Here are a couple of quick hits in NC Education news, mostly dealing with Wake County.

1. New Principal appointed at Lead Mine Rd Elementary after parents complained about Principal April Hill.  Kenneth Branch will take over for Hill.  About mid-way down in the ABC 11 story, we get to the heart of the matter:

“A teacher working condition survey compiled by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction shows teacher morale was also a problem when Hill was principal at Carpenter Elementary.

In 2014, 49 percent said there was not an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect in the school.

In 2012, only 15 percent felt that way before Hill took on the role.

59 percent said they did not feel comfortable raising concerns important to them.

Before Hill was appointed…just 17 percent felt that way in 2012.”

Three other elementary school appointments were made by the Wake School Board and include: Derrick Evans, L. Roy Teel and Luther Thomas.

2. Wake County Snow Days plan was approved and so was the $1.4 Billion dollar budget.  WCPSS’s website will likely have the new snow day plan up on their site in the coming weeks.

Here’s the bit about the budget from TWC news, which has to go to the Wake County Board of Commissioners next:

“The budget calls for an extra $48,000,000 to be used for staff pay raises, new academic programs and enrollment growth.

Wake County Board of Commissioners will be asked for nearly $400,000,000 and increase of 14 percent from last year.

The budget will now head over to county commissioners. They are expected to host a public hearing on June 1.”

I would expect the Commissioners will approve it. Wake residents should probably expect to see a tax hike.

3. Twenty six Charter schools were recommended by the NC Charter Advisory Board and seventeen Charter schools appear to have made it into the pipeline for approval. Four of them are in Wake county.

The four in Wake according to the News and Observer are:

• Cardinal Charter Academy of Knightdale
• Central Wake Charter High School
• Peak Charter Academy (Cary/Apex)
• Pine Springs Preparatory Academy (Holly Springs)

Included in the News and Observer article is this disingenuous and inflammatory set of statements from Yvonne Brannon:

Brannon pointed to a study released in April by three Duke University professors that found that North Carolina charter schools are much more likely than regular public schools to be racially unbalanced. The study also found that the percentage of students in predominantly white charter schools had doubled over time to 47 percent.

The Duke study made the statement “that many white parents are using the charter schools, at least in part, to avoid more racially diverse traditional public schools.”

Really? 
Brannon jumps right on the Charter school false narrative bandwagon.  You people out there exercising your parental rights to school choice are all racists… or something.

Via Travis Photo Log http://www.travislongphoto.com/2011/02/07/school-board-in-turmoil/candlelight1-ne-032210-tel/

Caption for this photo reads: Yvonne Brannon, chairwoman of Great Schools in Wake Coalition sings with NAACP President Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II at Martin Street Baptist Church. More than 500 opponents of the Wake School Board’s proposal to end busing for socioeconomic diversity gathered at the church for a candlelight vigil.

Scroll to the bottom of this article and read more about Brannon and Public Schools First NC.

What else would one expect from Common Core backing, Moral Monday attending, public school protecting Yvonne Brannon though?

After all, she represents Public Schools First NC.

Or is it NC State?

10. Contract with NC State University
Purpose: To revise, maintain, and host modules developed for the Race to the Top Professional Development Initiative which includes Accountability and Curriculum Reform Effort
(ACRE), Common Core State Standards, Accountability and the Instructional
Improvement System, NC Educator Evaluation System, and Professional Development.
Primary Contact: Yevonne Brannon
Amount: $165,000.00 Federal
Time Frame: 9/3/2013 to 6/30/2014
DPI Coordinator: Lynne Johnson, Academic Services & Instructional Support
Contract No: 10089882 (Service)
Total Approved Contracts This Fiscal Year: 9
Total Cost: $16,796,086.43 Federal