Wake County school board member Debra Goldman broke with the majority again Tuesday night, by siding with the board minority in voting down consideration of multiple student reassignments, mostly effecting Southeast Raleigh.<\/p>\n
The set of reassignments that majority members were hoping to consider reflect what the board\u2019s student assignment committee had come up with. The board was also considering a different set of reassignments vetted by the school board staff, which were more limited in scope.<\/p>\n
The vote at Tuesday’s work session to consider the reassignments was the second in as many meetings. Chair Ron Margiotta was absent from the last meeting, which allowed the minority members to defeat the measure 4-3, with the presiding chair Goldman not needing to vote. The chair does not vote unless to break a tie.<\/p>\n
Goldman indicated that her vote on Tuesday to table the large scale reassignments reflected concern over an October 12 student assignment committee meeting in which only three of the committee members were asked to bring their \u201claundry list\u201d or \u201cwish list\u201d of student assignments. Each board member has a hand picked representative who serves on the committee, but only majority members Margiotta’s, Tedesco’s and Prickett’s were notified.<\/p>\n
Considering the reassignments would mean having public hearings, before the reassignments can be voted on by the board. \u201cI’m simply going to make a simple statement,\u201d said minority board member Chris Malone. \u201cThese people have a right to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deborah Prickett, with the board majority, called the potential reassignments that arose from the committee meeting a \u201creal consensus,\u201d to which minority member Keith Sutton asked, \u201cAre you serious?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree of the minority member’s representatives are considering resigning because they feel their voice is not being heard on the committee,\u201d said minority member Kevin Hill.<\/p>\n
Anne Sherron, Carolyn Morrison’s representative, said that Hill and Sutton’s representatives were considering resigning and that Barbara Walsh, Goldman’s representative, had also voiced discontent over not being heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody trusts anyone else on either side,\u201d said Anne McLaurin.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s crazy. It’s absolutely nuts. We just keep putting it off,\u201d said Margiotta in a meeting that got through only slightly more than half of the staff’s intended agenda.<\/p>\n
When opposites collide<\/strong><\/p>\n The board minority is trying to \u201climit disruption,\u201d said Hill of voting against major reassignments. \u201cThe fewer reassignments we make now, the less likely we are to cause disruption. The debate going on right now is, ‘what’s more important, proximity or stability?’ If we make some of these changes, we are just going to have to revisit them a year from now.\u201d<\/p>\n The board majority (which is now more or less minus Debra Goldman) wants to begin instituting its neighborhood schools policy, which it says the public supports, as soon as possible. Chair Margiotta cited a school board policy<\/a> that empowers the board to annually re-examine student assignment and \u201cmake adjustments when needed,\u201d in supporting consideration of the sweeping reassignments.<\/p>\n \u201cStability means we do what’s good for the parents and the families, not the institution,\u201d said Chris Malone. \u201cIt means getting kids home sooner.\u201d Malone’s definition of stability \u201ctrumps having black kids in your school,\u201d said McLaurin.<\/p>\n