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May 16-31, 2011, News Archive
5/31/11 'Green plan' familiar
"Wake County's "green plan" for student assignments is finding support from those who think every address in Wake County should come with a definite school assignment."
5/31/11 New Senate budget with no teacher assistant cuts
"The state Senate made public a new $19.7 billion budget today that makes no cuts to teacher assistants but requires local school districts to more savings on their own."
5/31/11 Wake schools turn ears to public
"After 18 turbulent months, the question of how to decide where Wake County public school students will attend school could soon be answered."
5/31/11 Wake families to attend public meetings on student assignment
"Wake County parents can learn more about the newly released student assignment plans on Tuesday."
5/30/11 Teacher's assistants explain their role, but brace for cuts
"Thousands of teacher's assistants in elementary classrooms are facing the chopping block under the state Senate's $19.4 budget proposal, which was unveiled last week and includes cuts to education spending overall."
5/30/11 Proximity was key in Wake's school plans
"Wake County school officials are willing to go only so far to keep individual schools from having too many struggling students - especially when steps in that direction might conflict with providing families schools closer to where they live."
5/29/11 Hearing ordered on cuts to schools
"In a move that could complicate the already tense state budget negotiations in Raleigh, a judge has ordered a court hearing about whether proposed school cuts would compromise children's constitutional right to a quality education."
5/29/11 Lawmakers plan severe cuts to teacher assistants' ranks
"State lawmakers are moving to make deep cuts in the corps of teacher assistants, who number more than 26,000 in North Carolina's early grade classrooms. Of that total, about 18,000 are state-funded; the rest are paid with local funds or federal dollars. The average 10-month salary for a teacher assistant is $21,000."
5/29/11 Too much testing
"Did it occur to anybody to consult the 10 countries with the best education systems? (See Newsweek Aug. 23, 2010, issue. The U.S. did not make this list!)"
5/28/11 Wake fleshes out school options
"Wake County parents will find out soon where their children might attend middle school and high school under two new student assignment plans being reviewed by school leaders."
5/27/11 Tony Tata praising Scotty McCreery and Wake's music programs
"The graduations, the state championships and one of our student's fantastic success on the national stage should remind us all why we are were. Which is to help our students to succeed."
5/27/11 NAACP wants threat investigated
"Jealous also called on state and federal officials to aggressively pursue an investigation into a death threat made against Barber."
5/27/11 Nonpartisan school board races? Says who?
"Lest anyone doubt that politics sometimes pops up in the supposedly nonpartisan Wake County school board races, a newsletter from the Wake County Republican Party shows that party affiliation does matter."
5/27/11 Meritless idea
"I have been a proud educator in the North Carolina public school system for many years. Now our state leaders want to pay a research company to decide the feasibility of merit pay for teachers. I did not hear the cost of that study? Let me help out free!"
5/27/11 Creating politicians
"The Senate proposal to pay teachers for performance will not increase competence. But it will increase resentment among teachers."
5/27/11 Electing a school board chair in June
"There had been some question about whether board policy would allow Margiotta to serve again as chair. Margiotta had created a precedent in December 2009 when he ousted Kevin Hill from the chairmanship before the end of what was supposed to be a one-year term. Margiotta was later elected to a full one-year term last June."
5/27/11 Tata says Wake Co. may release high school, middle school assignments next week
"Wake County parents who want to know how the school's systems proposed plans will impact middle schools and high schools may get an answer by next week, Superintendent Tony Tata said Friday morning."
5/26/11 Poll on Wake County schools leads to state fine
"There's been some fallout from a December 2009 poll on the Wake County school system that was conducted on behalf of the conservative Civitas Institute."
5/26/11 YWCA holding forum tonight on racism in area public schools
"It looks like the Wake County school system will be in the spotlight tonight at a YWCA community forum on racism in the schools."
5/26/11 Knightdale to hold Town Hall meeting to discuss voting districts
"Knightdale town leaders will discuss their concerns over new voting districts for Wake County School Board members at a town hall meeting Thursday night."
5/26/11 Education shell games
"There was one small, if mostly symbolic, victory for truth and justice this week associated with the horrific budget making its way through the state Senate: Republicans finally abandoned their longstanding (and certifiably nutty) argument that better funding does not help when it comes to improving schools."
5/26/11 South Carolina plans to shun federal school money
"South Carolina will not seek millions of federal dollars for its public schools, the state's Republican education chief said Wednesday as he turned aside a shot at grant money and instead advocated smaller government."
5/26/11 Next week: 9 public hearings set on Blue & Green options for Wake schools
"Tony Tata wants your emails or your comments in person re: his Blue Plan and his Green Plan for making student assignments in Wake starting with the 2012-13 school year."
