RALEIGH -- A group representing thousands of Wake County teachers that has been critical of the Republican school board majority has conducted a survey showing a high percentage of its members are against the elimination of the diversity-based student assignment policy.
The survey of members of the Wake County chapter of the N.C. Association of Educators found that 81 percent disagreed with the elimination of the diversity policy. In addition, 81 percent of the respondents said they had a negative impression of the school board, and 72 percent felt the state's largest school system is going down the wrong track.
"Wake County teachers have serious concerns about the Wake County School Board," Scott McBride, president of the Baltimore-based HCM Marketing Research, says in a memo summarizing the results of the poll he conducted for Wake NCAE.
The survey of 501 teachers who are members of Wake NCAE was conducted in September before last week's vote in which Republican board Vice Chairwoman Debra Goldman sided with Democrats to back a resolution halting work on a community school zone assignment plan.
Goldman says she still backs community-based schools, but Republican members of the student assignment committee said this week that they don't have a clear direction for proceeding.
The survey drew differing responses from the factions on the school board.
Republican school board member John Tedesco, chairman of the student assignment committee, noted that a majority of Wake teachers aren't part of the teachers group. There are around 10,000 teachers in Wake. Of the 5,000 members in Wake NCAE, most are teachers.
"The NCAE has an agenda, and more than half of our teachers don't endorse the NCAE agenda," Tedesco said in an interview Thursday. "Regardless, I still respect the thousands of teachers who are doing their best."
Democratic school board member Kevin Hill, a retired Wake teacher and principal, said the dissatisfaction from teachers shown in the survey is a serious concern for the school district. "The way that the board has conducted itself has been very public," Hill said. "Teachers are concerned. Administrators are concerned. But they are very hesitant to speak out."
Wake NCAE did not endorse any of the four new board members who were elected last fall on a promise of ending the diversity policy and implementing neighborhood schools. Jennifer Lanane, then president of the group, apologized last November for sending an e-mail message to her members in which she accused the new board members of not caring about children or teachers.
NCAE, board clashed
The groups clashed after the board eliminated the weekly Wednesday early dismissals that afforded teachers time for planning. Wake NCAE went on to complain about dropping the diversity policy and elimination of the requirement that the superintendent be an educator.
Lanane and her successor, Tama Bouncer, are part of a group of educators backing Jack Nichols, a Democratic candidate for Wake County commissioner. Nichols has said he'll work to rein in the Republican school board majority.
"Teachers unions and teachers associations have stood against reform across the country," Tedesco said. "I don't expect that to change locally."
Tedesco noted how the board majority has been backing efforts such as expanding the use of teacher merit pay and holding teachers more accountable for student performance. Tedesco attended a screening Thursday of the documentary "Waiting for Superman," which has been praised by critics of the public education system and panned by teacher groups.
But Hill said making teachers unhappy won't help the school district going forward.
"Research shows that happy teachers are better teachers," Hill said.
