The latest round of campaign finance reports show that Wake County school board chairman Ron Margiotta and school board hopeful Jim Martin are off to a good financial start.
According to a report filed July 15, Margiotta reported having raised $8,985 in his bid to win re-election in District 8. His biggest donor at $4,000 was Dr. James Fulghum III, a member of the John Locke Foundation board of directors and a frequent contributor to Republican causes.
Margiotta's next largest donors were retired CPA Harry Eberly at $1,745 and lobbyist/former state GOP House member Connie Wilson at $500.
Some other donors of note include school board member Deborah Prickett, the campaign committee of state House Majority Leader Paul Stam, Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly and former Wake County Commissioner Gary Pendleton.
Margiotta's opponent in District 8, Susan Evans, reported having raised $1,349.90 as of July 14. Evans has been her largest contributor so far at $549.90.
Evans' other donors include Gerda Stein and Barbara Garlock, who was one of the plaintiffs in the Open Meetings lawsuit against the school board.
Martin reported raising $11,245.21 as of July 24 in his bid to win the District 5 seat. The Wake County Board of Elections has not yet posted the full report listing the individual donors.
Cynthia Matson reported having $100 as of Monday in her District 5 bid.
School board member Keith Sutton reported receiving $150 more in his District 4 bid. He now has raised $8,187 as of Monday.
UPDATE
Jim Martin's full updated campaign report is now online.
Martin's biggest donors are John and Ann Campbell, who both gave him $4,000 to account for $8,000 of his donations.
The Campbells, who run the Campbell Alliance Group and who are North Raleigh magnet parents and Great Schools in Wake Coalition members, have now given a total of $32,000 in donations to Martin, Kevin Hill, Keith Sutton and Christine Kushner.
The number could increase to $40,000 if they also give money to Susan Evans.
Martin's other donors include Adrienne Lumpkin and Heather Koons, frequent critics of the school board majority.
Comments
$40,000! So the
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 09:18 — woodstock$40,000! So the Campbells must be the new puppet masters. They put poor ol' Art Pope to shame. Where is the outcry from the usual cast of characters?
Hello?
Still waiting to for Losurdo to post her contributions.....
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 20:39 — IDoverare there any? Still waiting to hear about the success of her MommyBomb fundraiser.....
"Any?" Hmm, how's $12,800
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 13:07 — woodstock"Any?" Hmm, how's $12,800 so far?
Did you read the question?
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 19:22 — duvalShe does have a good amount of $, but the question was about her "mommybomb" campaign...she was specifically targeting MOMMYS.
As I skimmed her contributors list I did not seen many female donators, much less many donators from her district.
Yes, I read the question.
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 19:45 — woodstockYes, I read the question. Did you? I read it as follows:
"Still waiting for Losudo to post her contributions... are there any?"
Losurdo announced April 18th?
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 20:38 — IDoverSo, after 4 months, this is all the support she has received? A few Republican politicians....and Deborah Prickett?
...
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 12:52 — Sideburns$40,000 in a school board race? If you ask me, that's news.
Can we expect an expose from the N&O about the Campbells -- similar to the articles about Art Pope?
Welcome to the circus Sideburns...
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 20:06 — paulastam...this GOP v Democrats, Old Way v New Way, and the "money pouring in" debacle is a sad consequence of the circus that came to town (and stayed more than the usual 5 days!) when we thought we were simply voting for neighborhood schools. Instead we got stuck with a politicially partisan group, led by Ronnie M, more preoccupied with representing their campaign donors' interests and the GOP party line than enhancing our great local public schools. I fear that in all the talk about $ and political promises about better student achievement (from the Left and the Right) our kids will actually be overlooked in the whole process.
Paula, "Independent, Fair & Speaking Up for MY Kids."
?
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 21:31 — Bob_SconceIf that's all you thought you were voting for, you certainly weren't paying attention.
And, over the last 18 months, that 'politically partisan group' has done a lot: Ended Wacky Wednesdays, did a 180 on the district's year-round plans, ended work on a traffic-challenged location for a high school, saved over $1M by consolidating its facilities. Along the way, they hired a fantastic Superintendent who, despite your personal dislike for him, is rapidly winning over people on both sides and helping to unite those two factions you're worried about. Further, they ended the district's practice of using the Effectiveness Index to discriminate against poor and minority students and introduced some sanity into the discipline process. As to improving student achievement, that would have been serious injured if they chose the route of laying off teachers which many other NC districts took. Yet, this board handled an enourmous budget cut without laying teachers off.
