D before E

Have you ever wondered if diversity really trumps education in Wake County? I mean, honestly... you can read my posts from the past two years and listen to my opinion but I'm sure you've thought: 

"Yeah, yeah. You're just political and hate this School Board" or 

"My kids are fine. Diversity is a good thing (as long as we don't get reassigned)." or 

(in a whisper...) "That woman is crazy."

Well, I feel your pain. This School Board has not made it easy. In the past 3 years, they have made many damaging decisions (like going through 4 superintendents in 2 years) and many non-decisions (uh, after 3 years and whole lotta talking, still no assignment plan?).

But, are they really so focused on creating diversity in our schools that the educational needs of our students run a far second?

Here's some clarity. 

Last week, the N&O had an article about the WCPSS School Board ending a successful and effective program that was running at 5 low-income schools in Wake County.  While Mr. Literal, aka School Board Jim Martin, tried to berate the N&O and claim that the Board never canceled this program, the reality is the funding has ended and this program, one that has helped thousands of low-income children, is over. Don't let Mr. Martin's patronizing twist on the truth make you believe otherwise. 

In the end, the program was ended because this Board doesn't like helping all sorts of poor kids together in one school. In the Board's opinion, it's wrong for poor families to choose to attend school together and then have the school system provide extra resources to help their children. The success of that program isn't what's important to them. The diversity of that school is important. Diversity over education.

But, do you care? After all, not my children.

So, let's talk about something that you might care about. Something that really speaks to the Board's one and only concern: diversity.

At their last work session (the meeting before the official Board meeting), there was a discussion about the placement of the new schools that will be built from the 2013 bond money. You know, the bond you voted for last year because "it's for the children".

WCPSS staff has been working to identify areas to build schools around the county in order to best serve the growing population of Wake County. To make it easy, I'll recap that discussion for those of you who live in SW Wake. 

Here's what your unsympathetic and magnet-focused School Board member Susan Evans had to say:

"We've been having various other conversations about student assignment and the magnet program and I think this is probably a good time for us to put it out there on the table. We have to be forward thinking about all of that stuff and I don't know what the decent answers are but, I've said this before and I'll say it again."

Here it comes, people...

"While I understand that the density of new neighborhoods is strong along that Western corridor and will be strong along the most Southern corridor, so that looks like that's our immediate need, I have a concern from a long-term perspective that, in 20 years when those neighborhoods have aged up and we've got a bazillion schools around the perimeter of the county, is that going to serve us well? We need to think globally about the positioning of schools with long-term in mind and build more towards the center of [the county]."

Globally? Uh, ok. So, even though we have been recognized as the fastest growing area of the county...  And, even though you have been told by Susan Evans that you matter and she will work for your family and your children...  And, even though you honestly believed that your support of the 2013 school bond would result in new schools in your crowded neighborhood...  Even though there is an "immediate need" (her words, not mine) for schools in our district, we're not going to get them.

As quoted in the N&O, "It’s easier to assign children to schools in the central areas of the county to balance population and diversity than to send them to schools farther away."

Let me say that in plain English. 

Schools will be built closer to Raleigh so diversity will be easier to achieve. And your kids are the next pawns in that system.

So, the joke's on you. Do you care now?


 

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/06/21/3954206/wake-county-leaders-debate-where.html?sp=/99/102/110/112/#storylink=cpy

Repackaging Tata's vision

What we are witnessing today on the Wake County School Board is politics at its best.

In 2009, the School Board removed quotas for diversity in the WCPSS assignment policy. After all, there was decades of data that showed the busing scheme in Wake County - that is, using the assignment of poor children to fill quotas at each school - did not work. It did not improve academic outcomes.

However, as a result of that simple change, the liberals went wild. 

They packed the Board meetings, protested anywhere they could, chanted and sang, encouraged students to get arrested, and proudly crossed the security barriers to physically take over the School Board seats. C'mon, we all remember it. Overly-dramatic candlelight vigils. Yelling, singing, and praying during Board meetings. Years of hateful statements, speeches, and name-calling.

Fast forward to this past week...

New Superintendent Merrill and WCPSS staff presented a new academic formula to the School Board. This formula could be used to better identify the needs of struggling schools - how to place resources properly - rather than simply using diversity busing to address educational problems. Sadly, it does include the ability to reassign students to "improve" performance. But, it's no longer the be-all and end-all as this Board and their liberal friends so desired.

This new formula is divided into 5 areas - yet "diversity" is no longer the most important factor. In fact, "demographics" (which it is named under this formula) is similarly weighted to 3 of the other 5 factors.

And, shockingly, the left remains silent. No outrage. Silence. Crickets.

Let's not forget... the end result of all that hubbub from the liberals was the buyout of the contract of a very effective and very successful superintendent. With the support of the 2009 Board, Tata managed to change the conversation in Wake County. Not an easy feat.

So, I can only believe that either Merrill is treading on very thin ice with this Board by basically dismissing diversity busing as a solution in education. Or this School Board is filled with a bunch of liars and hypocrites.

In a nutshell...

A vision and leadership from a superintendent hired by a Republican-majority board?
Bad, bad, bad.

The same vision from a superintendent hired by a Democratic-majority board?
Hmmm... seems OK.

Now, don't get me wrong. This isn't set in stone. The Board has to approve this new formula that puts little emphasis on diversity busing. And, in the long shot that they will vote in favor of it, I wonder if the outrage will return.
 
I'm not betting on it.

The Rat in the Hat

 
Look at me! Look at me! Look at me now!
It is fun to have fun but you have to know how.


Very fitting for Bill Fletcher. Full of trickery and lies.
(Yes, that's his goofy picture on the left.)

Back in 1993, when Fletcher first ran for School Board, he ran as a critic of diversity busing. Like any sane person, he was against the reassignment of children over and over again simply to meet a diversity quota.

Well, that was his first (and probably most damaging) trick on the citizens of Wake County. Once in office, Fletcher's true intent became very clear. He voted in favor of EVERY SINGLE REASSIGNMENT PLAN from 1993 to 2005. Twelve years of deeply-entrenched diversity busing plans - and Fletcher voted for every one of them.

Is it any wonder that Fletcher came in 3rd place the last time he ran in 2005?  Yup, didn't even make it into a runoff. The citizens of Cary were sick and tired of him, his lies, and being yanked around and ignored by a system that Fletcher happily created. (Then, like a knife in the back, the current majority appointed him back to the School Board this year.)

So, why does Fletcher think he can fool us again? Well, you can thank his cousin, Jim Goodmon. Goodmon is a mouthpiece in Wake County (He is the CEO of Capital Broadcasting) and has the media at his fingertips. He is active with Great Schools in Wake and has very deep pockets. There is no way that Fletcher will vote against anything his cousin wants. Goodmon has funded and continues to fund all the 'pro-diversity' candidates because, well, busing the poor out of Raleigh makes Jim happy. And Fletcher will use his cousin's influence and money to continue to lie and hope you don't remember the truth.

Another little tidbit about Fletcher. He used to sit as a member of the Board for Big Brothers Big Sisters - the place John Tedesco used to work. Fletcher, as this article implies, was instrumental in pushing Tedesco out of his job. Of course, Fletcher won't tell you the truth about that - but it certainly explains why Tedesco voted for a member of GSIW rather than Fletcher when filling this School Board seat. 

And this mess is so big
And so deep and so tall,
We cannot pick it up
There is no way at all!

Yup, pretty much sums up what Fletcher will do to this county and our children.

Vote for Caggia on October 8th.