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For the record, yes, I did vote in the last SB election and yes, I have 2 children in YR schools in Wake County.
I don't believe for a minute that Tedesco "gave up his job to focus on Wake schools" without there being a back story or two.
And he was NOT one of my choices in the election.
Great! I'm so happy you voted.
He did quit his day job - that's a fact. You can read it in the news.
Do you know if school board members are paid?
All we need is for people to be involved and for the school board to represent the people. Sure people will have differing opinions but if more people are involved then it better represents the parents!
Don't forget that the USA is a Republic government - we choose the leaders and we have an impact on the government so it is our responsibility to be involved.
However, I wouldn't assume any of the board members are being entirely altruistic, as they may have a desire to enter statewide or national politics. Historically this hasn't been the career path of school board members as the board is intended to be nonpartisan, but when they are attending larger political events it seems likely that they may have another political step in mind.
To answer your second question, I'm a parent, and I not only voted in the last election, I also stood at the polls for several hours and asked people not to vote for Debra Goldman. I'd never done that before. Having stood at the polls, it was very clear that at least at our polling station a large number of voters were not parents of currently school age children.
We've since had to move out of the area. If I was there I'd be very active on this issue, as I and all my siblings were educated in WCPSS and I still have nieces and nephews in WCPSS. I am very concerned that these rapid changes (like the year-round decision) without a look at the data or the budget are not going to turn out well.
He did quit his day job - that's a fact. You can read it in the news.
Do you know if school board members are paid?
All we need is for people to be involved and for the school board to represent the people. Sure people will have differing opinions but if more people are involved then it better represents the parents!
Don't forget that the USA is a Republic government - we choose the leaders and we have an impact on the government so it is our responsibility to be involved.
I did read it in the news, thanks. I didn't say he didn't do it, but that he didn't do it selflessly or without a gentle push or some other back story.
However, I wouldn't assume any of the board members are being entirely altruistic, as they may have a desire to enter statewide or national politics. Historically this hasn't been the career path of school board members as the board is intended to be nonpartisan, but when they are attending larger political events it seems likely that they may have another political step in mind.
To answer your second question, I'm a parent, and I not only voted in the last election, I also stood at the polls for several hours and asked people not to vote for Debra Goldman. I'd never done that before. Having stood at the polls, it was very clear that at least at our polling station a large number of voters were not parents.
We've since had to move out of the area. If I was there I'd be very active on this issue, as I and all my siblings were educated in WCPSS and I still have nieces and nephews in WCPSS. I am very concerned that these rapid changes (like the year-round decision) without a look at the data or the budget are not going to turn out well.
You hit on one of the great challenges facing public education today. The role of parents in the process both as parents and tax payers vs the role of non parents and taxpayers. The agenda's are not necessarily the same and non parent tax payers are usually a majority. As the population ages that discrepancy becomes greater. Thus are being going to the poll to influence the board of education for education, social or political agenda reasons? We all have the right to vote for the school board. Hey if we had never started this multi-cultural stuff we probably wouldn't have that socialist for a president now. It all started in the public schools brainwashing our kids and look who they voted for and now we need to change that. Hmmmm do you think anyone really thinks that way?
You are comparing apples to oranges. WCPSS is a county school district. The NJ districts you listed are township districts.
Capt chill, I'm very sorry that taking your retirement in NJ and moving to NC for a teaching job hasn't worked out for you as you wished. But if you so hate the school systems here and how things are run, then why are you still here?
This is the mistake you are all taking. I never said I came here to continue teaching. I decided to with my 30 Years experience, my care for the students, my want to keep teaching even for less money and more responsibility, only to see the old boy network, the hiring of young poorly trained teachers, the terminating contract that says well we have no need to respect you as a professional, that when you come here you are just working by the terms of the 1 year contract and bye bye!!
That is no way to treat a professional and quite frankly you get what you pay for.
I think the reason why people seem to be offended by him is because he isn't the typical phony "educrat". People voted for him because they wanted change and he is the type of person that has the spine to stand up and isn't afraid if he offends someone. He is who he is and doesn't pretend to be someone else. Ok ... so he is involved with the tea party - so what, I mean seriously how does that affect his other position. Sure he is a bit out there but in order for change to happen that is what you need. Well behaved people seldom make history. I did my research before I voted and voted for who I felt would be best for the board of education in my district (wasn't Tedesco's district).
Can I just ask a question - honestly who here is a parent and who here voted in the last school board election? I am just curious.
I have another question - are members of the wake county school board paid and how much or is their job a community service? If it is a community service job then Tedesco gave up allot for this job because he quit his other job in order to focus on Wake county public schools.
Would love to know the facts.
People voted for him in their district. That is the issue. People in Raleigh Knightdale Fuquay did not vote for him and in 5 other districts.
