Wake County Commissioner Stan Norwalk is arguing that rejecting the Rolesville High School land purchase would be a case of drawing a line in the sand against the Wake County school board majority and stopping their "madness."
In a message posted Wednesday on Curmilus Dancy's blog, Norwalk calls locating a new high school in Rolesville and not the Forest Ridge site in Northeast Raleigh the latest example of politics by the school board. He said rejecting the Rolesville site is "about stopping the death of WCPSS by a “thousand cuts."
"If the line in the sand is not drawn here, future cuts will be harder and harder to stop," Norwalk writes. "The H6 vote is the first opportunity for the Board of Commissioners to take action to stop the madness, the meanness and the eventual death of diversified public education in Wake County."
In Norwalk's message, he lists a litany of complaints that have been lodged by critics of the school board majority over the past several months. For instance, he brings up the allegation about the influence that conservative businessmen Bob Luddy and Art Pope have over the new majority.
Norwalk also adds some more recent complaints, including saying that the school board pulled out of the state and national school boards associations because the Council of Urban Boards of Education supports diversity. CUBE is part of the National School Boards Association.
Norwalk calls the recent talk by the board majority about renaming Enloe High School a case of "meanness and spite." He charges it's a slam against Enloe High because it's the home base for many protesters against the board majority.
Norwalk urges people to contact commissioners before the potential July 6 vote on H6.
The question right now is whether the other three Democrats will join Norwalk in voting against the Rolesville site in hopes of forcing the school board to go back to Forest Ridge. Commissioner Lindy Brown could be the swing vote.
Norwalk has already made waves for his allegations during Monday's meeting that the decision to reject Forest Ridge in favor of the Rolesville site as a case of "back room politics" by the school board majority.
UPDATE
I'm going to try to provide more context on Norwalk's letter. He's been sending it around the community. Dancy posted a copy on his blog so it's not that Norwalk just sent it to him.
Comments
Norwalk=Partisan Politics
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 13:19 — Ryou4realMr. Norwalk should educate himself on what is best for Wake County Residents. Regarding the H-6 sites, he should read up on all of the issues that were encountered and would cost Wake County millions of additional dollars and residents tremendous headaches by using the Forestville Rd site. The fact is, even with purchasing the Rolesville site, the total cost of the project will be less (saving 4.5 million on site development and roadway improvements alone). This does not include recoup from the sale of the Forestville Rd site.
And he should get his facts straight; The Rolesville zip code/addresses is very small and is encompassed by the Wake Forest zip code. The Rolesville site has a Wake Forest address. Do a little more checking, there are more than 212 high school students near this site! And guess what, there is a new high school target area, Heritage High School.
Looks like there is still sour grapes about having a new majority in the School Board.
Stan has gone off his rocker...
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 09:33 — Bob_SconceIsn't this the same Stan Norwalk who told Tony Gurley that the commissioners shouldn't be interfering in the internal functioning of the school district?
If he's so concerned, why didn't he run for school board?
It's entirely possible...
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 11:21 — FrabjousIt's entirely possible that enough of the public has contacted the county commissioners concerning the current state of the county school board that Stan Norwalk has decided to get involved.
Mr. Norwalk has reiterated in that blog post several items that get touched on in this blog again and again.
He's not off his rocker - he's listening to his constituents.
He's completely off his rocker
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 23:26 — g88ky07But, apparently you didn't get that memo.
Not Unusual...
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 12:03 — JanisTangoI remember the WCSA meeting in Holly Springs that was standing room only. I believe there was at least 10 elected officials at that meeting. They had heard so many complaints from parents unhappy about the previous school board they decided to attend and hear the discussions for themselves!
Pfft...
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 11:43 — Bob_SconceStan has been firmly opposed to the new board since day one -- this isn't an action he's taking in response to constituent feedback; it's an action he's taking because he's an opponent of the board. That view may be backed up by GSIW supporters who recognize that he's friendly to their side, but it's certainly not a case of "Hm.. well, I didn't really care until my constituents started emailing."
My point is that the worm has turned here -- the general principle he espoused about the commissioners not getting in the way of school board business apparently doesn't apply when he no longer agrees with the school board.