5/25/11 CMS budget request sparks questions
"Last month, Superintendent Peter Gorman unveiled a proposed 2011-12 budget that asked the county for $10.6million to handle enrollment growth and current operations."
5/25/11 Education chiefs: We need more funding
"After two years of cuts, officials from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Central Piedmont Community College made their case to county commissioners Tuesday for why their agencies should get more money next year."
5/25/11 CMS budget request sparks questions
"Last month, Superintendent Peter Gorman unveiled a proposed 2011-12 budget that asked the county for $10.6million to handle enrollment growth and current operations."
5/25/11 Middle, high schools left out of Wake plan
"A big question on the minds of many Wake County parents is one that school officials admit they can't answer: Where will students go to middle school and high school under two new student-assignment proposals?"
5/25/11 NAACP leader Barber arrested in legislature
"The Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina branch of the NAACP, and six others arrested during Tuesday's session of the N.C. House decided to spend the night in the Wake County jail."
5/25/11 Blue and green
"Here's the remarkable thing about where the Wake County school system appears to be heading on the ultra-controversial issue of student assignment: The two rough-draft options now on the table both look far better than what the school board's Republican majority was trying to put together a year ago."
5/25/11 Missing metrics
"Wake Schools Superintendent Tony Tata is to be commended for his assessment of the community turmoil and in his offerings of compromises."
5/25/11 Staff and school board praise for the blue plan
"The blue plan appears to be the favorite over the green plan for Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata and several school board members."
5/25/11 John Tedesco on the "new dynamic" of the blue plan
"Wake County school board member John Tedesco is sure sounding like he prefers the blue plan over the green plan for student assignment."
5/25/11 Tea party targets schools for 'Constitution Week'
"America's kids will be learning about the U.S. Constitution this coming school year with help from a decidedly conservative Idaho publishing house, if a tea party group gets its way."
5/24/11 Parents, students flood Wake Co. schools website
"Traffic was heavy on the Wake County Public School System website in the hours after it released two plans for student assignment. The system will have a new plan for the 2012-13 academic year."
5/24/11 NC House panel votes to revamp education setup
"North Carolina voters would be asked to support a major restructuring of who wields power in the state school system under a bill approved by a legislative panel."
5/24/11 A primer on school politics
"Q: What is student assignment? It's the process by which school systems determine which students will attend which schools."
5/24/11 Predictability, proximity tangle
"Wake County's new student-assignment plan could hang on one point: whether families are willing to give up the guarantee of knowing by their address which schools their children are assigned to attend."
5/24/11 Tata offers school options to Wake parents
"Wake County is giving residents a choice when it comes to public schools: the certainty of diversity or the guarantee of a close-to-home school."
5/23/11 Two Wake student assignment proposals to be unveiled
"Parents of students in the Wake County Public School System will get their first chance Monday to look at what student assignment could be like under a new policy that moves away from socio-economic diversity as the sole criteria for placing children in schools."
5/23/11 Wake school assignment plans come out today
"Wake County is expected to find out today where its 143,000 public-school students might go to school for years to come - a major milestone that follows months of uncertainty and fighting over the direction of the state's biggest school system."
5/23/11 Blue vs. Green: Which school assignment plan will better protect Wake County values?
"Strap on your skates, public participators: Wake Schools Superintendent Tony Tata put a competing pair of school assignment plans on the table today along with a schedule that would see him recommending one or the other to the school board in about three weeks."
5/22/11 Teachers and outcomes
"Teachers have some control over how they lead their students to learning, although even there, they do not have enough control of that process to hold them entirely responsible for the outcome. But they cannot make them drink it. To propose a pay model based on student performance implies that they can."
5/22/11 They fought to help students keep learning
"The three schools have poverty levels ranging from 89 percent to 97 percent, buildings dating back to the 1950s and '60s, and a history of academic failure. Over the years, district leaders have hired and fired principals. They've recruited and replaced teachers. They've announced bold goals and special programs - then scrapped them for something new."
5/22/11 Berger's vision
"A closer look at the Senate Republican leader's suggestions magnify some challenges, simulating in a way the difference between a retouched photograph and a blemished one."
5/21/11 Early childhood programs are at risk
"The payoffs of early childhood programs can be especially high," he said. "For instance, preschool programs for disadvantaged children have been shown to increase high school graduation rates. Because high school graduates have higher earnings, pay more taxes and are less likely to use public health programs, investing in such programs can pay off even from the narrow perspective of state budgets; of course, the returns to the overall economy and to the individuals themselves are much greater."
