From this morning’s News & Observer, Ron Margiotta has an answer:
School board member Ron Margiotta said the board could offer families the option to return to neighborhood schools as soon as the 2010-11 school year. Margiotta, who has been on the board since 2003, is expected to emerge as the leader of the new majority that includes Tedesco and the three supporters of neighborhood schools who were swept into office this month.
Margiotta said he hopes the current administrators will adopt the changes, but he won’t take no for an answer.
“If our staff can’t get the work done, we’ll get people who can,” Margiotta said.
But …
Questions have also swirled around whether the new majority will get rid of Burns and other top-level administrators. Truitt said that Wake County Republican Party and the Wake Schools Community Alliance had both asked her if she would support firing Burns.
Ann Majestic, the school board’s attorney, said buying out Burns’ contract would involve paying him 18 months of salary, equal to $409,500.
Margiotta said he’s not looking at firing Burns. He said he hopes that Burns, who is under contract through June 2013, will stay on to carry out the changes and make sure that his staff implements them.
Burns indicated he would. “I started working here in 1976,” he said. “If there are changes, I’ll work through them.”
All I can say is — this is going to be an interesting school board to watch.
