JLF Triangle Blog

Raleigh Mayor Meeker Goes After Wake School Board Again

Posted January 17th, 2011 at 1:52 PM by Donna Martinez

WRAL reports that Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker used today’s MLK Interfaith Prayer Breakfast to again go after Wake County school board members who support neighborhood schools and oppose busing kids around the county to achieve economic “balance” in schools. Supporters say the busing is key to helping low-income kids learn and achieve. Meeker, a Democrat, is married to school board member Anne McLaurin, who opposes the move to neighborhood schools supported by the Republican-led board majority that was elected in 2009.

There you have the politics. Now for the facts about the policy that Mayor Meeker so heartily endorses. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website — found here – shows the abysmal four-year graduation rates for some groups of Wake County public school students who are supposedly helped by the economic diversity program.

Economically Disadvantaged — 59.7 percent
Black males — 56.3 percent
Hispanic males — 50.3 percent

Abysmal, to put it mildly. I call these results immoral and clearly illustrative of the need for a policy change.

2 Responses to “Raleigh Mayor Meeker Goes After Wake School Board Again”

  • Jan
    17
    2011     At 3:39 pm, Jon Sanders Said:

    Apparently Meeker endorses the previous board’s alleged institutional sexism as well:

    “By not providing equal opportunities for its female high school students, the Wake County Public School System is depriving many girls of the significant benefits associated with playing sports,” according to the complaint filed against Wake. “Sports participation has dramatic positive effects on young women’s health, academic success, employment prospects, and self-esteem.”

    The center used school district data from 2004 and 2006.

    Presumably (I’m using their standards of presumption — well, except for the requisite vulgarities and bugeyed conspiracy theories) everyone acting as if the Wake County Public School System used to be the Greatest System Ever did so in full support of those abysmal graduation rates and the discrimination against female athletes.
  • Jan
    18
    2011     At 9:16 am, Eric Weaver Said:

    Charles Meeker is just a man with no class, and that is all there is to it.

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