Yes, there's been acrimony. And, yes, they've made some mistakes. But, we've seen what this group does with their mistakes: they re-group and correct course. You've called that flip-flopping. But, I'd rather have a school board who admitted and corrected their mistakes than their predecessors, who stubbornly refused to change course even when it was crystal clear that they were heading in the wrong direction.
Saved $1m
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 12:46 — Solon77Not so fast. The so called savings comes from selling assets, until the assets are sold the facility consolidation will cost us more. Maintaining current facilities + paying rent.
Ask Them
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 11:32 — RKCurtrightBob, you are right that some changes have been positive. Past "fixing" was undiplomatic and unprofessional. We should expect more this time around. I’m glad to hear they have admitted mistakes were made.
What is important to the majority of citizens who sit in the middle of all this is a trustworthy School Board. A professional public servant who welcomes discussion and debate, wants to be held accountable.
Trust is a big deal. Their eye must be one thing: looking out for the best interest of wcpss, Wake County, and every single child who deserves the best education our public school dollars can offer. Those on our Board must be working right alongside Mr. Tata and his team, all with this same goal in mind.
If Board members are equally accountable to their political party, will they do what is best for of wcpss, Wake County, and every single child who deserves the best education our public school dollars can offer?
Who will make these next two years all about building upon and supporting what has been started?
You say: Ended Wacky Wednesdays: This is a good example of a miscontrued “sell” in the last election. There was no real solution except just get rid of it. Did they first ask if teachers found it useful? Professional Learning time is used in school systems all over the world. They find it helps teachers educate their students better by building upon learned practices, facilitate peer reviews, collaborate with other teachers, present research, and get better and more creative in their field. Teachers become better at their skill when given this time to listen and lead discussion all centered around their trade. Could JT, DP,CM,RM have waited and found a solution to keeping professional learning time? Students could have had structured tutoring time during this time staffed by volunteers, YMCA camp staff, school staff?
Consensus and discussion with teachers, the entire School board, Principals, and Wake County community would have brought about positive results. Will thet fix it now?
You say:180 on the district's year-round plans:When Tata asked Principals, teachers, and parent recently if they prefer year round, most prefer year round to remain at their school. When DP Leesville middle went back to traditional the calendar survey was partially ignored. Teachers supported yr This decision left no solution. There is calendar continuity but there is a grossly over crowded middle school with no solution in sight for years. There is no year round middle school within 10 miles for calendar continuity for Brier Creek and Sycamore Creek year round elementary schools and no solution for years. The solution is having reasonable choice in calendar and continuity everywhere.
Consensus and discussion with teachers, all 9 School Board members, Principals, and Wake County community would have brought about positive results. How will they fix it now?
Consensus happened with changes to discipline/suspension policies. More students in pre algebra in 7th grade. Saved over $1M by consolidating its facilities. Improvements could still have happened if everyone worked together.
Blue Diamond is the most recent decision that was voted down by Margiotta and his team without asking all teachers or finding a solution to make this assessment tool better for teachers. The teachers are now without an assessment tool for one year. Do we know if this was a good thing?
Yes, they hired a fantastic Superintendent who is rapidly winning over people on both sides and helping to unite those two factions you're worried about. We need a School Board that does the same!
We need neutral party candidates willing to stand on their own. We need middle ground. We need 9 Mr. Tatas.
What will these candidates do with :
A new State assessment tool
EVAAS support and improvement
s new choice based assignment plan
More schools with high ED populations
Magnet schools to remain desirable
Our school system that looks at what is going well in Charter schools, private schools and be willing to implement these creative ideas in our regular public schools: Theme based schools to make under enrolled schools desirable
supports more funding for our schools. 1% sales tax. Or better yet, who would support going directly to AIG, Goldman Sacs,Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Bear Sterns, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and 1% of their profits go to support our public schools? ( See Inside Job)
A bond package to build new schools
More growth
More ESL students
More money needed to create the programs to improve academics.
Maintain a school system that retains and recruit the best teachers.
Listening to teachers, consulting them when assessment tools are being looked at and decisions need to be made.
Reach out and communicate with everyone and help us all realize the consequences to each and every decisions.
Will Mr. Margiotta Team support a new assignment choice plan that allows true choice in schools? True choice means every school is desiriable.Will a student be allowed to choose outside their neighborhood for a school that is more desirable to them?
