Last week's firing of Wake County Schools Superintendent Tony Tata drew a variety of responses ranging from praise to condemnation.
For instance, Wake County Republican Party Chairwoman Susan Bryant called it "shameful, absolutely shameful." Two members of District 8 Board Advisory Council — Beth Shugg and Julea Danielson — resigned last week in protest of the firing.
But the leadership of the state NAACP, in a Wednesday press release, said they "commend the Wake County Board of Education for the poise and grace with which they handled the difficult issues raised by Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata's performance as Superintendent of the Wake County Public School System."
In a Wednesday Progressive Pulse blog post, Rob Schofield of the liberal N.C. Policy Watch says "good riddance" to Tata. Schofield also writes it isn't "moral or right" that Tata is taking the $253,625 severance package for being fired.
Since I can't find them online, I'll post the text for Bryant, Shugg and Danielson.
Here's the item from Bryant in Wednesday's Elephant Express:
Before I share my thoughts about the School Board action this week, I thank General Tony Tata for his great leadership and service he has provided to the Wake County School System. We appreciated his community activism, his listening to the teachers, students and parents. Most of all, we will miss his vision for our school system. On behalf of the Wake County Republican Party, we say thank you. We are so sorry to have lost you and your energy for our children. We know your future is great we just wish we could have been part of it.
Kevin Hill Lies and Parental Choice Dies
Not too long ago, Kevin Hill rated former Wake County School Superintendent Tony Tata as an A-. Well, Tata will be missed and the lesson learned is grades really don’t matter in public school. How much longer before they will tell us parental choice can’t work in Wake County?
Let’s see if we can properly frame this situation:
After begging for more money from our county commissioners which they did not get, our Democrat majority on the Wake County School Board (affectionately known to us as the Gang of Five) have opted to stress out the Republican-led and balanced annual budget by initiating modifications to a student assignment plan before it even had a chance to be implemented, by releasing the school system superintendent, by starting us down another 1-year or so search for a new superintendent, and by surgically cutting away important leadership from the second largest employer in Wake County.
We have questions:
What was so important that Tony Tata had to go? Why now? What will this cost us? Half a million? A million? More?
Just how far does the Gang of Five have to go to undo the achievements of last year’s Republican majority? Will they start ranting about how bad it was under the Republicans (echoing President Obama’s thinly-disguised tactics of blaming former President Bush)? It has worked for our President for almost 4 years. Perhaps it will work for Hill, Sutton, Kushner, Evans, and Martin as well.
Tony Tata - just what was this fine gentleman’s great sin that could, in the eyes of the Democratic majority have taken him from high marks to absolute no confidence in such a short time? Was it that he rescued the new but struggling student assignment plan during the planning process when others wanted it to fail? Or was it his direct and effective intervention during the first week of the school year when the busing of students needed immediate attention and augmentation?
Maybe that’s it. Since the partisan politics and personality conflicts were not enough to make Tata leave, maybe the Democrats just could not afford to have any kind of parental choice plan succeed. After all, and since even before taking office, new members Evans and Martin have made it abundantly clear that they were having none of it. Even though the parents were demanding helped elect that Republican majority back in 2009.
When it comes to public education, it really is all about the children. For some of us, our children need and deserve a quality education and are the hope for our future. However, for others like the Gang of Five, children are pawns to be used in a game of numbers in the pursuit of power.
Shameful, absolutely shameful.
Here's the email that Shugg sent Tuesday to District 8 school board member Susan Evans, and copied to the other school board members, about her BAC resignation:
Dear Ms. Evans,
I resign immediately as the Turner Creek Elementary 2012-2013 representative for BAC 8 due to your support of the irresponsible and irrational use of $253,625 from WCPSS's savings to pay out the remainder of Superintendent Tony Tata's salary, which will now be necessary since you and other board members have voted to fire him. This money was provided by the taxpayers who not only elected you, but who also pay your salary as a WCPSS Board Member and good steward of WCPSS funds. I do NOT approve of this careless use of funds that could have - and should have - been used to pay teachers' salaries, build or renovate schools, and purchase needed educational resources for the students and teachers of WCPSS.
I'm also deeply disappointed in your decision to fire Mr. Tata, who has worked tirelessly to improve our schools by putting students and teachers first. You and other board members have politicized an issue that will now cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, and you and your fellow board majority hundreds and thousands of votes. Good luck finding new BAC reps who support what you and the other board members have done. You just lost more votes than you ever could have hoped to gain.
Beth Shugg
Apex, NC
P.S. I have BCC'd the entire BAC 8 so they are aware of my resignation.
Here's the email that Danielson sent Tuesday to board members about her BAC resignation:
I'll add to that my resignation for Mills Park Elementary representative for BAC 8 Rep.
I did not agree of the Board firing Mr. Burns and I do NOT agree with the firing of Mr. Tata. At this rate, we should say this position is based upon who has the majority on the school board.
Julea Danielson
