It is my desire to represent the hopes and concerns of Wake parents as the next District 8 representative on the Wake County Board of Education. Currently, the WCPSS has displayed an attitude of indifference towards community opinion, and under the banner of “we know better” they continue to advance policy that is unresponsive and contrary to the wishes of parents.

Through numerous conversations with parents and community organizations throughout District 8, the same concerns and pains are expressed time and time again. It is clear that many do not trust the current system, and it is alarming to see the loss of market share by our school system in our communities. If elected to serve, I will not step back from the mandate to return trust in leadership, and contribute to a vision that the community can endorse.  

Community Engagement: It is evident that today’s policies do not support the process of engaging communities, to better understand the concerns and challenges of parents and their students. There should be an ongoing dialog between the community and the administration, and I will work to develop policy that holds the administration and board accountable to this ideal. As a board representative, I will establish a habit of constantly visiting my constituents, meeting with citizens and organizations, and I will reach out to the local municipalities in a spirit of partnership. 

Long Term Planning: This is perhaps the most significant shortcoming of this administration. I find it unacceptable that the public has never been presented, more than a year in advance, a multi-year plan for student assignment. Instead, communities receive notice, often late in the school year, of what the reassignment will be for the following year. Often, neighborhood is pitted against neighborhood as they battle to secure what is in the best interest of their child. Wake needs to abandon this reckless and reactionary process, and implement a strategic and healthy approach to assignment, that clearly indicates future direction on student assignment. The administration needs to work with municipalities to better understand growth. If elected, I will work to hold the administration accountable by developing explicit policy that demands long term planning and establishes stability in assignment.

Expansion of School Choice: The current system offers a choice model that is limited in scope, and presents inequities since many can apply, but only a select few will ever realize their choice. This results in a vast majority of the student population being denied any choice. It also discriminates against urban communities, as typically the design is to attract students from outlying areas. I believe choice can be expanded within parameters that enable community schools, but also support the choice to bus beyond local schools if the parent decides it is in the best interest of the child. If elected, I will work to implement policy that empowers all parents to choose in the best interest of their child. 

Expand Year Round Schools through Choice, not Mandatory Base: An alarming direction has been implemented by the current board - the expanded use of mandatory base assignment for year round schools. This contributes to more restriction on choice for Wake parents, forces families into school calendars that may conflict, and imposes an academic consequence that families may be philosophically opposed to. If elected, I will work to reverse this trend, and protect the “choice” of year round school.

Academic Excellence for all Wake Students: If elected to serve, I will work to encourage and reward students from every corner of the academic spectrum. This means applying resource where needed, whether it be for high-needs students or high performers. We must be innovative in our approach, and be willing to reach outside the box to bring creative resource to the table. We must prepare the leaders of tomorrow who are our students today, and we must improve or introduce programs that increase the number of students who graduate, and then choose to go on to college or vocational programs. I would also encourage the expansion of Charter Schools to provide additional academic alternatives, and would work to bridge the indifference that the current administration has displayed towards these scholastic counterparts. 

Assignment Map & School Expansion: The current assignment strategy has placed our county in a crisscross of busing routes, and severely limits many parents from participating in the child’s education. I would like to see a thorough evaluation of our current assignment node strategy, in collaboration with the community, to see if there is a better way to map school assignment. I would also like to see growth addressed within the design of schools that are functional for the population they will have enrolled. Schools need to be sited where the growth is occurring in our communities. There should be a logical feeder pattern that facilitates promotion from K-12 in a flow that does not selectively splinter small groups of children off to separate Middle and High School assignments. 

Curriculum that Reflects Community Values: If elected to serve, I would do just that. Reflect the will of the people, not special interests groups or the academic elite. To see evidence that this is not the current board protocol, examine the recent board decision to change the state-mandated Abstinence-based health education curriculum, despite the fact that the overwhelming response from the community was to the contrary. The new curriculum passed by one vote, and my opponent was one of those votes. 

Vote for Ron Margiotta on Oct 9