Wake County Schools will not be moving as quickly to neighborhood schools as some parents would want. In the school board meeting yesterday it was decided that a more deliberate approach to student would be decided on.
Kevin Hill made a proposal to hold a series of board and public meetings and develop cost estimates before designing a long-term assignment model. When the vote was taken on the proposal, it was decided that was to be the course of action much to the dismay of Ron Margiotta, Chris Malone, Deborah Prickett and John Tedesco. For the second time, Debra Goldman sided with the “minority four” and effectively ended any chance at neighborhood schools for next year.
Ms. Goldman feels that Mr. Hill’s approach ensures all parents get a say in the planning and still moves the schools to a neighborhood approach. She also said, "If it comes down to a 5-4 vote for which community-based school plan we pick, then that is what it will be," Goldman said. "But at least the entire board will have had a piece of that discussion."
Hill is happy to have Ms. Goldman’s support but still isn’t saying he is for neighborhood schools. He said, “"I'm hoping we can all come together without prejudging things and come up with something we can agree upon.” But John Tedesco views it as another way to prevent the “majority five” from doing what they want to do.
Mr. Tedesco said, “"For the past 11 months, the Democrat members of the school board have to tried to stall, stop and hinder what the people elected us to do. They've found the support of Mrs. Goldman to help them." Hill's approach could potentially delay the adoption of a community-based assignment plan past the October 2011 school board elections, when supporters of the diversity-based student assignment policy could regain the majority control of the board which is what seems to be Tedesco’s concern.
Ms. Goldman’s concern is that the entire community should be heard. "It's really important that every inch of this county, every person in this county, every stakeholder, every parent, every taxpayer feels that they are being represented in this discussion," Goldman said.
After the meeting was adjourned, Mr. Hill stated that a facilitator would be need to get the process going and moving. A three-year assignment plan adopted by the old board expires next year, so the current board needs to have a new plan in place for the 2012-13 school year. However, administrators are looking at some changes that they need to do. For example, they are looking at relieving crowding at Leesville Road Middle School in North Raleigh and Farmington Woods Elementary School in Cary by reassigning students who've been bused from Southeast Raleigh to balance socio-economic diversity. Those changes will have to be taken into account when the Board devises the new plan.
What changes are actually going to take place remains to be seen. While Ron Margiotta seemed to have the majority vote to get done what he wanted to do, things have changed there as well. Debra Goldman has emerged as a Board Member with her own thoughts and ideas and not blindly following along. If she continues to take that premise and work for the parents of Wake County we may just see Wake County Schools emerging as a top school system again.
Wake County Schools has been plagued with bad press the last few months due to charges filed against them from the NAACP, the possibility of losing accreditation with AdvancED and finally another discrimination complaint filed by the National Women’s Law Center. The end results have yet to be determined.
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