Chuck Dulaney, Wake County's assistant superintendent for growth and planning, is suggesting that the county make it more difficult for area students to access magnet services as a way to keep the area's brightest children in school in eastern Wake County.

That way, Wake County wouldn't have to put a magnet high school in eastern Wake County as a way of encouraging bright and talented students to stay closer to home for their high school education.

So, Dulaney would punish eastern Wake students by restricting their access to the most challenging, most exciting educational courses the county has to offer.

That way, Dulaney's thinking goes, those bright students would raise school achievement levels here at home by acing courses that don't challenge them and don't provide them with the educational rigor they need.

Excuse us while we pick our jaws up off the ground.

Education leaders in eastern Wake County have long been raising the issue of equality in schools throughout the county. What has become a system of have's and have nots, wouldn't get any better under the school system administration's proposal.

To be sure, we don't want our best and brightest leaving the area to go to school. But we also don't want them forced to stay where their needs aren't being met.

Dulaney's suggestion might help the schools in the long run, but it doesn't help the students.

And that, in our minds, is what the school system should be focused on.

In all honesty, we can't see one good thing about this suggestion.

We realize school board member Lori Millberg is just a few short weeks from stepping down from her seat on the Board of Education, but we are dissappointed she didn't put her foot down immediately.

Let's hope whoever takes her place has a little more fortitude when the matter comes up again.