Actually, Stan was against
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 01:14 — CaryCurmudgeonActually, Stan was against the new school board before the election. He personally recruited two of four candidates, conducted fundraisers, and armed his candidates with talking points. Stan showed up and spoke at every non-neighborhood schools rally that would let him in. Face it Stan, the voters spoke and they don't agree with you. Remember your complaints that there were "too many cooks in the school board kitchen" and get the heck out.
Point taken
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 12:05 — FrabjousI understand your point about Stan being opposed to the CC's being involved in school board business in the past.
I'm sure those who oppose the current school board's actions recognizes Stan supports their views. However, keep not everyone who opposes the current school board's actions is a GSIW supporter-I think you know that.
Yes And That Is What Frustrates Me....
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 12:32 — JanisTangoI don't support any of the fringe groups and I classify these as groups that don't allow a view outside their own to be presented. Many people on both sides of this discussion believe that Policy 6200 was flawed in regards to how it was implemented by the previous school board. How do we get in the middle? I have asked people that if this school board put the 'diversity' line back into the policy where it stated no school is greater than 40% F&R, would that be sufficient? The problem with that line in regards to the implementation of the previous policy is that it didn't stop G&P still creating many schools that exceeded that goal. The reassignments of the past created so many 'unforseen' problems for many families and schools (RIM schools such Stough,York, Jeffreys Grove, and Lynn Road). I always got the feeling that G&P was always trying to address these issues by just moving more kids. I don't believe they really sat back and thought through what it would take to deal with the 'growth' and the goal of maintaining diversity. What is it going to take to get all of us 'middle grounders' on the same page? I think we all agree on many things such as: the achievement gap and academics need to be addressed, diversity is important, forced busing is wrong (maybe), all kids are important and deserve a great education.
Janis, I for one never felt
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 14:30 — user12345Janis, I for one never felt that it was essential for Black kids to sit next to White kids. That is not a show stopper for me. Personally, I think kids that go to a single race or income school have a poorer educational experience but that is not the main issue. The main issue is fairness. If JT wants to stick all the Blacks or Poor is a few schools like other places, I can live with that if they are properly resourced. That does not mean equally resources. Poor kids come with more baggage and less parental preparation so they probably need a smaller class size, a TA and after school programs to progress. Their schools need good dedicated teachers who are up to the challenge, trained for the assignment and properly compensated. Janis this all comes down to values ... do we give every kids the same chance and allow "survival of the fittest" to work it's magic, do we value each child and want all of them to get across the finish line (no man left behind) even if we have to put them on our backs ... many affluent parents will want equal funding and resource since they know that benefits them ... some will argue for more funding since they pay more taxes and their kids are smarter ... liberals like me will argue to get every kids across the line is the initial goal and than get as many as possible to excel further. Critics like me. see the previous system built around sharing the load by distributing poor kids which allowed WCPSS to function at sub-standard funding ... the new program is to break up the system which appear like it will cost more to correctly do but no movement on additional funds seem to be in the plan. So, it seems like "crowd all the poor kids into this school and trust me resources will be on the way" which never seems to come true.
I Appreciate The Honest Feedback...
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 14:37 — JanisTangoI appreciate the honest feedback. I think we all have different views for how this can work. The problem is that the law makes it a requirement for 'equal' funding when it comes to dividing the pot of money available via the taxpayers doesn't it? How do we get the extra resources (money, time, tutoring, etc) that is needed to help some kids that are less fortunate? I'm not affluent by any means, but I am blessed. I, like a lot of my friends contribute money and time to help kids whenever a need is there and I have the money, time, etc to help. The problem is how do we know which need is the most important to fill that would have the biggest benefit in regards to some of these children's lives. Is that the school board's responsibility? Yes when it comes to education, but what about all the other things that are roadblocks in their lives that don't have to do with school. I think each child has different needs. I, like a lot of my friends rely on our teachers, our school social worker, and our counselor to let us know what we can do to help. One year they asked for grocery cards so these kids could have food, one year the biggest need for one child was to have money so their heat and electricity wouldn't be turned off during the cold winter months and both their parents were out of work. Another child I worked with just needed a parent to help them finish a project that the teacher didn't have time to help with. What are your thoughts on this? Are you thinking beyond the examples I gave above? I really am interested. Is there an avenue to help some of these kids that I haven't thought of?
