Here's a quick recap of tonight's seven-hour marathon Wake County school board meeting.
* Ron Margiotta deposed Kevin Hill as the new board chairman, ending his term seven months early.
* Approved sending to policy committee a revised student assignment policy that makes neighborhood schools a priority while scrapping the diversity policy
* Approved ending the weekly Wednesday early dismissals at the end of this school year.
* Approved stopping spending money on the Forest Ridge High site in northeast Raleigh while a review of alternative sites is conducted.
* Directed staff to survey parents to help identify which year-round schools should be converted back to a traditional calendar.
* Appointed the law firm of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart to audit the district’s legal services.
• Scheduled a Dec. 15 meeting.
Comments
Fear is a good thing at times.
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 11:42 — aquaman4life68I am amazed at how fearful people are of the new board members. Come on folks, DON'T blame the NEWBIES! If you don't like the outcome and what's happening, you need to blame the old board members, Burns, Delany, etc. THEY caused the citizens to stand up and go out and vote, so that WCPSS can have some parent/student/teacher friendly board members.
Yes
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 15:58 — SDR256Yes, and they were the catalyst - with all their strong arming - for the actions we saw last night.
New law firm and audit needed!
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 11:16 — chriskennedy1The Ogletree firm is an old-line southern law firm. I cannot fathom that Ron from NJ has any professional or personal ties/conflicts. I believe that using new outside counsel, and investigating memos/email/practices of the past are very important when the credibility and policy making of former decision makers are in question. In fact, I hope the Board resolves to have an independent firm audit and investigate Del Burns and Chuck for how they have handled important facts about the school system that were ultimately overlooked, misused, or changed for the public! I would assume they will find skeletons in these closets.
Ogletree- Our Commitment to Diversity
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 11:35 — shank56Chris: look at the link for office locations. Where did you get that this is an old line Southern firm? Looks pretty national to me.
Intersting that the firm has an entire link about its commitment to diversity.
Everyone law firm has that.
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 12:21 — carson79They have more minority hiring full-on quotas than any other profession I know. Part of their rankings is determined by diversity so they have to at least pay lip service. That means nothing.
Here
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 11:48 — Bob_Sconcehttp://www.ogletreedeakins.com/about/index.cfm?Fuseaction=History
Their first office North of the Mason-Dixon line was in 1999.
thanks
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 12:32 — shank56thanks
seriously...has everyone
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 11:28 — AngelaWseriously...
has everyone forgotten EVAAS (vs. Effectiveness Index)that the previous Board ever-so-quietly adopted AFTER it was exposed the Burns withheld it from the BoE? OF
the undervalued land "deal" Burns "accepted" w/out ALL previous BoE members aware of?
c'mon people, man up
"c'mon people, man
Thu, 12/03/2009 - 09:08 — woodstock"c'mon people, man up"
LOL!
Surprised? No
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 11:11 — chriskennedy1For the past eight years, the old school board members treated the public arrogantly, without consideration, misrepresented or hid important facts and data, and could not accurately forecast growth!
Now the opponents of positive reform are surprised by quick changes? they want to be treated with courtesy? Where have they been? Absolutely clueless and tone deaf. The fact that Kevin Hill had intended not to address key issues and did not want to schedule another December board meeting tells us the old board members were up to their old tricks anyway.
By the way, there is no evidence or logic that moving children to their neighborhood schools will result in higher costs or capacity problems. The school system uses weird, imperfect data to measure capacity anyways, and often the numbers they present do not accurately reflect classroom or teacher capacity.
I'd hate to be Kevin's
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 12:42 — g88ky07shoes today, I bet he's still shaking in them after his whirlwind evening last night. Got replaced and now has to change his travel plans. Life is so unfair.
"Appointed the law firm of
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 08:23 — user12345"Appointed the law firm of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart to audit the district’s legal services"
Someone should investigate whether Ron has any ties to this firm or if they contribute to the PACs to get this work.
This is odd. I'm suddenly
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 07:56 — jenmanThis is odd. I'm suddenly feeling very relaxed. And I have a sudden urge to buy something stylish.
Enjoy
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 16:03 — SDR256Enjoy the holiday Jenman. I know its been a long time for many.
