IS THIS THE WAKE COUNTY WE WANT?????

Well, so much for facts and parental pleas. Last night the Wake County School Board voted 6-1 (Ron Margiotta was the lone dissenter) to continue with plans to move 6,464 elementary school students for the 2008-2009 school year. Check any of the local media stations/newspapers for coverage of last night's meeting, or go to WCPSS's website for their version of what took place. Thousands of parents are heartbroken and/or angry this morning with the realization that their concerns once again fell on deaf ears.

As predicted long ago, Wake County is already seeing the adverse effects of the School Board's insistence upon forcing families into situations that are counter to their needs and wishes. Supportive public school parents are fleeing the system for charter or private schools. Some have even moved to neighboring counties. Teachers and administrators are leaving as well, fed up with suddenly being mandated into schedules that they did not choose. Neighborhoods are being pitted against neighborhoods, schools against schools, families against families - and tensions are increasing as more and more restrictions are placed upon parents' choices for their children.

Whether you are a parent, teacher, or a concerned citizen - if you believe that the Wake County School Board is wrong in forcing parents to go against what they know is best for their children; in splitting siblings up on different school calendars and, in some cases, into rival high schools; in completely ignoring hard facts and data showing why such a plan has failed year after year in other states; in placing families in situations where they have to compromise their child's after-school safety due to increased costs for childcare and/or the absence of older siblings who are now on a different schedule....IF you see the writing on the wall that these and many other repercussions will continue to chip away at the strong sense of "belonging" and the sturdy educational foundation that this area has always boasted...PLEASE waste no time in contacting the Wake County School Board, the County Commissioners, and the Wake County representation in the General Assembly. Many of you have already done this over and over, but don't give up. Keep calling and writing. Urge others to do the same. Write letters to the editor. Call local (and national, for that matter) TV and radio stations. History has proven that this is not the way that Wake County will improve. In my opinion, we have already started on a downward spiral which can only be stopped if enough people step forward and demand a stop to this unbelievable display of control.

Contact links for the aforementioned groups are listed in the panel to the right. Thank you!