“The problem is that
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 15:18 — user12345“The problem is that the law makes it a requirement for 'equal' funding when it comes to dividing the pot of money available via the taxpayers doesn't it? “
I don’t think so … today some schools have better facilities, some have better teachers, some have a new auditorium, some have more AP classes than other … so there is a lot of disparity in the system today. Normally, the resources will flow to the most affluent and powerful if left to chance. The moral question is do we want that to happen?
“How do we get the extra resources (money, time, tutoring, etc) that are needed to help some kids that are less fortunate?”
Not an easy question. Personally, I think that the resources are there just not correctly allocated. I remember reading there is enough food in the world that no one needs to go hungry but it is not properly allocated to accomplish that goal.
“The problem is how do we know which need is the most important to fill that would have the biggest benefit in regards to some of these children's lives. Is that the school board's responsibility? “
Again, you are asking a moral question. Which human life is more valuable? The founder of Google, a schoolteacher or a private in the army? Once that point is established, the rest is easy. Personally, I want to see EVERY child be able to function in society. That means they can read, do consumer math, fill out their tax form, buy a car / house, and have an employable skill. Once that is behind us, I am ready to expand AG/AP/language, etc. for the bright kids. My belief is that we need a majority of happy middle class people to function as a democracy. Societies with large range of incomes like Latin American countries with 10% of the population owning and running the country are unstable. I do not want the US to be like that. So in is essential to make sure not too many kid fall out of the boat.
“Yes when it comes to education, but what about all the other things that are roadblocks in their lives that don't have to do with school.”
Personal comment … I think that kids who have a future, a goal and employable skill when they graduate can tolerate absent, neglectful, drug selling, alcoholic parents until they are 18. It is not much of a life for the first 18 years but you know it will not be forever.
“Another child I worked with just needed a parent to help them finish a project that the teacher didn't have time to help with. What are your thoughts on this? Are you thinking beyond the examples I gave above? I really am interested. Is there an avenue to help some of these kids that I haven't thought of?”
Part of carrying the load the diversity policy did at the school level, I am sure translates to the individual level. My oldest is adopted foster child who live most of her life in a bus being sold for drugs by her parents. I made sure she graduated and went to cosmetology school. My daughter’s best friend parents are the evil illegal’s (she is a citizen) and I will end up helping her fill out her FASTA form and apply to college. I already have the bus routes researched. I am dedicated to getting every kid I can across the line. I am sure that people do these things all the time to make the world a better place. Relying on my wife, I would say that early intervention and making sure someone plays with and read to children from 0-2 …. Many people will say that is not the government’s role … it seems like if it makes a big difference later when it is their role government to do something (e.g. project enlighten). My wife says reading is the key so I would push that on every level. Having a TA, smaller class size, removing the bad kids, and offering after school tutoring programs are simple building blocks to me. Making a difference is not hard nor expense but it starts with valuing every human life. Everything else like funding and assignments and zones follow.
“The problem is that
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 16:09 — jenman“The problem is that the law makes it a requirement for 'equal' funding when it comes to dividing the pot of money available via the taxpayers doesn't it? “
I don’t think so … today some schools have better facilities, some have better teachers, some have a new auditorium, some have more AP classes than other … so there is a lot of disparity in the system today. Normally, the resources will flow to the most affluent and powerful if left to chance. The moral question is do we want that to happen?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't know about the 'law', but WCPSS schools (minus magnets, obviously) all get the same amount of $ and months of employment based on how many students they have. It is up to the principal to decide how to spend that money or how to use the months of employment. I agree that there are disparities between schools, but that will be true no matter what. I personally don't care about the 'smart boards' or a fancy new auditorium--I want to see the same basic academics available to students. One school might offer a few more AP courses or one school may offer German while another offers Latin. But we shouldn't have the huge disparities that we have now.
And I would not have a
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 17:23 — user12345And I would not have a problem with random disparity that creeps up in the system but hate when is correlates to student income.
Then there is grant funding.
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 16:28 — DrActualFactualLast year I looked at a grant funding source from DPI and it only paid for a program that would be developed around Level 1&2 performing students. It reimbursed to the tune of $1,000 to $1,200 per student obviously to help low performing students do better. If a school gets a grant like that from DPI does the money get funneled through WCPSS or go directly to the school. Programs like these offset expenses that schools can then put to other uses, but yes it would add to disparity in offerings. I think we need the freedom to pursue funding from whatever sources to enhance learning but it will be unlikely to keep it all balanced. It's been over a year since I looked at the requirements but it seemed they gave preference in grant consideration to schools with 40% or more F&R (I wondered if that type of funding is a huge consideration into why WCPSS manipulated schools into having larger F&R populations.)