If they have their way
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 00:16 — realisticFolks - taxes are going up. They have to. To have neighborhood schools, you must first have more schools where the students live - Cary/Apex/Wake Forest. The only way there are any seats available there now is because of two things - year rounds and the magnet program drawing some of those students in high populated areas into less populated areas. We (the voters) just let the most inexperienced people make the biggest decisions regarding not only our childrens' educations, but also our property values. Each decision made will have long term effects, and these decisions were made with no supporting data proving it was the best, most cost effective, most educationally supportive decision. It was flat political. Sure do hope you all vote for the next school construction bond - its going to be a whopper! Can't want to see the Pope family out supporting the bond referendum so their Republican cohorts' kiddies can go to school closer to home!
You are correct
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 12:39 — g88ky07thanks to the current Governor, you've only seen the beginning of tax increases!
Since Pope and his crew are
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 00:33 — RevHiDSince Pope and his crew are so anti-tax, I'm afraid to see what the vision is for Wake County schools. Wasn't he involved in the defeats of previous bonds?
Republican Contradictions
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 10:11 — realisticYes! Won't this be interesting? The new members of the board are short sighted, I'm afraid. They have not asked the question - "what are the ramifications of our decisions?" But I have. There will be schools 200% over capacity. There will be schools 60% of capacity, even worse if year round calendar schools are converted back to traditional - a proposal visited last night. So - to stay the course proposed by the campaign rhetoric, more schools will be needed in the heavily populated areas. That takes money - bond money. And a bond needs to be approved by next November at the latest to build these schools. This bond will need to be over 1 billion, yes a B. Try floating that in this economy with a tax increase attached to it. Then it will take three years before new schools will be ready (assuming the voters approve it - 60% of which do not have children in the school system). During that time, schools will polarize and become extremely overcrowded. Parents will scream, fingers will be pointed. And the Republican Party will be extremely quiet.
By the way - I'm a Republican. But I get the big picture. I hope the rest of Wake County gets the big picture timely enough for damage control.
Nostradamus, do you also
Thu, 12/03/2009 - 09:16 — woodstockNostradamus, do you also read palms and tea leaves?
Do you mean like now?
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 12:44 — g88ky07"There will be schools 200% over capacity. There will be schools 60% of capacity"
It might not be THAT extreme, but the differences are pretty close in many cases.
"There will be schools 200%
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 11:10 — user12345"There will be schools 200% over capacity. There will be schools 60% of capacity, even worse if year round calendar schools are converted back to traditional - a proposal visited last night. "
To put an end to all this, we need to do EXACTLY what he new board wants - neighborhood schools and end year round. Let the computer put everyone in the closest school and let the fun begin. When it is all over, none of them will be standing with some schools at 200% and some at 50%. Let's do it in January.
You're exactly right!
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 12:37 — g88ky07we need to do what the new board wants! Neighborhood schools and END forced year round!
You're starting to get it I think!
Heh...
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 10:21 — Bob_SconceDo you know how many extra students will they have to seat if they convert all the previously converted schools back, and make no other changes?
The answer is 33. That's 33 TOTAL, not per school. That's, what, a little over a single class.
There are lots of ways that the district can fit those students in without having to build a billion dollars worth of new schools.
that's "fuzzy math" if ever
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 11:25 — jeannie84that's "fuzzy math" if ever I've heard it. in my child's school alone there would be several hundred students in need of seats if we revert to traditional
So...
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 11:35 — Bob_SconceIt's based on comparing pre- and post- conversion capacities and enrollments. The numbers are public -- you can look at them yourself if you want. The $350M in savings from year-round coversions has always been a myth.
Your school may be at full year-round capacity, but most year-round schools are nowhere close. As I mentioned in another post, my kids' school (Wakefield ES) has no track two** and has enough classrooms that they've never done the classroom sharing that is supposed to make year-round schools more efficient.
(**Actually, IIRC, they have a single track-2 class in first grade and are short a track-3 class in 4th grade. Capacity comes out the same.)
EXACTLY. And let's
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 10:45 — JSBinNCEXACTLY. And let's imagine the room for growth we already have if we'd just let even a FRACTION of the children into YR schools that WANT YR SEATS!!!!! Instead of forcing them into traditional calendar schools that are crowded!
There are seats and spaces all over this county but in the previous boards view - the families wanting them were not the right kind of family.
I have said this a thousand times. Cultural and economic diversity are factors in building healthy schools. They ought never to be held higher up than quality education. The most important job/focus the board has is on education. For everyone - not just some.
