The main focus of Chris Malone, our eastern Wake County school board member, has been getting rid of our socio-economic diversity plan. As a result, we are going to see as many as 10-15 middle-income schools turn into high poverty schools according to former assistant superintendent Chuck Dulaney.

These schools will end up with less qualified, inexperienced or burned out teachers, gangs, drugs, no PTA and little to no discipline. This will set our schools back 30 years. How is that fair? Public school is supposed to be about all children going to equally good schools.

This spring, the school board majority voted to cross off any mention of diversity in the assignment policy. If our schools do not have a balanced mix of kids from different socio-economic backgrounds, this new "controlled choice" plan will not work. Wake County school system's reputation will go downhill.

Do we want our schools to be segregated? In 1954 we learned that separate is not equal. School board chairman Ron Margiotta vowed that the board majority's new plan will not create schools full of poor or minority children. I want to see that promise in writing.

Rita Rakestraw

Knightdale