Newly elected school board member Susan Evans told NBC-17 exclusively Thursday, she was calling for a postponement of Tuesday's vote on the new student assignment plan for the Wake County Public School System.
Evans defeated current chair Ron Margiotta on Tuesday.
Evans said no action should be taken until the new board takes office and said Tuesday's election was a mandate from the voters to put the brakes on the plan for further review.
Superintendent Tony Tata, who was hired by the current board, said Wednesday that the assignment plan should proceed.
The system held a public hearing on the proposal Thursday night at Broughton High School, with about 75 people in attendance.
The plan emphasizes parental choice and allows parents to put their children in schools closer to their homes.
Opponents have called it modern segregation.
The changes to the board due to the Tuesday election will come after the vote takes place.
Of the plan, Tata said, "The beauty of the student assignment plan is it's a reflection of what the students have asked for -- what the parents have asked for. It's a plan that is very much down the middle of the road.
"It provides for proximity, it provides for achievement and it provides for stability, which has been a real clarion call."
"My opinion is that they're going to look at the plans. I think even the new ones coming on have said, 'We're going to review it and we're not necessarily just going to throw out everything that's been done. We’re going to review it,'" Broughton High parent Ernest Caraway said.
"I like their position. I trust their judgment that they'll hopefully take the good and the new and the good and the old and overall I think it will lead to a better result, a better system.”
Marcia Young, also a Broughton parent, added, "If we have someone who’s new, maybe they can decide on different decisions on what to do with the students or where they go to school, look at the different neighborhoods involved, the schools that are involved.”
Impact of election
The future balance of the board will depend on the outcome of District 3, where incumbent Kevin Hill, a Democrat and former board chair, is expected to have a run-off against Heather Losurdo.
Hill said he did not see a return to an emphasis on diversity in student assignment.
“I think the old diversity plan is water under the bridge,” Hill said. “We’ve got to move forward. We’ve got a workable plan but it needs to be finalized. There are some sharp edges that need to be addressed.”
Hill lead the voting with 8,083 votes, followed by Losurdo at 6,485. But Hill only had 49.7 percent of the vote, short of the majority needed to prevent a run-off. Losurdo had 39.9 percent.
The Democrats won a major victory Tuesday when Susan Evans beat board chair Ron Margiotta in District 8. Democratic incumbents Keith Sutton won in District 4. Two newcomers, Jim Martin in District 5 and Christine Kushner in District 6, also won.
The races are officially nonpartisan but have become much more partisan in recent years.
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