Ask Them
Ok...
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 12:04 — Bob_Sconce(1) PLTs. If I recall correctly, schools have identified other ways to get PLTs in. It may not be quite the way that the previous board originally wanted it, but they didn't understand the impact their plan would have on families in the district. Once that impact became better understood, scrapping the early releases was a good move.
(2) I don't think that consensus was going to be achieved with regard to Year-Round schools among all 9 board members. Kevin Hill was personally invested in the year-round conversions and was dead-set against unconverting any schools. Heck, he blocked unconverting a school in his district even though it has been underenrolled since conversion and even though the board survey showed strong support for deconversion.
Government by consensus is a lofty ideal, but is incredibly difficult to achieve in practice -- if you wait for that, then you can never actually DO anything.
As to the rest of your post, I think I missed some formatting, because I didn't get your point.
Survey
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 19:53 — Solon77According to JT, not much should be read into the survey. I am sure Kevin fell in line with JT's comments.
You're at it again "Bob"...
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 18:56 — paulastamBob,
Your claim that I "personally dislike" General Tata is a 'stretch' on your part again! Yes, I have repeatedly stated how bemused I am that the board's GOP majority, led by Ronnie M, hired a war general from a very low performing school district with widespread alleged cheating (100 plus schools) being largely overlooked by the DC school district's leadership.
Moreover, the very limited educational experience that Tata got in DC was in a context of dramatic school reforms that have since failed to achieve long term success and led to Tata's mentor (Michelle Rhee) being chased out of town along with the DC mayor that hired her. In addition, to date there has been a lack of leadership by Tata at times, eg. he did NOTHING about Goldman's daughter's transfer 'scandal', and he showed his lack of knowledge for curriculum and instruction when he allowed his GOP colleagues dominating the board to toss out the Blue Diamond instructional tool - apparently a widely used tool that drives the work of professional learning communities. I do not dislike Tata - he has generously served our nation and seems to have an agreeable demeanor - at least in public. However, the GOP's Gang of 5 running our school board surely could have found a more experienced and better suited superintendent for WCPSS (even with a GOP background!) rather than gambling on someone that did a limited internship (overseeing logistical supplies!) in the messed up DC school system!!!
Paula, "Independent, Fair & Speaking Up for MY Kids."
hired a war general from a
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 19:45 — jeffrey1hired a war general from a very low performing school district with widespread alleged cheating (100 plus schools) being largely overlooked by the DC school district's leadership.
I take it you were equally bemused back in 2005, when the board's democratic majority hired a superintendent (Del Burns) from a school district (WCPSS) with widespread fraud in the form of a bus transportation scandal that defrauded taxpayers of $2 million.
Just sayin', cause it seems like guilty by association works for you.
Indeed I was bemused Jeffery1...
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 19:52 — paulastam...and the WCPSS fraudsters you refer to served time in jail. In contrast some of the worst alleged 'cheats' in DC schools got PROMOTIONS from their DC district supervisors to senior leadership positions on Rhee's (Tata's mentor at the time) DC leadership team. Quite a contrast indeed! Think I'm 'full of it': go ahead and access the USA Today (published in March I believe) front page article with 2-3 inside pages describing the whole DC debacle. DC's internal audits of the alleged cheating appear to be a complete farce. Yes, I am bemused...
Paula, "Independent, Fair & Speaking Up for MY Kids."
As you correctly stated,
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 20:23 — jeffrey1As you correctly stated, Paula, those you refer to are alleged cheats. The investigation is ongoing.
But once again, you missed the point! Guilt by association is a fallacy. But that's not surprising coming from someone who use more fallacious arguments than just about anyone on this blog. Stick with your Desparate Housewives for now, until you learn some deductive reasoning.
How does any of that involve
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 20:08 — woodstockHow does any of that involve Tata?
Who also happened to be the
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 19:47 — virginiadareWho also happened to be the one who discovered and reported the fraud, got much of the money returned, and put into place policies and procedures to prevent it from happening again. Much different from what was happening in the DC system.
Much different from what was
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 20:17 — jeffrey1Much different from what was happening in the DC system.
Yes and no. There was clearly a lack of oversight in Wake. And the investigation is still taking place in DC.
But I don't think Burns should be blamed for the transportation scandal any more than a guy in charge of facilities (Tata) should be blamed for a cheating scandal amongst teachers
Burns also was
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 19:55 — woodstockBurns also was superintendent when low income and minority students were systematically discriminated against by being denied access to advanced math classes. There should have been lawsuits for this despicable offense. This is one reason Burns quit.
