New Wake school board approves sweeping changes

TED RICHARDSON - trichardson@newsobserver.com

John Tedesco, center, is sworn in as a new Wake County school board member by The Honorable Fred G. Morrison Jr., left, and with Pastor Abel Grande, right, holding the Bible, at the school system's central administrative buildiing on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009. Four new board members were sworn in at the ceremony.

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Margiotta aims to shape Wake schools

Ron Margiotta came to the Triangle nearly a decade ago to retire, not to become the school board leader of the state's largest school district.

But now Margiotta, 71, finds himself heading a new ruling coalition in Wake County that's already put on the table initial plans to go to neighborhood schools and end mandatory year-round schools. It's a major change for Margiotta, who for the past six years had been the board's lone critic of using forced busing to promote socioeconomic diversity.

"We have an opportunity to make constructive changes," Margiotta said. "Nothing is easy, but it doesn't mean it can't be done."

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Switch is sudden on Wake school board

A new majority on the Wake County School Board took immediate control at a tension-filled first meeting Tuesday, installing its members as top officers and taking the first steps toward ending the county's diversity policy.

After meeting for nearly seven hours, the new majority voted 5-4 to end the controversial, early-release Wednesdays at all schools at the end of the school year. They voted to conduct a study of the program's effectiveness and to find another way to give teachers planning time without inconveniencing parents.

Before a packed, mostly hostile audience, the new group made ad hoc additions of major items to the agenda. That drew heated public comment from those opposed to the newcomers' actions, a shocked reaction from members who now make up the board minority and a walkout by a group representing Wake teachers.

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New school posse rides hard

When we last checked, about 72 hours after the wild and woolly conservative takeover of the Wake County school board, the school system's Web site seemed to be pedaling hard to keep up with the changes.

Along with a little write-up to mark the occasion were pictures of the board's four newcomers as they took their oaths of office. "The ceremony concluded," site visitors were informed, "with board chair Kevin L. Hill welcoming the new members of the board and inviting those present to a reception to honor the newest members of the Wake County Board of Education."

Did Hill suspect that the reception would amount to his last supper as chairman?

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Wake board's boldness draws criticism

Wake County's new school board majority sent a message that they're serious about carrying out their promises, but their aggressive efforts to push through sweeping change have drawn complaints from opponents and questions about whether they skirted state sunshine law.

Without telling other members ahead of time, the new majority introduced eight items on the spot Tuesday calling for major changes such as ending busing for diversity, weekly Wednesday early dismissals and mandatory year-round schools.

"People wanted to know we're serious," said Chris Malone, one of four new board members who were sworn in Tuesday. "It was strong action by the board to let them know we meant what we promised."

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Margiotta puts allies in power slots

Wake County's new school board majority continued to flex its political muscles by securing control of nearly all of the major committees, including the group that will review the elimination of the diversity policy, a key campaign promise of the majority.

A committee list released Wednesday shows that new members make up the leadership and membership of most of the committees while some members of the board minority have nearly been shut out. In one example, school board chairman Ron Margiotta said he assigned Kevin Hill to only one committee because of Hill's actions against the board majority.

"Kevin Hill has been the most critical of what we're trying to do," said Margiotta, who deposed Hill as chairman last month. "The committees can be adjusted once I feel Kevin Hill is willing to be more cooperative."