Wake benefits from balanced schools

In his July 24 Point of View article ("A school mandate, indeed"), Claude E. Pope Jr., Wake County Republican Party chairman, contended that the issue that created the impetus for change in the Wake school board was forced busing for racial purposes. He states, "If there ever were a failed policy of the past, it is forced busing." "Forced busing" is a politically charged term that does not in any way adequately describe what Wake County policy has done for the last 35 years.

Maintaining economic balance in the Wake County schools has been done primarily through magnet schools and elective busing, not forced busing. A school system that is presently 141,000 students and growing will always have some form of busing. Although desirable, providing more choice to parents will require even more busing.

Pope and the school board's current majority are quick to dismiss the value of Wake County having no bad schools. However, there are serious fiscal and social costs to creating zones or pockets that are high-poverty, and true benefits from creating balance. Economically balanced schools create environments where good teachers want to teach, saving taxpayers millions in rescue funds. Creating a system of have and have-not schools is a very costly mistake and goes against both the American ideal of equality of opportunity and North Carolina's commitment to public education.

However, there are two parts of Pope's statement where there is broad agreement: First, parental involvement is critical to successful learning, and all parents have a responsibility to take a role in their children's education. We also believe that we as a community have a responsibility to take a role in all the community's children.

Second, we agree that achievement, test scores and graduation rates will drive more businesses to relocate here, which translates into much-needed jobs for all socioeconomic classes in Wake County, higher property values for all homeowners and ultimately higher tax collections for our local governments.

The school board has a responsibility to provide not only the best education for all of Wake County's children but also to protect the school system as our most important economic development tool. We can all agree that we need a rational plan beyond politics that protects magnets, addresses costs and stability concerns, acknowledges the value of diversity, gets our focus back on student achievement and puts an end to this separate but equal circus.

Tammy Brunner

Executive Director

Wake County Democratic Party

Raleigh