Are there racial reasons in the changes in Wake County school board election districts in Senate Bill 325?

As noted in today's article, Sen. Josh Stein and Sen. Dan Blue, both Raleigh Democrats, charged that the bill had racial and partisan purposes in play. They spoke for most of the debate before the Senate voted 33-17 to approve the bill with all Republicans in support and all Democrats voting no.

During part of his speech, Stein focused on the urban regional district created by the bill. He said it matches the boundaries for Blue's legislative district, which he said was one of the minority districts that the Republican majority had drawn up before the rest of their new state legislative redistricting lines.

More to come later, but the state Senate approved tonight the Wake County school board election bill by a 33-17 vote with Republicans in support and Democrats voting no.

Sen. Neal Hunt said S325 was meant to increase voter turnout and, through the two regional districts, increase the chance that a parent could vote for a board member who represents the school their children attend.

Senators Josh Stein and Dan Blue charged that the bill was racially and politically based. Stein said it would reopen the wounds that the community is healing from.

Blue said the bill would tear down a great school system.

Speaking of Wake County school board advisory councils, a fairly well-known local figure is about to be reappointed to another term.

Tuesday's Wake County school board meeting agenda includes a vote to reappoint Diana Bader to a three-year term on the District 9 Board Advisory Council. School board member Bill Fletcher nominated Bader to stay on as at-large member.

According to her new nomination form, Bader was appointed to the BAC in March 2011. She was an outspoken critic of the former board majority.

Members of the Wake County District 6 school board advisory council are being urged to take a stand on Senate Bill 325, the Wake County school board election bill.

In a email message this morning, District 6 BAC chairwoman Adrienne Lumpkin encourages the BAC members to attend tonight's state Senate meeting and to tell legislators what they think about the bill. While it's not outright said, it's pretty safe to assume Lumpkin is expecting people will tell legislators to oppose the bill.

"You can sit in the balcony and observe," Lumpkin writes about tonight's meeting. "NO public speaking but the Senate WILL VOTE on this bill and I invite you to be there to show your support for the students and teachers of Wake County."

While the outcome likely isn't in doubt, the State Senate is scheduled to vote tonight on Senate Bill 325, the bill that would change how and when Wake County school board members are elected.

The Senate will vote on the modified version that passed the Senate Education Committee last week that would delay the change until 2016. It still probably will pass on a near, if not total, party-line vote with Republicans in support and Democrats in opposition.

It's a local bill meaning that once it also gets passed by the state House it would become law without requiring the governor's signature. If the state House modifies the bill then they'll have to work out a compromise with the Senate.

Should North Carolina's public school systems lose the ability to sue county commissioners for more funding?

As noted in today's article, Senate Bill 674 would change state law so that school boards could no longer sue their county commissioners for more funding for the operating budget or over getting more money to purchase land.

Under state law, school boards who are involved in funding disputes can seek mediation. If that fails, school boards can file a lawsuit in Superior Court.

It took a bit of prodding Thursday before Wake County school board members finally agreed to publicly support having a school bond this year.

Following the consensus vote in favor of a $900 million school construction program, Commissioner Tony Gurley noted that commissioners have made a successful school bond their top goal this year.

Gurley asked school board members if it's their goal this year as well to have a successful bond issue. Gurley asked because several school board members have publicly talked about not going with an Oct. 8 bond vote in favor of waiting until spring 2014.

The Wake County school board and the Wake County commissioners may have agreed in principle to a school construction dollar amount, but they're still split on how to spend the money.

As noted in today's article, both boards agreed Thursday to target $900 million for the amount with the details to come later about what would be funded. As Thursday's discussion showed, the issue of how much to spend on renovations vs. new schools is a sticking point between the two boards.

Joe Bryan, chairman of the board of commissioners, resumed Thursday the questions he had at the last meeting about why some renovations have such high dollar amounts.

The often-divided Wake County school board and county commissioners came together Thursday to say they support in concept a $911 million school construction program.

The process is far from over as the final details of what would be funded and the exact amount of the program still need to be hammered out. But today's voice vote was meant to show the school board what the commissioners would be comfortable with accepting.

They'll basically tweak Scenario 3, which would have 11 new schools and seven major renovations. This would have a $789 million bond with a tax increase of 5.1 cents, or $135.44 more on a $250,000 home.

The school board also agreed to back a fall 2013 bond referendum after several members previously said waiting until spring 2014 might be better.

Are Wake County taxpayers willing to pay $100 more a year in property taxes, and in some cases well above that amount, to pay for a school construction bond issue?

School and county staff fleshed out today the scenarios that were originally presented to the school board's facilities committee last week. We now have updated figures, a bond amount and a tax impact.

The most expensive option — $2.3 billion — is something that school and county leaders acknowledge is too high to ask. It would cover 32 new schools, 28 major renovation and a variety of other projects.