The school board here in Wake County was elected recently with a pretty strong message from the public: We Don’t Like the Way Things Are!
With 4 seats up for grabs, a new coalition was formed. Joining Ron Margiota are 4 new board members. And they have two agendas:
1. End Year Round Schools.
2. End the Diversity program.
As part of their platform, they ran on a message that included “We’ll listen to the parents”. So, in an effort to be true to their word, and to give them political cover, they cobbled together an online survey meant to poll WCPSS parents* about their opinions of the year round calendar. Winning 4 seats, all of them handily, they anxiously awaited the day the results would be made public. They aren’t waiting anymore. But they are anxious. Just not in the giddy happy happy joy joy manner they expected:
More than 94 percent of survey respondents indicated they were either “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their child’s school regardless of the calendar type.
When asked how satisfied they were with the calendar of the school their child attends, 83 percent of parents indicated that they were pleased
This is huge in these parts. The message is clear. Very clear. Parents, many many of them, are happy with the calendar they have. Those going to year round schools nearly as satisfied as those going to traditional. There simply isn’t a mandate to craft any sort of calendar solution. We are happy with things as they are!
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* Why only parents were surveyed is beyond me. The school system is built and paid for by all taxpayers and they should have as much input into this debate as any other person.