Wish I could have voted
Tue, 12/01/2009 - 23:29 — richneeBut our board member wasn't up for election this year. Our base middle and high schools fall are in different districts. Perhaps we should look at revamping the way the board is elected. Each voter gets to vote for 3 of the 9 candidates and those with the most votes are on the board. This would eliminate constituant lobbying for very specific gripes and create a board more representative of all th children in wake county while eliminating base schools outside of immediate school board districts.
We've lived in 5 different states (including NY,CT, PA and MA)... in our experience, the options available here far surpass those available at our previous homes.
Options are only options...
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 08:04 — midtownmomwhen you actually have a choice. Most of us have NO say in our school assignment.
MidTownMom - I live in
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 10:22 — realisticMidTownMom - I live in MidTown and have 13 choices of magnet and year round schools available to me. Have you investigated your choices? Go to wcpss.net, student assignment, research what node you are in, and see what choices you have. I think you will be surprised. The MidTown area has more choices available to it due to close proximity to downtown and the North Hills area schools.
Realistic...I have lived in Raleigh my entire life and
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 12:58 — midtownmomhave much experience with wcpss and the magnet system. I pretty much know it inside out. Again, choices are only choices if you have a chance of "winning the lottery." The old school board changed the policies the last few years so that applicants from certain base schools had no chance of getting out. They did not want their base leaving the newly converted year round schools, nor their lowering achieving schools (if you are of a certain demographic). Also, the sibling policy (which I don't necessarily disagree with) prevents many new families from entering the system.
year round
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 11:37 — joybohamyes....I may have choices of all sorts of cool magnets my child can attend -- but my child hasn't been able to get in one because she's "needed" in her school. ...because her needs are "being met" where she is....(BTW - I don't want her needs MET - I want them EXCEEDED so she can be challenged.)
Sorry, that just ticks me off to NO END. If those magnets are out there to encourage acedmemic excellance, make it a true lottery/admission application to get in there. Don't dangle some advanced or alternative teaching method out there to attract me and my child...don't tease me with something my child could benefit from and then not give me a fair chance of getting in that school because I don't live in the right neighborhood or because of my f&r status!!!!
realistic--do you know how
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 11:33 — jenmanrealistic--do you know how the magnet lottery works? Just because you can apply for those magnet and year round schools doesn't mean you will get in. It depends on where you can afford to live, how much money the other people assigned to your school have and how crowded your school is. It is not a random lottery.
Which MidTown school are your kids assigned to? If its Brooks, they have an excellent chance of getting into another magnet, but if its York or Stough, they are relegated to the last 10% of seats. Appliants from approx 1/3 of our elem schools must fight it out for 10% of the seats. Go here http://voiceforequity.blogspot.com/2009/07/2009-10-magnet-criteria-elementary.html for a description of exactly how the magnet 'lottery' works.
Living in MidTown, you don't have any more choices available to you than I do living far North Raleigh. Everybody can apply to each of the magnet programs. The only difference is the programs that are located in more than one magnet school like IB, AG or GT. You and I may have different magnets for AG, but we each have one AG program to apply for.
Are you sure?
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 10:55 — Bob_SconceDepending on your demographics and the demographics of your school, your odds of getting into a magnet school might be incredibly slim. On paper, you may have access, but in practice you may not.
Besides, a choice that requires you to get up at 5:30 in the morning is hardly a choice at all.
Several different forms of
Tue, 12/01/2009 - 23:40 — jenmanSeveral different forms of at large elections for school board members have been proposed in recent years. Those proposals have been quashed by the Democrats (I say that as a Democrat) and by the 'status quo'. Now that they lost the BOE elections they are finding the value of at large elections.
At large is not the way to go
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 00:38 — my3centsI would not want someone in garner or cary or apex deciding what is best for me in north raleigh. Just like I would not want someone in California voting for my representative in North Carolina. I want some one that has to answer to the concerns of the people who live near me, not 30 miles away. Local issues need local representation.
So...
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 12:55 — Bob_SconceIf you don't want somebody in Garner or Cary or Apex representing you, then don't vote for them! Why do you think that other people should vote the same way?
I also live in North Raleigh and am much more comfortable with the idea of the current Garner or Cary members representing me than I am with the current guy who does!
At large board seats would
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 07:20 — jenmanAt large board seats would still be based on the candidates living in their particular districts. So somebody from Apex could not run for a seat in North Raleigh. You would still be represented by somebody who is in your area, but everybody would be allowed to vote for them. That way we aren't electing people who are *only* concerned with the schools in their own district. They are held accountable to everybody.
