Readers following the upheaval in Wake County over the change of direction a newly-elected majority of the Wake Board of Education is taking may have missed a short item by News & Observer reporter Tommy Goldsmith: a conservative think tank financed by businessman and former legislator Art Pope, and closely associated with the John Locke Foundation and other non-profits that favor limited government, will provide training for the new board. (Update: This sentence should have said "will be on the list of those who can provide training for the new board members," as a commentor points out below.)
Goldsmith writes:
"Wake County school board members agreed Tuesday to accept the Civitas Institute, a conservative think tank, as a provider of annual training for school board members.
"Under state law, members must receive at least 12 hours of training annually. Previously, they have received it from the N.C. School Boards Association or the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill.
"The Civitas Institute, founded by Raleigh businessman Art Pope, says its mission is to "facilitate the implementation of conservative policy solutions to improve the lives of all North Carolinians."
Pope is a smart fellow and so are those who run the various non-profits his business funds. There's little question about where they stand on a number of education issues, and they must be happy with the board's direction.
And the new school board majority clearly is happy, too. There's little pretense about what the board is doing as it moves to dismantle a diversity program and bring about more neighborhood schools starting in 2011. The board may have only a 5-4 majority, but it's sending a pointed message in its recent dealings that it is closely allied with the conservative goals and policies of the Pope-supported foundations and other nonprofits.
