Pretty much everyone can agree that this year's school board elections offer critics one of their best chances in recent memory to make major gains.
But as noted in today's article, there's dispute over just where critics are coming from. Is it, as claimed by Wake Democratic Party Chairman Jack Nichols, a campaign being orchestrated by the Republicans to seize control of the school board?
"Other than the Wake Republican Party, are there other groups who have endorsed those candidates?" Nichols said. "No one."
Nichols calls Take Wake Schools Back and Called2Action "alter-egos" of the GOP. He put a similar label on the Wake Schools Community Alliance.
At least in the case of Take Wake Schools Back, there's an obvious connection between the PAC and the Wake GOP. They share several members and the same spokeswoman.
It's not as clear cut with the WSCA, with Allison Backhouse pointing out that she's a Democrat. The group has insisted that they're a bipartisan organization.
But Nichols isn't buying that assertion.
"This has been pretty much a Republican thing from the beginning," Nichols said in the article. "The Alliance and other groups are their alter-egos."
From Nichols' perspective, all that his side needs to do is win one of the four school board seats. The Democratic Party is backing Rita Rakestraw, Karen Simon and Lois Nixon while staying out of the District 2 race.
"They [opposition] have to win every seat to have an impact," Nichols said. "One seat would be good. Two seats would be great. Three would be a sweep."
Comments
He lies
Thu, 10/01/2009 - 15:14 — woodstock"Other than the Wake Republican Party, are there other groups who have endorsed those candidates?" Nichols said. "No one."
There is not much to say to that other than it is a blatant, bald-faced lie.
really, what would you
Thu, 10/01/2009 - 15:19 — AngelaWreally, what would you expect? at least he left off his own sides' fringe dwellers as well....
someone once said to me, "egos and opinions"
bottom line this political crap all comes down to that....those who cannot take the politics out of EDUCATION and CHILDREN.
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Oh...and to the Wake
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 12:18 — shearertwOh...and to the Wake Democrats out there. Isn't nice to know that the chairman of your party in Wake Co. is a LIAR? Not just any liar, but a one that would lie just to win a school board election. Telling, very telling.
And the status quo has
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 12:12 — shearertwAnd the status quo has bipartisan support?
It is clear cut with the WSCA. They have nothing to do with political parties. I wouldn't be surprised if over 50% of their members were either Democrats or unaffiliated. To folks running WSCA could actually care less about which party you're a part of. Having been to a meeting or two, I can't recall any one saying which party they belong to. The only thing most of the members have in common is that they understand current direction of WCPSS is in the wrong direction and their working to save it.
Here are those nasty old labels again - of a different variety.
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 09:08 — SDR256As I've said from the beginning this politicization of the education of children does nothing to solve their (our) problem. Boiling this complex problem out into soundbites and convenient labels sells papers and stratifies the discussion - convenient for political parties, newspapers and bureaucratic self serving systems like WCPSS. WSCA has been a parent-led effort. Last I checked you didn't have to belong to a particular party to be a parent.
And yes, Dad3, they've never bothered to tell our real story because it is a very powerful and interesting groundswell of change at the 'coalface' (to reference another Opinion piece article - on healthcare). That referenced article claims that solutions at the groundlevel - as we are - are ones that tend to stick around. If the N&O, WCPSS and the politicians (on both sides) were to investigate, learn, and tell the truth about WSCA it would likely confuse and frighten them. They wouldn't understand it and it would work against all the techniques they are used to - which are based on labelling, and then pitting neighbor against neighbor.
Mr. Nichols knows that WSCA
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 06:41 — CaryCurmudgeonMr. Nichols knows that WSCA refuses ties to any political parties, he is simply trying to drum up partisan support from his own side. I had never heard of called2action until yesterday. I'm sure they gave WSCA no money and I don't recall seeing them listed on any of the reports of candidates we are supporting. WSCA has received no money from either political party. Among our steering committee we have people from both parties and unaffiliateds. I can't give a count of each because in all honesty this is not a topic for discussion.
