no one to confront. Confronting the “system” is problematic. “Bitching and moaning” about the past, wrongs done, etc. and railing against people who are not running is not really effective … to most it will be like telling and inside joke few understand. Most people are ok with the school system and won’t respond to WCPSS sucks arguments. Everyone wants improved education but they are not mad enough to burn everything down. The winner will craft a positive message of wanting to make improvements – reassignments, magnet applications process, reduce the disparity between schools, predictable family friendly calendar, etc. not railing against the evils of the past adminstration.
Please try to keep up
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 10:28 — designmanFor all your posting, you sure don't seem able to keep up to speed. Please learn something new so that your posts do not all project the same low-level of awareness.
No one, NO ONE, is running on a "WCPSS sucks" platform. What WSCA and candidates Prickett and Malone are running on is a platform of excellence in education for ALL students and communities and a committment to parents and communities that their needs, desires, and challenges matter. They want to take the dialog about improvng the educational environment in Wake County beyond the current singular obsession with diversity at all costs to one that also incorporates innovative educational approaches that have been proven to work in many other school systems. It is an intelligent and common sense approach and not one marinated in politics that the staus quo and middle of the road candidates seek.
More "Deep Thoughts" from User1234...
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 00:20 — Its_the_parents...Yoda you aren't! In fact Yoda getta life. Ok, after hearing your profundities, I am reminded about another profound observation, namely, what's the difference between a human and a gnu? Ans: A human doesn't wake up every morning thinking it's the first day of his/her life...
“Bitching and moaning” about the past, wrongs done, etc. and railing against people who are not running is not really effective..."...REALLY??? Some folks have made a very profitable career exploiting historical wrongs and social conditions from 60 years ago to perpetuate current policies...it's been really effective for them!!!
"Most people are ok with the school system..."...All I can say to that astounding statement, is please consider quitting smoking. Immediately!! And get thee to a detox unit...asap!!!
Best Regards!
It's the parents Stupid...firstly because our inattention let things come to this pass within WCPSS, and; secondly, because no amount of busing or other gimmicks can substitute for an intensely involved parent in providing their child a world-class education...
Where do you live? Garner,
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 08:17 — user1234Where do you live? Garner, ITB, East Wake, along the RIM? The intense angry some people feel about WCPSS is not universal. 132k kids, maybe 100k school voters, 25k ressigned, 10% unhappy= 2500, 900k people, 600k voters? The man on the street is not unhappy with the schools. Jobs and taxes are a priority and YR and calendaring are not what keeps them up at night. Most people won't understand any of the rants on why someone want to go to this school over that school. On diversity, most people live in diverse areas and won't understand why people oppose it.
DING DING DING!
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 01:21 — SDR256Ok, please wake up. Maybe "The man on the street is not unhappy with the schools. Jobs and taxes are a priority and YR and calendaring are not what keeps them up at night." But what keeps MOM awake at night is how the house will run from day to day and whether she has the lunches packed and feels like she can meet the bus in the morning. GOD HELP US if we had to meet a 6am bus every single day. All my kids are on the same schedule. GOD HELP US if we had two or three schedules in our house. What the average man may think of and what the average mom may think of I expect are WORLDS apart! Hey - user1234 - I am a college graduate of a well-thought of school. I think my family would be severely compromised if we had several schedules in our house. How is this like for families who have more challenges?
Good issue
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 09:59 — user1234"I think my family would be severely compromised if we had several schedules in our house. "
Good issue ... one people can agree on ... lack of planning and poor coordination cause multiples schools schedule ... see candidates position ... easy to understand, address and fix ... that is an issue the man on the street can understand ... note, not a diversity issue ... a poor planning and coordination issue.
Ironic
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 10:40 — Dadof3And who, within the mainstream, opposes racial or socioeconomic diversity?
Conversely, given the failures we've seen with WCPSS's "diversity policy" in regards to it having a positive impact for those whom it purports to help; why should we accept that the "diversity policy" is anything but a failure?
The sooner we vote out the social theorist enablers, the better for all of Wake Co.
Diversity
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 10:00 — loriacOn diversity, most people live in diverse areas and won't understand why people oppose it.
I haven't heard anyone oppose diversity. I have seen many blogposts and letters to the editor opposing the draconian measures to achieve a dubious measure (as defined by the BOE) of diversity. That would be BUSING - busing low-income kids 20 miles to make sure there's 'diversity' in schools, busing kids past 4 or 5 neighborhood schools to achieve 'diversity', and the list goes on.
I can hear the sound bites now - anyone who opposes the BOE must oppose diversity and is a white supremist elitist racist.... nice try, I'll give the voters of Wake County credit for more intelligence than that.
People don't oppose diversity
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 09:44 — FalcThey oppose the unnecessary bussing, reassignments and instability.
"most people live in
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 08:46 — CaryCurmudgeon"most people live in diverse areas and won't understand why people oppose it."
You really do sound like a broken record, but there actually is a good point buried in there. Most people do live in diverse areas. The cries of "resegregation," "separate but equal" and others ring hollow in today's diverse society.
This week, 40,000 students returned to school on YR calendars -- most of them because it was mandatory. Also this week, those students' parents got their first taste of dealing with the inconvenience of early Wednesday release, with no tangible offsetting benefit to their children's education.
Your voter numbers are at least directionally correct, maybe 50,000 voters will go to the polls on October 6th. I don't think we will have a hard time finding that many voters who are willing to make that car trip in order to regain their voice in our school system.
"Ballan said he spoke with
Wed, 07/08/2009 - 20:27 — AngelaW"Ballan said he spoke with WSCA but the problem with the group was that it was "not willing to have positive confrontation" with the school system. "
sounds pretty wishy-washy, rather along the lines of Patty Head speak....something district 7 can do without.....