Some of our school's
Tue, 12/01/2009 - 23:32 — RevHiDSome of our school's families couldn't vote because they are not citizens yet. They are not only here legally, they contribute a lot to our county's economy. But they had no vote.
You'd be surprised how many parents are shocked to learn about the changes that now seem to be imminent. I was shocked to see so many surprised by the Year Round conversions, when it had been in the papers for months. Nobody got involved until their school was on the list. I was involved BEFORE any schools were on the list.
No surprise to the informed
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 07:50 — louiselee44Nobody got involved until their school was on the list. I was involved BEFORE any schools were on the list.
Uhhh...me too - for ten years - and my child never faced reassignment and/or MYR. I'll tell you what has surprised people - when they find out how much the prior school boards knew, for years, and ignored; when they find out that the prior school boards were warned over and over that their MYR plan, reassignment plan, etc. would not work (looking at past track records), but they turned a deaf ear; when they find out how much more it costs to operate YR schools, many of which are under-enrolled; when they find out that thousands of applicants to voluntary YR schools were turned away, even though the schools had room for them; when they find out that the former administration even presented a power point presentation showing that MYR schools are not the best way to go; when they find out that no hard evidence exists to prove any academic advantage to YR schools; when they find out that school board members gave no heed to the 3,000-plus citizens (many with comments), who signed a non-publicized petition, which was only available for a couple of months, against the forcing of YR school attendance...
I could go on and on, but I'm headed out of town.
Suffice it to say that the "rest of the story", including the long history behind what happened yesterday, would prove that none of this should be a surprise to those (including school board members) who have had an ear to the ground over the past years. All signs pointed to the probability, and my belief, that a scenario like yesterday's was inevitable. We tried to tell them - they refused to listen - and here we are.
Anecdotally
Tue, 12/01/2009 - 23:37 — Dadof3We all put on our blogging best when we post here, but I wouldn't be shocked, sorry. I'm sure your anecdotal perspective is genuinely interesting, but it's not the same as the result of a valid election, which in a democratic republic, is all that really matters.
But they promised to listen
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 00:11 — RevHiDBut they promised to listen to parents, not voters.
They did.
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 07:54 — louiselee44They did listen to parents, who have been trying for years to have their voices heard. Someone finally paid attention...
they did not listen to
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 11:18 — jeannie84they did not listen to parents LAST NIGHT. guess you have to agree with them to be heard
Do you mean
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 12:35 — g88ky07like the last 4-8 years boards did, not listen to us?
I assure you the NEW majority has listened to us for more than a year already!
Non-sequitor
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 05:28 — Dadof3and I expect they will.
To this irrelevant point: Unless you're 18, you know there's dramatic divergence anywhere in the US on what constitutes an effective education policy. "Listening" to anyone is an easy bar to meet; acting on a communities priorities is another matter. Of course, you'll color your personal interests as the communities interest, as will all partisans; but that's just part of the rhetorical game. I've already seen attempts here to diminish the impact of the board election; yet, when roles were reversed last year; I had to cede the point. I am proud of our democratic-republic and stand by her despite electoral comportment to my druthers.
That's where elections come in and thus my point.
Ambush
Tue, 12/01/2009 - 23:21 — richneeHow can the board vote on new policy when the entire board has not been given the courtesy of even knowing about the proposals. This board is not a Majority autocracy. Policy needs to be studied, comment from the community and calmly debated within the board.
Ambush - unprofessional and irresponsible ---- and this does not bode well for the "new direction".
The rest of us in the real world would have lost our jobs over a stunt like this. Our children deserve better. The changes proposed may be better options.... but this method stinks. Hostile takeovers never end well.
Anyone who is surprised has
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 08:39 — changewcpssAnyone who is surprised has had their head in the sand. This was no ambush. This is making good on campaign promises.
yes, it is (now) about
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 11:16 — jeannie84yes, it is (now) about campaign promises, but wasn't one of those promises to act in the best interest of ALL Wake county children. that is what is lacking.
They did
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 16:07 — SDR256They did act in the best interest of all children in Wake County. They just see it differently than you do. They don't accept a solution that has given us an ED graduation rate of 54.2%.
that rate has been bad
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 17:35 — carson79that rate has been bad forever and it is the same way in many districts that are de facto segregated by race or income!
Nowhere has it been proven or even indicated in any way that concentrating poor black kids in a few schools will improve graduation rates to an acceptable level - meaning the same as non-ED or white kids.