A rift fractures the Wake school board's solid majority - Wake County - NewsObserver.com

A rift fractures the Wake school board's solid majority - Wake County - NewsObserver.com


CARY -- In what could become the first significant split in the ruling Wake County school board majority, vice chairwoman Debra Goldman says she will vote against the board's student assignment plan if she continues to be shut out of the process, which she says leaves her unable to keep her promises to voters.
Goldman's stand on the emerging plan for assigning students to schools signals a widening schism among the five-member majority that has dominated board actions since late last year. It creates another complication for a bloc that faces lukewarm support from county commissioners in its own party as well as questions about its policy decisions from a national accreditation agency and a potential civil rights investigation from two federal departments.
Goldman, a Cary Republican, took office after fall elections last year that created a board majority consisting of incumbent Ron Margiotta and three other new members. The majority moved rapidly to set aside Wake's assignment policy that gave weight to achieving socioeconomic balance in schools; the five instead favored a policy that gives priority to assigning students within their communities. The ruling coalition put the design of the proposed plan in the hands of a student assignment committee led by majority member John Tedesco.
Goldman, who continues to support community-based schools, is not a member of the student assignment committee. She said she will not vote for a plan unless every student has the option to attend a magnet school, has a choice of a year-round or traditional school, and a guaranteed assignment based on where he or she lives.
The plan before the school board's assignment committee divides the county into 16 community school zones and emphasizes choice, stability and placing students in schools close to their homes. Instead of getting a base school, families would pick from a set of schools without a guarantee of getting their request.
"How can I support a plan that doesn't meet what I said I would do?" she said. "I don't have a voice; I don't have a vote until it comes to the entire board."
What her colleagues say
Initial response from Goldman's fellow Republicans was terse.
"We've seen Mrs. Goldman go back and forth on issues for the last few months," Tedesco said. "I want to see what she actually votes on six months from now before I get excited about what she says today."
Majority member Chris Malone is on the student assignment committee, along with Tedesco and minority member Carolyn Morrison.
"There's a process in place, and the process has to be respected; I'll just leave it at that," Malone said. "I'm not going to get into some kind of disagreement in the press with one of my fellow board members."
Board chairman Ron Margiotta said it was too early in the planning process for Goldman to be concerned about specifics.
"I'm the chairman of the school board, and I don't resent the fact that I'm not involved with every single aspect of what's going on," Margiotta said. "We just can't have every school board member on that committee, or it's no longer a committee."
Meanwhile, families in Cary have been flooding Goldman with e-mail and calls about the plan, especially from places where the proposed zones divide neighborhoods.
"She's getting pressure in her area about the bases; this is not what they voted for," said Anne Sherron, a nonvoting community member appointed to the student assignment committee by a member of the board minority. "The thing that I see her starting to realize is that she is not being listened to. When you are part of this majority and you aren't being listened to, it's time to stomp your foot."
Former board chairman Kevin Hill, a member of the board's four-member minority, all Democrats, said there's merit in Goldman's request for more information.
"There are questions that need answers to help shape the program, instead of building the program and finding out we don't have answers to these questions," Hill said.
A swing vote?
After nine months on the board, Goldman could cast a decisive swing vote against the plan before next fall's school board elections, which could result in a change in the panel's ruling coalition. But she said she hopes speaking out now will make that unnecessary. A potential break in the board majority would be the latest twist in a long saga that began with widespread parent dissatisfaction in the early 2000s.
Especially in suburban neighborhoods, families complained about frequent student reassignments, uneven access to magnet schools and an assignment plan that factored in families' economic backgrounds. Those complaining got organized and elected four candidates last fall who were determined to try a new way of assigning students.
Goldman doesn't support the economic-background approach, but she said she doesn't think the plan being drawn up meets the district's standards. Originally planned for introduction in the 2012-13 school year, the new student assignment plan could be put into effect as early as next fall if the board approves a plan in time.
"I could be quiet and wait for the vote, but I could let them know now that there are some issues so maybe things could be worked on," said Goldman, who said she would like to see a new plan in effect next fall. "Nobody wants to spin their wheels on something that's not going to pass."
Along with members of the board minority, Goldman is raising concerns that the plan under development could create more high-poverty schools, a category that increased under the old policy.
"We run the risk of some racial isolation," she said. "I don't want to see it get worse."
Goldman said the developing plan is dividing communities. She points to Cary's Lochmere area, which is split between parents who want their children to attend Athens Drive High School, which is 10 minutes away in Raleigh, and Cary High School.
"Parents are very, very anxious. I'm anxious, and I'm on the board, so that should tell you something," she said.
Despite her concerns about how the concept will be executed, Goldman said she's committed to the concept of community-based schools.
"Would I go back to the old way? No way," she said. "But at least you knew where your kids were going."
Deciding the details
Tedesco has said that the plan in play is fluid. Last week, the committee voted to make several changes affecting areas in Cary, including Lochmere, and other parts of the county. School board minority member Morrison voted against the changes, saying the fundamentals of the plan have not been agreed on.
Goldman could cast a "no" vote on the developing plan, or use her potential swing vote to change it.
"I'm assuming that she's very serious if she's making public comment about this," Hill said.
Goldman said she's asked repeatedly to be on the student assignment committee, which has no policies about how many members can serve.
"I just keep getting refused," she said. Tedesco and Margiotta have kept her from the committee, Goldman said, because her support of the majority is "not a guarantee."
What Goldman wants, she said, is for the entire school board to be on the assignment committee. In any case, Goldman's hesitation could slow down progress on the plan, a delay some critics of the board majority want.
"I don't count on her swing vote," said Patty Williams of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, which is critical of the new board. "But the process needs to be slowed down, and it needs to be data-driven, which it has not been."
Goldman's independent stance could mean complications for other board decisions, such as the controversial new high school being designed for Rolesville. Goldman said she had concerns with the school's design, which she will bring up at today's school board meeting.
"It's going to be an interesting day, I think," Hill said.