Reply
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 21:23 — JanisTangoI don't think so...today some schools have better facilities, some have better teachers, some have a new auditorium, some have more AP classes than other...so there is a lot of disparity in the system today.
How do you measure all these things? Some of it's very subjective isn't it? I went to a school where the building was 90 years old and trust me it wasn't pretty. It didn't diminish my educational experience. In regards to teachers, this again is subjective if you talk to parents. My kids had teachers that I personally thought were very good, but other parents thought were lousy! I guess you can always measure who has the best results by looking at test scores, but that doesn't always tell the whole story. What do you do about the teachers that are really good and no matter what they do day to day they still have students that won't be successful. There are kids that want to learn and struggle day to day and then there are kids that have the ability to learn that don't want to do the work. How would you solve this? I would like to see them group the kids differently based on ability at different times. I think it we could group them based on ability for different lessons or based on differences on how they learn. We would have a better chance of reaching more kids.
My wife says reading is the key so I would push that on every level
I couldn't agree more. My mother was a Title I reading teacher. It is a critical basic skill for any student. I think part of the problem kids face today is the many distractions that exist. I keep telling my kids that once they learn to read, then it's time to read to learn.
"What do you do about the
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 22:26 — user12345"What do you do about the teachers that are really good and no matter what they do day to day they still have students that won't be successful."
I say measure them on improvement. If kids are expected to pass at 30% and a teacher changes that to 60% that is a miracle and should be acknowledged and rewarded. Not 60% is not as good as a NED school which are normally 95% but the results are amazing relatively to what the teacher was given. If teachers only get rewarded and praised for 95% pass they will migrate to the "save" zone at NED schools where success is assured.
"There are kids that want to learn and struggle day to day and then there are kids that have the ability to learn that don't want to do the work. How would you solve this?"
Some of these kids just need to find another classroom. As I mentioned before, my wife's class of 30 ED will have 20 pass the EOx normally. If one disruptive trouble maker could be removed, she say she could get that to 26 out of 29 which approaches NED performance. Imagine one or two bad seed holding 28 kids back. Really sad.
"I would like to see them group the kids differently based on ability at different times. I think it we could group them based on ability for different lessons or based on differences on how they learn. We would have a better chance of reaching more kids. "
I agree
Perception
Fri, 06/25/2010 - 06:57 — FrabjousThere's been some really good dialogue here. One thing I'd like to mention, that's probably been pointed out before, is we need remove the perception that ED kids are bad kids. While some are troublemakers, ED kids are not the only troublemakers in the classroom. There are many ED kids out there who come to school and want to learn, but have extra problems that NED kids don't have. There has been dialogue discussing how to help them on this blog.
We need to remember our beliefs can be self-fulfilling. i.e. I think that kid is a troublemaker, therefore I'm going to see everything "bad" that he does.
We need to remember that ED does not equal troublemaker.
I Couldn't Agree More...
Fri, 06/25/2010 - 13:18 — JanisTangoI couldn't agree more with this statement:
While some are troublemakers, ED kids are not the only troublemakers in the classroom. There are many ED kids out there who come to school and want to learn, but have extra problems that NED kids don't have.
This is a stereotypical problem that I think the whole 'diversity' debate leads to unfortunately. My son has so many wonderful kids in his class (NED and ED). Income doesn't guarantee anything in regards to how you learn, how you behave and whether or not your parents are good parents! The kids that have behavior problems could be related to a variety of issues. Bad parenting is one, parents that refuse to believe 'Johnny' could ever do anything wrong, issues outside of school that most of us couldn't even begin to fathom, and one that isn't talked about often but is very relevant, kids with medical conditions like ADHD, autism, etc. I have friends that have kids with ADHD and autism. They struggle day to day with the challenges their kids have. Sometimes as parents we judge the kids and parents without understanding the underlying problems. I've know I have been guilty of this in the past. We need to be more understanding and also teach our kids empathy for all kids including kids with mental challenges and issues such as this.
Stereotypes - A good read....