5/20/11 Tata says Wake assignment plans will preserve diversity
"Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata hinted at lofty student assignment goals Thursday, saying he's trying to preserve the magnet program, provide proximity and avoid creating low-performing schools."
5/20/11 Redistricting primer
"For anyone who didn't have time to master the minutiae of redistricting before the nominal public hearing, let me state plainly what happened: The Wake Board of Education paid $10,000 of taxpayer money to a private, partisan Republican attorney to devise a single map that would be most favorable to Republican candidates in October's election."
5/20/11 Where the school buck stops
"House Bill 546 will not accurately reflect teacher competence. For one thing, many students do not test well on multiple choice tests. Secondly, classroom teachers have to be "on" every single minute of every school day and deal with different difficult situations every hour."
5/20/11 Tony Tata on maintaining a strong magnet school program
"Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata is trying to reassure magnet school supporters worried about how the program will be affected by the new long-term student assignment plan."
5/19/11 N.C. Senate leader lays out schools plan
"Senate Republicans have new ideas for public schools in North Carolina, and their coming budget proposal aims to reshape early-grade classrooms, teacher pay models and even the school calendar."
5/19/11 Perdue: NC education is in 'race to the bottom'
"We are in a race to the bottom," Gov. Perdue said. "We're about to witness the biggest layoff of public education employees in the history of North Carolina."
5/19/11 Roberts wants to add $40M for CMS
"Mecklenburg Commissioners Chairman Jennifer Roberts said Wednesday she wants the county to keep the property tax rate flat for the coming budget, and send $40 million more to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools."
5/19/11 Senate Republicans propose changes in early education
"State Senate Republicans want to change the face of early-education as part of their revised spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year."
5/19/11 Raleigh business leaders talk innovative education
"Wake County business leaders gathered Thursday morning to talk about the impact of local schools on economic success."
5/19/11 Jennifer Mansfield announces school board candidacy
"The race for District 3 on the Wake County school board has gotten potentially trickier for those who want to elect a neighborhood schools supporter."
5/18/11 Many CMS librarians losing jobs
"Librarians in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools say the most recent round of layoffs will leave at least 20 campuses without media specialists."
5/18/11 NC Senate panel zeroes in on teacher group's money
"North Carolina Republicans are dishing up some financial payback for the state's top teacher lobbying group, one of the strongest supporters of the Legislature's former Democratic leadership."
5/17/11 NAACP urges Wake school board to reject redistricting proposal
"The state NAACP is urging the Wake County school board to reject proposed school board redistricting maps, claiming the election districts were drawn up for political purposes and uses flawed data."
5/17/11 A third wheel
"The budget passed by the House and the one under consideration in the Senate would do serious damage to our K-12 schools and universities. It would protect the rich and harm the poor, elderly and vulnerable."
5/17/11 Knightdale by three
"I don't like the proposal for the new Wake County Board of Education districts. Why would you marginalize a town such as Knightdale into three districts?"
5/17/11 NAACP opposes school board redistricting maps
"The state NAACP is urging the Wake County school board to reject the new redistricting maps, claiming "racial purposes" were present in the drawing of the boundary lines."
5/17/11 John Tedesco booed at American Idol event
"In the latest episode, school board member John Tedesco drew boos at Saturday's festivities at Lake Benson Park in Garner for "American Idol" contestant Scotty McCreery."
5/17/11 Wake to provide tapes of student assignment hearings to OCR
"As previously reported, Wake turned down the offer from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights to host its own hearing in response to complaints that the NAACP had been offered one at a site of its own choosing."
5/17/11 Wake school board OK's redistricting plan
Wake County school board members have just approved a redesign of their nine voting districts, amid Republican promises that three Democrats in opposition would like any revised map even less.
5/16/11 GSIW finds "errors" in school board redistricting information
"The Great Schools in Wake Coalition is urging the Wake County school board to delay Tuesday's vote on the redistricting maps after finding what it called "errors" in the information released by attorney Kieran Shanahan."
5/16/11 Wake school board likely to OK districts
"The direction of the Wake County school system could be decided Tuesday, when the school board is scheduled to vote on revised school board districts."
5/16/11 Wake County budget proposal allocates $314M for schools
"Wake County Manager David Cooke proposed a budget Monday that gives the school district $314.4 million - $900,000 more than school officials requested."
5/16/11 Perdue fuels pushback against GOP school cuts
"Gov. Beverly Perdue and her top subordinates are fanning out across North Carolina this week in an effort to rouse public reaction against Republican plans to cut state education spending as legislators close a $2.5 billion budget shortfall."
5/16/11 Wake school board to vote on redistricting
"The Wake County Board of Education is expected to vote on Tuesday on plans to change the boundaries of its voting districts."
