Nine years ago, in its 2003 report “Making Choices: Diversity, Student Assignment and Quality in Wake’s Public Schools,” the Wake Education Partnership took a strong stand against what it called “free market” approaches to student assignment, including controlled choice plans.

In a very prescient prediction of the 2009 school board election, the WEP wrote in 2003: “If the school board should walk away from its commitment to diversity, a larger question looms. As schools re-segregate and as additional funds are required for schools with disproportionate levels of poverty, how long will taxpayers be willing to make the additional investment in these schools? Can an investment in equity funding be sustained throughout political cycles?”

What happened to the Wake Education Partnership? Have they, like so many organizations in our society, been repurposed by big-money private interests? I am appalled by their reaction to the Wake County school board’s sound and responsible decision to seek a student assignment plan that avoids resegregation. In the interest of transparency, the WEP ought to explain its complete reversal on “free market” student assignment plans since its 2003 report or at least reveal who is now setting its agenda.

Amy Womble

Cary