The quality of Wake County's school system has made the area a very desirable place to live. Is this quality sustainable in the future as the area continues to grow and the system struggles to find adequate funding? WakeUP Wake County has assembled a group of experts to help us better understand the challenges now and in the future. Hope you can attend and please spread the word about this important public forum. Philip W Poe <mailto:PWPoe@att.net> PWPoe(a)att.net 919.832.6777 voice 919.522.1078 mobile 919.832.6775 fax . Please come.. To a public forum on key challenges to Wake public schools, on Tuesday, May 12, 7 - 9:30 p.m. at the NCSU McKimmon Center. The focus of the forum will be on how to achieve and fund educational excellence, given the challenges we face in decreased school funding and population growth. We hope this forum will provide important information to parents and policymakers to help ensure high quality education for all our children. Details are below, and a flyer and the agenda are attached. Please feel free to forward to others who may be interested. _____ Free Public Forum Achieving Educational Excellence in Times of Challenge and Change How Should Wake County Schools Plan for Growth and the Current Economic Crisis? Tuesday, May 12, 2009 7 to 9:30 pm (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) McKimmon Center 1101 Gorman Street Raleigh Speakers and panelists include: Former BOE Member Tom Oxholm, Co-author of "A School District's Journey to Excellence" Chair of the Wake Education Partnership, Ann Denlinger Deputy Wake County Manager Johnna Rogers John Dornan of the NC Public School Forum Dr. Dudley Flood, UNC-CH professor and UNC Board of Governors NC General Assembly Representative Nelson Dollar Jim Blackburn of the NC Association of County Commissioners Wake County Commissioner Stan Norwalk Wake County School Board Member Beverley Clark Charlotte Turpin, NCAE Co-hosted by: WakeUP Wake County, Wake NC Association of Educators, Concerned Citizens for African American Children, Wake League of Women Voters, and Bigger Picture 4 Wake For complete agenda and registration (encouraged, but not required), go to: http://wakeupwakecounty.com/cms/ For more information, contact: Karen Rindge, WakeUP Wake County, krindge(a)earthlink.net Forum Sponsors: Community Forum Leader Dean Debnam and Stephanie Fanjul Nancy and Ron McFarlane Wake N.C. Association of Educators WakeUP Wake County John Wilson Community Forum Supporter BiggerPicture4Wake Barbara and Jim Goodmon Subhash Gumbar Russell Killen Erv and Sue Portman Senator Josh Stein and Anna Stein Smedes York Community Forum Friend Concerned Citizens for African American Children Cynthia Ball and Dave Aspnes Yevonne Brannon Rodger Koopman Lois Nixon Virginia Parker Susan Parry Gerda Stein Russ Stephenson Wake League of Women Voters