What Mr. Nichols and Goldsmith forget to mention is that the Children's PAC, which has strong Democratic endorsement, has endorsed the same candidates as us. And that group is not just Dana Cope, just look at our finance report. We are also supported by local Democratic elected officials.
Based on Mr. Nichols' comment that winning one seat would be a victory, I wonder which candidates he thinks will lose.
http://wunc.org/programs/news
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 05:47 — AngelaWhttp://wunc.org/programs/news/archive/NDD0929.mp3/view
Local elections in many North Carolina communities will be held a week from today. Candidates for city council, mayor, and other elected positions are getting in some last-minute campaigning.
The races that are getting the most attention are the campaigns for the Wake County School Board. Four seats are at stake, as is the future of the student assignment policy that addresses socio-economic diversity.
Listen Now!Download
His "No One" Comment
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 05:33 — chaboardis too strong. But his main point is correct. It's been obvious since at least the Memorial Day flap that this is mostly a GOP thing. WCSA has had several clear chances to distance themselves from the GOP and show their bipartisan bona fides (among others: when the GOP questioned the patriotism of the school board in May, when Ron M. made his wingnut comment about Obama's broadcast, and most recently when the crazies Called2Action weighed in) and they have consistently refused to do so. Instead they have consistently aligned themselves with the very people and organizations who have spent decades trying to destroy the very idea of public education. They have a few token Dems around....but they're not fooling anyone.
Non-partisan
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 08:25 — Eric_BI don't know what Memorial Day, President Obama's speech to students or the endorsements of other independent groups with no relation to WSCA has anything to do with WSCA's support for the 4 candidates that received its endorsement. What does any of this have to do with the school board elections? You seem caught up in trivialities and stuck in a partisan mindset. (Anyway, there was at least one WSCA steering committee member on this blog who claimed Ron's opposition to the Obama speech was stupid.)
On the flip side, President Obama, Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan, and others like Al Sharpton have endorsed a community schools model like WSCA has mentioned and our candidates like John Tedesco have endorsed. They've also endorsed lifting state charter school caps. This seems bipartisan to me. Why are Wake Democrats not on board with this?
I'm unaffiliated, but you should talk to your fellow Democrats and ask why so many of them are stuck in the past on a forced busing solution developed in the 1960's and 70's.
What are you proud about Wake County's forced busing and reassignment policy? The 54.6% ED graduation rate, only two percentage points higher than Charlotte-Mecklenburg, 7 points below Forsyth County and a whopping 20 points below Guilford County? Maybe it's the fact that a lower percentage of schools in Wake made AYP than Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Forsyth or Guilford? Are you proud of the fact that Wake County schools are better than Detroit, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, other urban school districts that Wake likes to use for comparison. A vote for status quo candidates means more of the same underperformance.
All this for about $13,000 per student (operating + capital costs) which could pay for a pretty good private school education.
Fooling/not fooling
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 06:56 — Dadof3As many like to say, you can't please everyone, and we start from our personal bias. I don't believe the items you listed merited an official response, since all board members are free to opine about anything, and the GOP/patriotism flap was embarrassing (for the Wake Co. Republicans) and as many hear wrote, was patently silly. Trying to duct-tape these issues to WSCA is an artiface.
WSCA's meetings have been wide open to all. WSCA has a handsome gathering of all people of all stripes. To claim that WSCA has "token" anything is patently silly as well.
Arm-chair and coach quarterbacks, will admitedly never be convinced.
Truly sad
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 05:29 — Dadof3So sad and so untrue. Whether WSCA is Democrat or Republican is a non-sequitor. Of course, Nicol's could simply ask someone at WSCA, I wonder why he hasn't? Then again, is it still true that the N&O made their endorsements without even merely interviewing any WSCA-endorsed candidate? To put this into such conventional frame missing a much bigger point of a very interesting and powerful grass-roots level of change.
"Then again, is it still
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 13:13 — CaryCurmudgeon"Then again, is it still true that the N&O made their endorsements
without even merely interviewing any WSCA-endorsed candidate?"
Yes, this is true. For that matter, I would be surprised if the N&O took the time to interview the candidates that they did endorse (Keung, I know that is not your department).