Fri, 06/25/2010 - 09:36 — ConcernedParentWhistling Vivaldi: And other clues to how stereotypes affect us
Claude M. Steele, pub. April 2010
I agree .. in fact, I get
Fri, 06/25/2010 - 09:01 — user12345I agree .. in fact, I get the feeling from my wife that many in her class are very docile under the crushing weight of poverty, neglectful, alcoholic, absent parents, without anyone to help them with assignments, drive them to or attend their performances, or praise them when they do well. Some give up and some act out. Of course, that can happen at any income level but I think it is more prevalent at lower incomes .... ditto on the mis-behavior
Thoughts?
Fri, 06/25/2010 - 13:26 — JanisTangoThis is a thought that I have had regarding the issue you stated above. I would like to see a mentoring program where some of these kids have a parent or adult assigned to be their grade school 'mentor' from K-5. If K-5 is unrealistic, maybe they could be assigned for just one school year. I for one would love to participate in a program like this. If we started young and had a consistent relationship with these kids maybe that attention could help! I would also like to see us take advantage of what I like to call 'untapped' resources in this community. I know a lot of retirees that would love to give a day a week to help tutor children at school.
Weren't you the guy telling
Fri, 06/25/2010 - 09:40 — woodstockWeren't you the guy telling me that the majority of ED students where children of hard working parents who were police officers, teachers, etc who did a great job of supporting their children's academic pursuits and that I was off-base suggesting that many ED kids faced difficult family lives , or as you stated "the crushing weight of poverty, neglectful, alcoholic, absent parents, without anyone to help them with assignments, drive them to or attend their performances, or praise them when they do well."
Yes ... making $24k as a new
Fri, 06/25/2010 - 14:04 — user12345Yes ... making $24k as a new teacher or policeman or firefighter with a kids is tough ... or having two jobs working all week at one and weekends at another is tough ... some poor kids are the product of hardworking, two income low paying families, some come from single parents and some from parents gone bad ... there is a lot of diversity at the low income ... what ever the reason and circumstance, they typically get less parental support (does not mean their parents do not love them, but two jobs leaves little time), less income for to participate in band, go with clubs to NYC, don't take summer SAT camps and have much of the enrichment enjoyed by higher income families ..
"Yes ... making $24k as a
Fri, 06/25/2010 - 21:05 — Apexter"Yes ... making $24k as a new teacher"
http://www.wcpss.net/salary-schedules/teachers/a.html
In WCPSS, a brand new teacher with a bachelor's degree and 0 years on license makes $34,462 their first year.
So supporting a family on
Sat, 06/26/2010 - 11:12 — user12345So supporting a family on $34k is easier? ... I am betting your family income is 3 to 4X this and you could not live on this amount ... right? Here some other people who make your life better who are not rich ...(put the mayor of Cary in there for reference)
"So supporting a family on
Sat, 06/26/2010 - 19:42 — Apexter"So supporting a family on $34k is easier? ."
Well, yes, I would say that supporting a family on $34K would likely be much easier than supporting one on $24K.
I did not imply that it would not be difficult to support a family with a salary of $24K..
I was just throwing a fact into the discussion. Your earlier post implied that a teacher earned $24K. In Wake County, a brand new teacher with no experience makes $10,000 more than that their first year.
What is your point. If
Sat, 06/26/2010 - 11:33 — woodstockWhat is your point? If someone who cannot afford to have children, then has them, we are supposed to chip in and buy food for them? If that is so, I should have some say in how they spend their money too.
So you would support
Sat, 06/26/2010 - 11:45 — user12345So you would support starving the kids to teach them a less or maybe taking them away from their parents?
I already said no one should
Sat, 06/26/2010 - 12:16 — woodstockI already said no one should be denied food that needs it. I am questioning who needs it vs. who just wants it. But, I recognize you have an irresistible urge to spin everything.
Also, I am suggesting that if someone can make decisions that take money from my pocket and puts it into theirs, maybe I should have some say in how they spend their money.
What about other areas
Sat, 06/26/2010 - 14:51 — user12345What about other areas ...there are many people who use the library more than you and take money from your pocket by requiring extra staff ... or what about those terrorist supporting SUV drivers who put more wear and tear on the road and take money out of your pocket ... you may want to have some say about how many books they can get or how many runs to dance practice you will allow them ...
***
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 14:37 — JanisTango-