Great Point! Anywhere else,
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 20:26 — jeffrey1Great Point! Anywhere else, the media would have crucified him for that. But here, he gets a pass.
Wakefield Elementary
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 12:44 — prescott2Bob,
I agree it was a mistake to convert Wakefield Elementary to Yr simply on the basis that the conversion did not add seats and ultimately caused valuable leadership families to leave the school.
But it must be pointed out that the correct chronology for the conversion came under the leadership of then district 3 representative Carol Parker who did her best to reach out face to face with WES parents and assess their needs. I participated in those growth and BAC meetings and the consensus to convert was pretty evenly split. As I pointed out in my previous post, calendar choice is a win/lose proposition. Some families rejoice/some families flee. As to Mr. Hills involvement; he simply chose to support the 3-year plan (which had the professional input of staff and had completed the public input process), rather than enter into backroom deals that the current board majority employs in aces. Once the Blue, Green or Purple plan is adopted it undermines the decision making process to constantly cut neighborhood favors. Board members of both persausions have engaged in this practice way too much. Assignment by exception is a huge time waster and detracts attention from the far more important issues of acheivement and in-classroom practices. Once adopted, I would prefer my school board move onto more pressing educational issues. I applaud Kevin Hill for trying to stay on task. It's called the Board of EDUCATION not the Board of ASSIGNMENT ( or special favors).
Much different view of Hill
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 21:51 — WadingInAs to Mr. Hills involvement; he simply chose to support the 3-year plan (which had the professional input of staff and had completed the public input process), rather than enter into backroom deals that the current board majority employs in aces.
Enter into backroom deals - Hill colluded with a HS principal to stonewall our community's request. An email exchange between Hill and a HS principal on March 29-30 was discovered as the result of a FOIA petition. In what appears to be a blatant case of educational “red lining” of a neighborhood, the principal did not want to lose “Bedford” and be given houses behind the Triangle Town Center (Fox Rd area) as a replacement.
Completed the public input process - We followed the appeals process immediately after the 12/20/08 reassignment by attending, presenting a community signed petition and speaking at two community engagement meetings in February 2009. There were also speeches at those meetings from other independent Bedford residents requesting that our community stay at WHS. In 2010 when the new board held community engagement meetings, we presented Hill with another signed petition and spoke at the Heritage (02/18/2010) community engagement meeting. In the last 3 years, there were a total of 16 well publicized BoE community engagement meetings since the 12/20/2008 plan was published. We have spoken at four and there have been no speakers advocating for the Heritage reassignment. Continuously “raising the bar” for a community petition to be heard is a form of direct disenfranchisement.
Our community had done it’s best to be professional, detailed, thorough, and consistent throughout the appeals process in 2009 and again in 2010 where we met Chairman Margiotta’s reassignment cancellation litmus test - we had not yet been re-assigned under the 3yr plan and there was room at Wakefield HS to accommodate the students, all to no avail.
In the 2009 appeal, we had assumed that our BoE representative had actually advocated for the change on our behalf only to be denied by the full Board. In 2010, with WRAL streaming the BoE meetings, we were able to watch all of the sessions including the March 31 meeting where our representative did not advocate for the cancellation even when reminded that there was a huge community petition behind the request.
So was there capacity at WHS for the 2010 school year for our 90 students? The proof came when the 20th day enrollment numbers came out. Although we had estimated during our appeal that ~400 seats would be available, the actual number was 533.
Unfortunately we were very naive during the 2010 appeal in that we did not know that our representative had colluded with a HS principal to stonewall our request. When our request was reviewed this year (2011), we watched the WRAL stream as our "representative" again obfuscated the facts about the current capacity / availability of open seats at Wakefield HS. He quoted WHS as being at 146% of capacity. While a ‘fact’, it purposely ignored the capacity of the WHS 9th grade center. The actual utilization rate is 81%. Capacity of 3103 and a projected student body of 2498.
So... our rose colored glasses have looong since been removed.
Put this on Mr. Hill's tab.
Thu, 07/28/2011 - 11:45 — Jeff_morseI know it's on the Underhill's tab. But Mr. Hill needs to be Voted out and Replaced By Heather Losurdo! I live in Bedford and most of our neighbors are voting for Heather to Send Mr. Hill Packing!
