Rick Trotter: Notable questions

Your Feb. 20 Notable Numbers didn’t provide any insight, but they do raise some questions worth deeper investigation.

What accounts for the racial disparity in student suspensions and criminal justice system referrals? Given the diversity – or segregation – across Wake County, what do the numbers look like within specific schools?

In other words, are countywide statistics at all meaningful in characterizing what is happening at specific schools? Suppose we were to look specifically at high schools?

Suppose we were to compare Leesville Road, Athens Drive, Panther Creek and Knightdale high schools?

If we are meant to interpret these numbers as some kind of metric for school system performance, how does the influx of students from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania factor in?

This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Rick Trotter: Notable questions."