Dissatisfaction Drives Proposal for County-Wide Wake School Board Seats

Raleigh, N.C. — One bit of political fallout from the ongoing dispute over year-round schools in Wake County and frequent reassignments is legislation that would make all nine school board members compete district-wide.

Some critics wanted to vote school board members out of office, but realized they could only vote for the one seat in the district that covered where they lived.

After hearing complaints, local Republican lawmakers filed legislation Wednesday that would make the Wake County school board at-large, like county commissioners.

“We have a county-wide school system. A lot of people say, ‘Why don't we have a county-wide school board? I can vote for one-ninth of the members and yet the other eight can have a direct effect on my child's education,’” state Sen. Richard Stevens, R-Wake County, said.

School board vice-chair Rosa Gill told WRAL that the proposal is driven by special interests who want to control the board and that running county-wide would cost candidates more time and money.

She doesn't think the current system is broken and doesn’t need fixing, she said.

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Latest Comments

The school board isn't about providing our children the best education...it is about politics and personal agendas.

inquistitor
March 8, 2007 5:53 p.m.

Phoebe0715- right with you! mindofreason- #1 "often lack substantial funds to run a county-wide race, especially in Wake"... they also lack the God-given common sense to run the school system properly in Wake. As for the "rich snobs" do your homework, it is not the rich ones that don't want MYR.

I strongly support this idea! I also strongly support vouchers- that would change things IMMEDIATELY!!!

Cowboy
March 1, 2007 12:07 p.m.

Yes I did...

El Doggo
March 1, 2007 11:38 a.m.

For those who think it's so easy to find track out care in one-parent families or families where both parents must work, you need to think again. Summer camp is expensive, yes, but try taking three weeks off four times a year - no boss would put up with it!! And trackout care is full-time daycare, scarce (let me say that again) SCARCE, in this county, and not everyone can afford it! So what happens when the kids who are already economically disadvantaged, end up holed up at home or wandering the streets for three weeks four times a year while mom and dad work their butts off just to make ends meet?

Yeah, I didn't think yall had thought about that.