Home > Uncategorized > N&O leaves out Margiotta’s earlier magnet plea

N&O leaves out Margiotta’s earlier magnet plea

Post on December 9, 2009 by 16 Comments »

The News & Observer reports this morning on the letter that Wake County School Board Chair Ron Margiotta sent to magnet principals assuring them that the new board has no plans to abolish the magnet program.

As Rob noted yesterday on the Pulse, the fears of magnet supporters are hardly unjustified. The N&O reported in May that Margiotta was trying to end the magnet program.

It raises at least two important questions. Why should folks believe Margiotta now when he tried to abolish magnet schools just seven months ago?

And why didn’t the N&O story this morning mention Margiotta’s push to end magnets that they themselves reported? It seems vitally relevant to the story.

Possibly related posts:

  1. Leader of school re-segregation efforts defeated
  2. New, re-segregated Wake County school already showing the strain
  3. New school year marked with renewed debate over diversity
  4. Time for Wake School Board to take a step back

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments (Closed):16

  1. Something Clever
    December 9, 2009 at 8:23 am

    Question for you: Why do you continue to leave out the context in which that comment was made?

    The court had just ruled that WCPSS could assign children to whatever school they wanted, without regard to calendar or program. Since the diversity goals of the magnet program could legally be met by assignment without the expense of the programs, Mr. Margiotta suggested that they be eliminated.

    It was obviously political grandstanding to illustrate the disparity between the district’s policy of providing choice to students for some schools (magnets) but no choice for others (year-round).

    That you continue to champion the cause of magnets is still beyond my comprehension. How is it a progressive policy to use tax money to reward the wealthy with voluntary special programs while moving out the needy from those schools without asking them or providing any similar special benefit?

  2. AdamL
    December 9, 2009 at 9:18 am

    It’s not really championing the cause of magnets to ask that the newspaper point out that Margiotta was trying to end the program in May. No matter what you think the paper should put the current debate in context — grandstanding or no.

  3. Something Clever
    December 9, 2009 at 9:31 am

    Adam, I completely agree that the N&O should have given more information than they did. Yet that is not the subject of my comment. I find it insincere for Mr. Ftizsimon to call for context while leaving it out himself. He has done this before on this particular subject and it is nothing more than petty scare tactics that, based on his other work, I expected to be beneath him.

  4. Chris Fitzsimon
    December 9, 2009 at 10:20 am

    What is insincere about noting that the new Chair tried to convince the board to eliminate magnet schools? That is hardly a petty scare tactic.

    What context could there be? You either support the concept of magnets or you don’t.

    Not to mention Mr. Margiotta’s desire to break up Wake Schools into many smaller districts, which would make some magnets unaccessible for many students.

  5. gregflynn
    December 9, 2009 at 10:32 am

    Magnet programs serve more than one purpose.

    • Reduce high concentrations of poverty and support diverse populations
    • Maximize use of school facilities
    • Provide expanded educational opportunities

    As Charlotte has demonstrated, without diversity, low wealth schools tend to have low enrollment and underutilized facilities, putting pressure on higher wealth schools and, costing over $60 million more for lower graduation rates.

  6. Something Clever
    December 9, 2009 at 10:35 am

    “What context could there be?”
    The context that the motion to eliminate magnet schools was done in response to the court ruling that the district could assign students as they wanted, thereby eliminating any legal need for choice based programs of any kind. It was a political ploy intended to show the inequity of the system offering choice for some and not for others.

    As for breaking up the district, why not? What is so perfect about the way in which the lines are drawn today? Are there not already inequities based on what side of an invisible line one lives?

    It is interesting that the voice of “The Progressive Pulse” vehemently defends the status quo that has done little but further entrenched so many of the social inequities we see today.

  7. Chris Fitzsimon
    December 9, 2009 at 10:41 am

    This post is about Margiotta’s effort earlier this year to abolish magnet schools. That is true, It happened, political ploy or not.

    He may have changed his mind, unless his stance now is a political ploy.

  8. James
    December 9, 2009 at 11:07 am

    Something Clever, perhaps you could share your own personal record of working to eliminate the social inequities we see today.

    Reckless change driven by political opportunists like Margiotta create only the illusion of something important being done. Change for the sake of change to satisfy the basest of human weaknesses – greed, fear of the other, arrogance, the lust for power. Wake County will be digging out from the aftershocks of his extremist agenda for generations to come.