Put this on Mr. Hill's tab.
Thu, 07/28/2011 - 11:45 — Jeff_morseI know it's on the Underhill's tab. But Mr. Hill needs to be Voted out and Replaced By Heather Losurdo! I live in Bedford and most of our neighbors are voting for Heather to Send Mr. Hill Packing!
?
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 13:20 — Bob_SconceThere were two things going on. First, WES was overcrowded, and that definitely needed to be addressed. But, what ended up happening was silly. Instead of just converting WES, and keeping the families, they converted WES, and did a bunch of reassignments which resulted in a net loss of a few hundred students. As a result, the post-conversion enrollment was significantly less than the pre-conversion enrollment. It never made any sense. And, when you combine that with changing the principal at the same time, plus all the teachers who moved to traditional calendar schools, the result was WES post-conversion was a much different school than WES pre-conversion.
I fully agree that, over the years, the board has spent far too much time on student assignment. That's why I think an assignment plan (like the Blue plan) that substantially eliminates the need to have the board approve annual reassignments is a good thing.
Also, thanks for pointing out who the D3 rep was at the time. I was not particularly involved in the school at the time and will have to take your word on the degree of Ms. Parker's involvement.
too early to claim success
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 11:15 — prescott2Bob, It's way too early to claim such across the board policy success.
Ending Wacky Wednesday's cut off teacher planning times- this may be viewed as a success by some chronically irritated parents but it was an epic fail for improving teaching quality- a major issue for improving academic achievement. Your claim of success also ignores the many parents ( high school parents in particular) who LIKED wednesday's early release because it gave students time to focus on college aps, community service and after school jobs.
The 180 on year round plans has created issues that will have to be revisted again as growth picks up and overcrowding and limited school construction continues to plague some areas. The 180 on year round for overcrowded Leesville is hardly viewed as a unanimous 'win'. the happiness factor regarding calendar choice is not as simple as you attempt to make it. For every family made happy, others are frustrated. It's inevitably a win/lose proposition.
I'll give this board good marks on it's selection of superintendent, who thus far has made it clear to the board majority that creating high poverty schools would be an exceedingly bad move. Ron Margiotta and John Tedesco are both on record as stating THEY weren't concerned about high poverty schools. Statements like these have been enormously backwards and have poorly served the citizens of Wake County.
So...
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 12:06 — Bob_SconceI've answered most of your comments elsewhere.
The 180 I was referring to was a change in the direction from the previous board's path where every new school would be opened on a year-round calendar and where schools, once on the year-round calendar, would stay there.
180
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 12:15 — prescott2Bob,
The requirement to open all new construction on a year round basis was not the preferred choice of the previous board. I sat in the JOINT BOE/BOCmeetings where the county commissioners including Gurley, Bryan, et al. forced that wording to be included in the CIP. the previous board relented because they feared a larger bond would not have passed- and they were correct.
Putting a good face on a fiasco
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 11:13 — SatchHHI understand why you're trying to bring out the positive things that have happened in the past 18 months since you and others were so instrumental in bringing this board to our county, but let's take a closer look. 1) they've made WCPSS the laughing stock of the country via Stephen Colbert by dismantling a policy that worked to provide quality education for all students and instead (before Tata) was sending us the way of other segregated school systems 2) they ended PPT (professional planning time) for teachers on Wednesdays (what you call Wacky Wednesdays) before any actual data in on their effectiveness. Instead they moved them to Fridays - the WORST day for any professional development - and later found out that PPT Wednesdays were actually really effective (See N&O article and minutes from student achievement committee meeting). 3) They hired a lawyer to do an audit of Anne Majestic and found out what everyone already knew - her firm is doing a fine job. 4) They wasted more money to hire an outside lawyer (board majority contributor) to redistrict the board districts - a job that board attorney Anne M. had done prevoiusly and as part of what the county already pays. Wasteful! 5) They moved the site of a new high school at great taxpayer waste from North Raleigh (very overcrowded) to Rolesville (not crowded) - probably because the mayor of Rolesville is a Republican. 6) They ended standed committee meetings which were used to learn about issues before the board and now make decisions based on no data at all. 7) They broke with the student assignment plan of 3 years (after claiming support for stability) and reassigned 3,000+ students this past year, some from already underenrolled schools. They did this in the name of moving kids "closer to home," but those who were paying attention saw that people on the assignment committee just came with lists of nodes they wanted moved from "their schools" and the board let it happen. Ugly. 8) Note that John Tedesco had his node split and his half get assigned to a higher SES student population school. And on and on and on. The ONE good thing they've done is make sure that minority students are placed into advanced math classes if they qualify. This is GREAT. But, the Effectiveness Index that they dropped had nothing to do with keeping students out of higher level math. Dropping it is just another misinformed decision they made. Enuf said. This current board has done great damage to WCPSS. I just hope our voters don't let it continue.
