Recently two Raleigh residents, each of whom graduated from high school in 1965, got together with N&O President and Publisher Orage Quarles III to talk about the schools. Mel Lewis and Bruce Lightner share a longstanding interest in the Wake County Public School System. As frequent online commenters on stories about the schools, they do not share similar views - but they think they detect some elements of common ground (see Executive Editor John Drescher's July 24 column). Here are opinion articles that Quarles invited Lewis and Lightner to submit.
RALEIGH -- Raleigh and Wake County are at a critical crossroads. I have been a witness to what goes on here for nearly 60 years and have never seen such a ruckus over how a school board manages its business. What drives this saga is the realization that everybody considers their children to be the center of the universe, and rightfully so.
The dynamics on both sides of this argument are toxic. Wake has seen school enrollment jump from 97,000 in 2000 to 140,000 this year. Previous school officials have been diligent in trying to stay ahead of the curve by building more schools and creating paths to make sure that most schools are economically balanced - that is, not high-poverty schools. The new school board has ended the concept of having diversity in all schools. This is problematic.
Migration over the past 10 years has lured many people here for jobs, and they often have chosen to live in Wake County because of our nationally recognized school system. Now these same folks want to transform Wake's system to what they were familiar with back home - economically and racially homogenous, proximate schools.
In the 1960s, the integration of schools in Raleigh was void of the pitfalls, drama and violence that most other Southern cities experienced. This was due in large measure to a culture where white and black civic and business leaders understood what was at stake and were unafraid to speak truth to power. Sadly, this is missing today.
In modern Wake County, we are unsure about our developing shared culture. New folks have life experiences much different from ours and have not shown a willingness to appreciate the struggles of the past. Historically, white society has a painful cross to bear and should now be vigilant in protecting the hard-fought gains to eradicate discriminatory practices in education.
For sure, we've made significant progress, but we need to keep working, collaborating and praying, and above all to respect one another, regardless of opinions and passions.
Today's highly charged debate centers on a school board bent on reconfiguring a system that was working better than most and certainly was not broken. I think we can all agree that some changes were needed. The real issue is that some very vocal white people do not want low-performing students attending their suburban schools, and they are using code words like "social engineering" and "parental convenience" as a smokescreen.
As I see it, we have a minimum of five problems:
We have a sitting school board that moved too rapidly before engaging the broader community in its plans, and the majority members are now on the defensive. Fairly or unfairly, they have created the perception that they are mean-spirited ideologues.
There has been little, if any, discussion as to just why so many black children are in poverty. Why is that so? Answer this question, and we will be much further down the road.
The new assignment plan will create racially homogenous zones. This will be to the advantage of high-wealth neighborhoods and a disadvantage to other neighborhoods. That just won't fly - morally or politically.
While the new board says it does not intend to create high-poverty schools, it has not come to grips with the fact that there is not enough money both to revamp the system's schools and retain current magnet appeal.
A school bond referendum, which will be needed to build more schools because of growth, would certainly not pass voter scrutiny in this acrimonious climate, unless the board finds a way to avoid creating high-poverty schools and acknowledges that diversity is valuable. Failure to do so will split our community in a way that will create ongoing discontent and chaos.
Here's an idea. Citizens of all persuasions, let's unite. Ask our school board to convene a two-day retreat. Get away from Raleigh. Call in the K-12 school principals, and let those who best know education help the board better understand what kinds of schools are needed to ensure that improved achievement for all students is our No. 1 goal.
If our community wishes to continue to be regarded as one of the best places to live in America, this should be done.
Bruce E. Lightner is chairman the Raleigh Martin Luther King Committee.