  9. Something Clever
    December 9, 2009 at 11:08 am

    Greg – Questions to consider:

    Reduce high concentrations of poverty and support diverse populations – Why is that nearly ¼ (4 of 17) elementary magnets have F&R populations below the district elementary school average? Why aren’t magnet programs in place at the ten elementary schools with highest F&R percentage, four of which are more than double the district average?

    Maximize use of school facilities – Why are seven of the ten most crowded elementary schools not magnets? Why are there zero year-round magnet schools when the district has repeatedly claimed that year-round is an essential element in reducing crowding?

    Provide expanded educational opportunities – Why are only 14.61% of elementary school kids provided this opportunity when we can all agree the goal is education for all? Why is the magnet system setup to prevent low income student admission to these programs?

    I am not anti-magnet, but I do not support the way in which WCPSS has operated the magnet program. It still cannot believe that after the crushing defeat at the hands of the right, those who I should be able to count on to advocate for public schools are doing nothing more than reciting the doctrines of failure.

  10. Something Clever
    December 9, 2009 at 11:12 am

    James – “Something Clever, perhaps you could share your own personal record of working to eliminate the social inequities we see today. ”

    Why make this personal? I taught in the highest poverty middle school in Wake County. Think what you want, this isn’t an abstract issue for me.

    “Reckless change driven by political opportunists like Margiotta create only the illusion of something important being done.”

    EXACTLY! Yet the only response I hear from those who should be the advocates of true change is to claim, with little or no basis in fact, that things were great before. What good is that?

  11. James
    December 9, 2009 at 1:18 pm

    You’re an anonymous commenter who seemed to be challenging NCPW with a broad brush, questioning their commitment to social justice. Maybe I read your comment wrong, but it sounded like you were making it personal by attacking Chris.

    I don’t hear anyone saying things were “great” before. I hear honest people struggling to find the right path forward … people who are worried that leaders of a radical anti-government agenda have planted their poison seed in Wake County’s school system.

  12. Something Clever
    December 9, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    James, I must have worded it poorly then, and apologize if offense was taken by you or anyone else.

    What I am trying to say is that NCPW is an effective, committed champion of social justice issues, the premier group of its kind in the state, but when it comes to the issue of Wake County Public Schools, Mr. Fitzsimon seems to champion those people and policies that have, for the past decade, produced results that are contrary to the greater mission.

    Just look at the text on the about NCPW page:
    http://www.ncpolicywatch.org/about/
    NCPW mission is “to improve the quality of life in the state by convincing state leaders to make the kinds of investments in people and institutions that allow us to address our most pressing problems.” The WCPSS leadership that Mr. Fitzsimon speaks so highly of has eroded support for the school system.
    “NC Policy Watch is also committed to reforming government so that the public can take an active part in these debates.” WCPSS has been out of touch with the public and unwilling to include anyone outside their own circle.
    “Among the specific issues addressed in this effort are…our unacceptable high school dropout rate,” WCPSS AYP Four-Year Cohort Graduation Rate 08-09: 78.4% For the state: 71.7%. Yet for the economically disadvantaged, WCPSS is 54.2%, while the state is 61.8%. So this school system is failing those who are most in need of a good education.

    People may indeed be worried by what changes are happening and what is to come, yet that doesn’t support defending that which was demonstrably contrary to the progressive agenda as articulated in the about NCPW statement. The enemy masquerading as your friend is in many ways the most dangerous of all.

  13. Chase
    December 9, 2009 at 3:20 pm

    Margiotta knew that his grandstanding would ruffle feathers and get people in an uproar but come to naught.
    All Wake County students have a base assignment that is either traditional or YR, and have choice of: a. traditional, b. YR, c. magnet, d. charter e. private or f. home school. I have often heard people use the term “forced” to go to YR. That is just not so. There is no forcing of any options. If you want to take that stance, then we have all been forced to use the traditional calendar for decades.

  14. Something Clever
    December 9, 2009 at 3:32 pm

    Chase – YR was forced at one time. It isn’t now, but only because of a court order:
    http://www.wcpss.net/news/2007_june7_board_assigns_2600/
    while the subsequent course of events overturned the ruling, the board (wisely) never eliminated the traditional calendar option for those assigned as base to a YR school.

  15. Chase
    December 9, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    You are correct, however that was June 2007 and Margiotta’s grandstanding occurred in May 2009.

  16. Something Clever
    December 9, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    Chase – 2009 is when the “subsequent course of events” that I referenced came to its conclusion. The two are related.