Category Archives: EDUCATION

Texas AG Files Amicus Asking for Hold on North Carolina #HB2 Suit

Posted on September 2, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an Amicus brief on August 31st in asking for the courts to put the House Bill 2 (HB2) suit on hold.

Texas is joined by 10 other state attorneys general and two governors in the filing. The Amicus specifically asks U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder to put the U.S. Justice Department’s current challenge to HB2 on hold while other related cases move forward. Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION, LEGAL, LGBTQ Issues, YWBMTC | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Texas AG Files Amicus Asking for Hold on North Carolina #HB2 Suit

Non-Profit Co-Founder Blasts Wake Board of Commissioners over WCPSS Diversity

Posted on August 31, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

Calla Wright, co-founder of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens for African American Children (CCCAC) recently sent emails to members of the Wake County Board of Commissioners complaining about the current student assignment plan in county’s school district.

The emails obtained by this site show Wright’s outrage over an article that appeared in the News and Observer. The article was about detailed a study by the Brookings Institute on diversity issues in Wake and Charlotte-Mecklenburg school districts. Continue reading →

Posted in EDUCATION, Wake County School Board | Tagged , | 1 Comment

NC Dept. Of Public Instruction Touts 4th Year of Powerschool, Ignores Failings

Posted on August 26, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction sent out a press release yesterday, hailing the success of Powerschool, which captures student data and information statewide.

The press release also didn’t mention Powerschool’s failings.

These failings include a $7 million dollar maintenance rate, hundreds of ‘slow connectivity incidents’, missing deliverables and suspect payments to ‘contractors’. Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EXCLUSIVE, June Atkinson, NC DPI | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Wake School Board Race Will Use 2011 Maps; 4 Incumbents Run Unopposed

Posted on August 26, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

In August, Judge James Dever III ruled that the 2011 maps would have to be used for the 2016 election, however this was an ‘interim’ remedy. Dever’s order leaves room for legislators to take another whack at redistricting when they return to the General Assembly.

As a result of Dever’s ruling, all nine school board seats will be on the ballot in November, however now four are running unopposed. Each of those elected will serve two-year terms and this election is by plurality, meaning there will be no run-off races.

SEE WHO IS RUNNING… FIND YOUR DISTRICT Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Campaign 2016, ELECTIONS, LEGAL, Voting, Wake County School Board | Tagged , | 1 Comment

WRAL Report On Edgecombe Teacher Turnover Doesn’t Include Supplemental Pay Figures

Posted on August 26, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

A lengthy, well-written and detailed article at WRAL which covers the high teacher turnover rate in Edgecombe county mentions supplemental pay, but doesn’t give the figures.

These figures are important to understand why some counties might have higher turnover rates than others.

Here’s Edgecombe’s number of teachers (which also is the same number claiming the supplemental pay) and the average supplemental rates for the last five years: Continue reading →

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NC Longitudinal Database Committee Quietly Dissolved and Replaced

Posted on August 25, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

A committee formed to bring oversight to the statewide longitudinal database system (SLDS) in North Carolina was recently dissolved.

An August 8th letter from the board’s chair, Keith Werner, called for the dissolution of the board, “per Session law 2016-94 ( Appropriations Act 2016)”. Werner is also the Chief Information Officer of the NC’s Information Technology division. Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION, NC DPI, NCGA, Parental Rights | Tagged , | Comments Off on NC Longitudinal Database Committee Quietly Dissolved and Replaced