So...
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 11:54 — Bob_Sconce(1) Being poked-fun at by Stephen Colbert does not make the district a laughing-stock. If it did, then just about every politician in DC would be one.
(2) The Wednesday PLTs were adopted late without community buy-in. Schools have found alternative ways to do them WITHOUT screwing up the schedules of every family in the district. And, Fridays are only replacements for the early-early-release days, not for every Wednesday. Further, I dispute this notion that our teachers are so unprofessional that they'll just leave if they have to do PPT on Fridays.
(3) The legal audit was broader than just Tharrington Smith, and came up with a number of excellent ideas, some of which have been acted on. The waste here is that more of the recommendations haven't been moved on.
(4) Tharrington Smith did do previous years redistricting, but it's always been billed to the district -- it was never a freebee. I don't know what you mean by "part of what the county already pays" -- to my knowledge, the county DOES NOT engage T-S to do anything.
(5) The two locations are not that far from each other if you look at a map. Sure, they're in different municipalities, but that's really irrelevant. And, frankly, putting a second high school on Forestville Rd was really a bad idea, compounded when they decided to route traffic through a neighborhood.
(6) Standing committees were eliminated *as an experiment*, because everybody was showing up to every meeting, which defeated the purpose. So, as long as everybody went to everything, why not do them in the committee of the whole? They're revisiting in October to see if it worked.
huh?
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 21:24 — EBDarcyBob, weren't you the one who recently posted that one of the reasons you opposed Wake Wednesdays is you were of the impression that large numbers of teachers were leaving early? Now you are saying they won't leave on Friday?
he he he...
Thu, 07/28/2011 - 10:48 — Bob_SconceI can see how you'd think those are conflicting. How about this: I don't see why they're any more likely to leave on Fridays than they are on Wednesdays.
In the Wednesday criticism, I wasn't trying to say that they weren't being professional; just that the claim that they needed this time at school was apparantly bogus because, well, they weren't at school.
Which
Thu, 07/28/2011 - 12:48 — Dove314Which did not take into account, as someone posted, that some PLTs and some of the activities for the half-days and even the Wednesday's, took place offsite from the school facility.
FYI: It is looney radicals
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 11:27 — woodstockFYI: It is looney radicals like you -- and Barber, Gatewood, Brannon, Petty, Evans, Martin -- who will help propel more achievement-focused, family-friendly candidates into office. Thank you for your service.
Also, I have one word for you: "paragraphs."
Flip flopping
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 13:15 — Dove314It is interesting to see the flip flopping arguments change sides depending upon political whims. It was Republicans in recent elections across the nation who made flip flopping based on needing to be flexible and change course a bad thing and being wedded to a single unyielding directive "having convictions" and unfailingly the correct choice. At that time, it was Democrats arguing that change with changing circumstance was a good thing not a detriment. Now that Republicans have sold this mantra to the public, it seems like the party itself is flip flopping the party line as needed about flip flopping -- i.e. considerable hypocrisy. I tend to concur that it is necessary to have flexibility to change due to changing circumstance and not be called out for it by either political party but, due to past history, it is fair game to call out the hypocritical shift in Republican ideology from past to current.
Well said, Bob.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 21:39 — raleighlauraI couldn't agree more. I wanted progress, responsiveness, consideration, and a sense of reasonableness that had gone missing in boards of the past. I don't want the pursuit of perfection to be the enemy of the good.
...
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 21:08 — SideburnsSo, you voted for neighborhood schools?
WOW
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 13:55 — Jeff_morseSo let me get this straight
Keith Sutton $8,000.00
Jim Martin $8,000.00
Kevin Hill $8,000.00
Christine Kushner $8,000.00
Susan Evans?
Wake Dems Party Listing them as "sponsors" to there "Southern Hospitality" Event
And NO front page story on the News and Observer???
Susan Evans?
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 23:24 — FSandYOUWe got a call tonight that a fund raiser was being held in a private home for Susan to gain support and any nickels and dimes they could beg out of those who atteneded. And we laughed so hard we blew a gasket!
