![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/fightnight-910x1024.jpg\" "\\"fightnight\\"")
<\/a>by David Eichenberger.<\/p><\/div>\n
It was bumped in large part because of a discussion on \u201cboard policy versus practice,\u201d which Republican Debra Goldman introduced to the agenda.<\/p>\n
Goldman brought forward a list of what she called \u201cperceived or actual policy violations\u201d that ranged from how to determine the amount of time allowed for public comment to meeting preparation policy.<\/p>\n
Jim Martin asked that a time limit be placed on the discussion and calls to speed the process came from Republicans as well as Democrats.<\/p>\n
But Goldman believes the discussion was extremely valuable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important that no matter what we agree or disagree on we are going to adhere to these policies to the letter and in the spirit,\u201d she said at the meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you tell me how this exercise is effective?\u201d asked Vice Chair Keith Sutton, a Democrat. \u201cThere are plenty of these examples [of policy] that you\u2019re bringing up that have been violated a number of times over the past two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin, a Democrat, frequently challenged the relevance of Goldman\u2019s assertions, beginning his comments \u201cwith all due respect.\u201d But Goldman, in the end, countered, \u201cThere is no respect here.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an interview with the Record, Goldman called Martin\u2019s attitude \u201ccondescending and disrespectful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin on the other hand believes, like Sutton, that Goldman\u2019s extensive attention to the topic amounted to a filibuster.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the extent that we can corral some of the conversation and move the agenda along, you may see us trying to do that a little more aggressively in the future,\u201d Sutton said.<\/p>\n
He said people shouldn\u2019t read too much into the assignment presentation being bumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn regards to some of the questions we\u2019ve asked, the data is not available yet,\u201d Sutton said in reference to specific feedback, such as what demographics of people are participating in the choice process.<\/p>\n
Others, like Martin, believe the postponement was unacceptable.<\/p>\n
Information packets on the assignment update were set to be presented at Tuesday\u2019s work session, but school officials informed the Record those handouts would not be made public until the next board meeting on Feb. 21 because they have not yet been provided to board members.<\/p>\n
Little Constructive Discussion on Assignment Policy<\/strong> New board members Jim Martin, Susan Evans and Christine Kushner met with Alves the day after their swearing in to get an update on the controlled-choice assignment plan. Chair Kevin Hill said he considered the meeting part of the new board members orientation process, but minority members voiced their disapproval at length \u2014 both at the Jan. 3 and Jan. 10 meeting on student assignment \u2014 that they weren\u2019t notified of the meeting.<\/p>\n The Jan. 10 meeting also brought on the flare up of Goldman and Martin\u2019s discord to the point that Superintendent Tony Tata intervened.<\/p>\n As Goldman questioned a critique from Martin that the assignment plan in not a good business plan, she asked for input from Chief Transformation Officer Judy Peppler, who spent much of her career in private business.<\/p>\n As the back and forth intensified, Tata interrupted Martin to say, \u201cYou made a very distinct criticism of the plan that it was not a good business plan [and] very public criticism of this staff and so I appreciate the question from Ms. Goldman.\u201d<\/p>\n What is the New Majority\u2019s Agenda?<\/strong> The potential change, discussed most by Democrats thus far, has been setting aside seats at high-performing schools for students from low-performing nodes. That potential change was set to be discussed again at last Tuesday\u2019s work session also.<\/p>\n While Sutton and Chair Kevin Hill, the board\u2019s two veteran diversity supporters, have publicly said they would like to see seats set aside in high-performing schools for students from low-performing areas or something like it, they also passed on a chance to instill such a caveat into the plan when staff recommended it at the board\u2019s Jan. 10 meeting.<\/p>\n In this regard, the Democratic majority has yet to voice a cohesive stance on the new plan.<\/p>\n Martin has said he doesn\u2019t think set-asides are the answer and he along with the other two new Democratic board members, Susan Evan and Christine Kushner, all made vague allusions to future changes at Tuesday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n Martin would like a control put in place that would keep the schools at their current demographic levels, a stipulation that is already unofficially built into the plan.<\/p>\n Currently, 22 percent of Wake County\u2019s schools are \u201chigh-poverty schools\u201d\u2014as defined by schools where more than 50 percent of the student body receiving free or reduced-price lunch, according to data from the school system. These numbers would stay the same.<\/p>\n Evans moved in a different direction, saying, \u201cWe will respond to things that warrant immediate response. I can\u2019t promise what we\u2019ll be able to change but I want people to know that we are taking this very seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n Kushner echoed a similar sentiment, but also mentioned that the board would pay very close attention to the data as it became available.<\/p>\n Since the school board decided not to release its current data on the first round of assignment after Tuesday\u2019s meeting, it\u2019s unclear what data will be presented at the Feb. 21 meeting.<\/p>\n Martin feels the new board has been painted into a corner in terms of its ability to implement the choice plan.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way this plan has been rolled out makes it difficult to make any changes,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have been extremely limited in terms of what is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Weeks of stilted progress and tense exchanges came to a head Tuesday when a progress report on the student assignment plan was postponed due to lengthy discussion on other issues. Advocates are now calling for the new Democratic majority to exert better control of the school board agenda. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24024,"featured_media":10236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,23,55],"tags":[466,464,465,463],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10234"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24024"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe frustrated exchanges date back to Jan. 3, as the new Democratic majority on the board was taking over and a conflict arose about a meeting with new board members and Michael Alves, who is often styled as the choice assignment guru.<\/p>\n
\nThe board is now set to hear the student assignment update at its Feb. 21 meeting, which is just three days before the first choice round closes. It will be the board\u2019s last opportunity to adjust the plan before families who participated in the first round are officially notified which school they will attend.<\/p>\n