...
However, I wouldn't assume any of the board members are being entirely altruistic, as they may have a desire to enter statewide or national politics. Historically this hasn't been the career path of school board members as the board is intended to be nonpartisan, but when they are attending larger political events it seems likely that they may have another political step in mind....
Rosa Gill (ex school board member) was appointed to an assembly seat and is now running for reelection.
She represented her constituency on the school board and got the appointment to teh general assembly. Now voters in her district will go to the polls & decide if she deserves to stay there.
Is anyone here upset about that? Or are we just seeing a big plot in regard to Tedesco?
I am not upset about Rosa Gill's political career. It's the political process at work.
How many of us go to work for free? Yet we try hard and do our best, don't we? And we often seek promotion. Nothing sisister about that.
I am not a Tedesco fan and he is not my representative. If he does a good job he will be reelected or perhaps move on to bigger things. If he does a poor job he will be gone.
Once again do some research on property taxes in New Jersey, State Fiscal status comparisons between Jersey and North Carolina and most importantly retirement/pension fund health/stability comparisons between the two states.
The quality of schools in New Jersey in those areas are good and I won't argue better than Wake. However their current funding is even more unsustainable then Wakes is. We need to keep this about Wake but the reality is that in Wake and Johnson it is up to the tax payers to decide what they are willing to pay for education and not just the recipients of the tax dollars. Of course teachers are will to raise taxes their salary increase would be more than their property tax increase but do their neighbors want to? Do I take it you are from Jersey? If so why did you vote with your feet to come here and teach?
My observation and hunch is that those who benefit the most from increased government expenditures in Wake and Johnson are much more willing to raise taxes than those who tend to pay more then they receive. That would suggest that educators, those with students in the public schools and the poor are more willing to support tax increases for public services than Joe Average. Take out those with parents in the school and you have probably some of the biggest supporters of one of the major political parties in Wake which is more identified with raising taxes than their rival parties. We all benefit from some services but not all. Some benefit from government services more than others and are willing to raise taxes on the rest in Wake and Johnson counties. It is getting late. Kick back relax and have a nice hot glass of tea with some folks and enjoy the evening.
My tax rate down here when you add up property and sales tax even the personal property tax and state income tax is almost equal to the taxes I paid in NJ!!!
Where in the world is the money going in this state???
Sure my property tax rate is 1.00 per 100 and it was 2.40 per 100 in NJ, but my state tax is 7% on my income but was only 2% in NJ. I have not been asked to spend any extra on the schools down here and I stated before I am willing to pay an additional 5 or even 7 cents on the dolar to fund the schools down here in Wake. But again the powers that run the show say nah lets just do it with less. I have seen how doing it with less works, Combining elementary grades??? Cutting electives in the High Schools, Hiring brand new teachers on the bottom of the guide. Spending how much money on Buses and fuel to run them. Its really a mess and will only get worse. Community schools, I could care less. I do know that to say a school in SE Raleigh cannot be as good as a school in Cary or apex is well a racist comment by people who should know better. Hire the best for all county schools, provide what is needed for each school in the community. The schools are a mirror image of the community.
Rosa Gill (ex school board member) was appointed to an assembly seat and is now running for reelection.
She represented her constituency on the school board and got the appointment to teh general assembly. Now voters in her district will go to the polls & decide if she deserves to stay there.
Is anyone here upset about that? Or are we just seeing a big plot in regard to Tedesco?
I am not upset about Rosa Gill's political career. It's the political process at work.
How many of us go to work for free? Yet we try hard and do our best, don't we? And we often seek promotion. Nothing sisister about that.
I am not a Tedesco fan and he is not my representative. If he does a good job he will be reelected or perhaps move on to bigger things. If he does a poor job he will be gone.
Rosa Gill served on the school board for 10 years before moving on, so she was hardly using it as a short-term stepping stone. She wasn't trolling for a new gig while new to the school board.
I'm more concerned that Tedesco will take the next opportunity that comes along whether or not he's completed his term. In any case, I don't think his future prospects have anything to do with the job he does now. The consequences of the decisions they are making now will be very far-reaching, and he has plenty of time to move on while the jury is still out on whether he's done a good job.
My tax rate down here when you add up property and sales tax even the personal property tax and state income tax is almost equal to the taxes I paid in NJ!!! Where in the world is the money going in this state???
The short answer is that tax revenues in NC are less than in NJ, yet there are more people. The tax rate in NJ is much higher. Here are the facts:
The Census Bureau reports that NJ collected $27.1 million in taxes for 2009. NC collected $20.5 million. NC has more people - 9.2 million to 8.7 million.
The tax rate in NJ is higher. The Tax Foundation says that in 2008, the effective rate in NC was 9.8%, whereas in NJ it was 11.8% (highest in the nation, by the way).
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