Getting a call just a few hours before a fund raiser on the night of sounds like she has little support or hope to me.
Maybe it's all the rage tantrums she threw during her appearances at board meetings and other gatherings where her Sherron/Bader/Sybil personality came shining through?
Jim Martin might be raising a few dollars, but he isn't far from a Susan Evans/Sybil personality either. Watch out Jim, your slick website will mean nothing once your disrespect for elected officials is displayed in the ads against you. Not to mention your never ending love for diversity and taking us backwards instead of forwards. You're not as bright as you think you are Mr. Know it All.
FS, "Independent, Fed up with Stupidity and Speaking Out to Squash the Political Nut Jobs."
haven't we already discussed this?
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 21:30 — EBDarcyWhat about the disrespect that's been shown by the elected officials? Both for the public and fellow Board members? All Jim needs to do is run an ad of JT calling Goldman names and making fun of her hair, or Ron's animals comments wih the caption "do you really want this majority to continue it's reign of terror? That's what wil happen if you vote for my opponent."
Understanding the climate
Thu, 07/28/2011 - 14:15 — RKCurtrightThe public must understand the climate during those days of Margiotta and his team campaigning, winning, and evenJT admitted things should have been done differently during those days. We should all try not to judge based on 2008, but how everyone has evolved, grown, and learned in these past 3 years.
There is a difference in bringing up some legitimate frustrations and respectfully working to improve policy, academics, and family frustrations. Part of the solution is to keep dialog productive.
If you look back at the dialog during that time there was a lot of misunderstanding of the issues and dialog shut down because undiplomatic, half-truths, name calling, finger pointing, without practical ,factual logic in the discussion of the issues.
You can look at this blog during that time and see a perfect example of dialog that brought out emotions,ugliness, and defenses on all sides. No one was listening to one another anymore. Communication shut down. People went to their comfort zones, their corners and the infighting continued.
There was a lot of ignoring of issues on both sides and misunderstanding. Those first BOE meetings were very emotional. Much of what happened was a level of misunderstanding and fear infused into all that was going on. Questions all around were what the true intentions of the 4 new Board members were under Margiottas wing.
We can learn from all that happened and do things better this time around. My bet is wcpss will be more successful and get to the lofty goals we all want when we start listening and try debate that is respectful enough to keep us all from going to our comfortable corners.
Not that I'm aware of
Thu, 07/28/2011 - 09:47 — FSandYOUMaybe you discussed it with yourself during a dream one night?
As for your script above, I'd be glad to see it run word for word. I'm quite sure the ads against 'know it all' Martin carrying on like a spoiled brat at every public meeting for the last 2,4,6 ... years will trump anything you can whip up.
Nice try. LOL You have to
Thu, 07/28/2011 - 07:36 — woodstockNice try. LOL You have to kidding. Tedesco called Goldman a "Prom Queen" once because she was acting like a spoiled brat; that half-second sound bite hardly measures up the many angry and insulting tirades Evans and Martin routinely spew. And, regarding Margiotta's comments, you know very well they were in response to a series of offensive, insulting and wildly inappropriate outbursts made by Brannon, Bader and other looneys while verbally assulting a citizen -- a black man, I might add -- who had the floor and was attempting to make his public comments to the board... comments they made very clear they disagreed with. Saying they were acting like animals was putting it mildly. They should have been made to apologize and then escorted from the building.
Interestingly, both Brannon and Martin are professors at NC State, which makes one question the ethical standards and expected code of conduct at that institution. Their words and public behavior are shameful and reflect negatively on NC State.
WOW
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 13:55 — Jeff_morseSo let me get this straight
Keith Sutton $8,000.00
Jim Martin $8,000.00
Kevin Hill $8,000.00
Christine Kushner $8,000.00
Susan Evans?
Wake Dems Party Listing them as "sponsors" to there "Southern Hospitality" Event
And NO front page story on the News and Observer???
What did you expect?
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 10:42 — prescott2After Republican supporter Art Pope raised the ante last year and made pouring cash into elections all over the state a game changer, did you think Dems would just roll over? No doubt moneyman Pope will be opening his fat wallet again.
I generally don't tell you
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 17:36 — KeungHui (author)I generally don't tell you guys, for obvious reasons, what stories we're working on. I'll just say that the campaign reports filed so far have been noticed.
Well Said Keung.....
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 07:52 — Jeff_morseThank you